Welcome to My Green Dream Blogging Journey

June 24, 2020 5:17 pm Published by Jace Timmer 2 Comments

Hello readers, before I get into my very first blog ever, I would love to thank Forest Products Association of Canada for selecting and giving me the honour of being a 2020 Green Dream Intern Blogger.

I’m Jace Timmer, and in this blog, I will introduce you to myself and how I came to be in the forestry industry. I grew up on a family farm just north of a small town turned city called Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan. The population is around just over 5000 people for reference. This new city is surrounded by the most beautiful lakes in all of Saskatchewan in the Meadow Lake Provincial Park. This park has some of the clearest and some of the best fishing lakes around.

Through the location of the city being so close to the edge of the boreal forest, I have gotten the privilege to grow up on a family agricultural farm and grow up with the best of the wide-open fields as well as the thick forest. Seeing Meadow Lake is right on the edge of the forest, it is home to three forestry mills that employ and is responsible for a lot of the city’s population. Seeing that these mills have such a prominent future for many of the people around me, I started looking into summer jobs with the mills to allow me to save up for my university, which in the end, led me to Tolko with a Youth Recruitment summer student position.

Figure 1: The location of Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan on the map

Over the fall and winter term, I attended Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta, where I pursued business while competing in Usports Volleyball. Our volleyball team played in the Canada West division, which spans over western Canada from Vancouver (UBC) to Winnipeg (UofM) and included 12 teams. Volleyball has already blessed me with lifelong bonds and memories, and I can not wait to make more. My first year of university in the big city was a fantastic experience full of many amazing adventures and new things, along with the fair share of adversity.

Figure 2: My first-year volleyball headshot photo

For this summer, I was welcomed back to Tolko in my hometown of Meadow Lake with open arms. Although these open arms had to stay six feet apart and wash their hands often, it was still great to be back. Tolko – Meadow Lake division has been a fantastic experience so far. The Youth Recruitment program at the mill allowing me to be back for the second summer in a row lets me pick up my learning right where I left off last year and continue expanding my knowledge of the forestry industry and the OSB mill from the business side of things, this time, with a year of university under my belt. This year, I have gotten the privilege to work with the lean side of the industry which I find very interesting. The Tolko workplace is professional and welcoming to a 19-year-old student like me, which makes being a summer student more advantageous. The experience I have gained through my short time thus far has helped me immensely in business and life.

Figure 3: The front door to Tolko – Meadow Lake OSB Division

On my downtime from working and studying, my hobbies and interests include playing sports, lifting weights and taking advantage of the beautiful lakes surrounding my home. I love racing around on anything with a motor in it. Through living on a farm, I have gotten to experience so many cool life skills that the average kid would not get to have while growing up.

I cannot wait to share with all of you the amazing experiences of my journey with Tolko and forestry throughout the summer. Thank you for reading my very first blog of many.

Till next time,

Jace Timmer