The Tree Plant is Done!
August 5, 2014 3:51 pm Leave your thoughts
Well the tree plant is officially done! 8.7 million trees in 3 months is awesome considering all the last minute changes implemented because of the fire on Weyerhaeuser’s FMA. Luckily we only lost about 3000 hectares; they will probably be on the list for the 2015 tree plant.
This means I am on to the next project of the summer, aerial herbicide. I’ll be going out to the bush for most of August to assist with weather monitoring. From what I understand each helicopter is assigned two weather monitors who go into the blocks beforehand and assess if it is safe to spray. It consists of very early mornings, as we can’t spray if it is over 25 degrees Celsius or if wind picks up to over 8 km/h. There are a few other conditions that need to be monitored before and during the spray, which I will find out Monday at our training.
This past week at Weyerhaeuser has comprised of me assisting with any odds and ends that need to be completed before we head to the bush. I’ve been printing off maps, picking up herbicide and buying items for camp.
Thursday was really exciting though because I got to go for a four-hour helicopter ride! This was unrelated to herbicide; my original helicopter date during the tree plant got cancelled due to lightning. Basically we went up in the helicopter to check if any garbage was left behind from the tree plant and also to see the road reclamation job. I explained the road reclaiming process in an earlier blog so we’ll skip that part.
The pictures don’t quite do it justice but they’re better than nothing!
A shot of Grande Prairie lifting off from the airport.
A site prepped (trenched) block with reclaimed roads and burn pits (dark oval spots)
A block system with roads that have not yet been reclaimed. You can really tell in this picture how the blocks are harvested to form irregular shapes, emulating natural disturbance.
A winding river valley on the FMA
And finally I had to take a helicopter selfie because who knows the next time I’ll be back in one.
Well I guess you guys won’t be hearing from me until aerial herbicide is done and I’m out of the bush!
Have a good one, Brooke