July 26, 2019 11:21 am Leave your thoughts
Hello readers,
There has been a change of plans since I last checked in. My schedule has been changed a bit due to an alteration in the tree planting plans. As Tina, my supervisor, says silviculture is all about going with the flow so we shall see when I flow into the tree plant.
Instead,
July 26, 2019 11:15 am Leave your thoughts
Why was the tree stumped?
It couldn’t get to the root of the problem.
Hello reader – welcome to my fourth Green Dream Job Blog. In this instalment, I’m going to discuss how mobile data collection is changing field operations.
When I started working with Canfor, I was excited to learn that my department has a team devoted to the construction and deployment of mobile applications for data collection.
July 24, 2019 3:55 pm Leave your thoughts
By Arianna Loogman, July 23rd, 2019
I can’t believe that it’s already time for another blog, but I’m super excited to share this one! Every summer student watches as their four months off school race by, the work week goes by fast and the weekends even faster. You think that you will have free time,
July 23, 2019 2:37 pm Leave your thoughts
After completion of the Shuswap/Okanagan railway in 1892 the entirety of Armstrong was a lone box car, a home for the rail agent. One early settler remarked, “Apart from the box car there was just willows and swamp”. The Cariboo gold rush launched European settlement around Armstrong with Miners and Missionaries passing through on their way up North. Innovative farmers drained the swamplands and exposed fertile black soil ideal for vegetable production.
July 23, 2019 9:57 am Leave your thoughts
Look at the beauty I found! During my inspections I have to get off my quad to look for safe ways around berms, floods, or washouts. On the day this photo was taken, I walked a path around a flooded/beaver dammed area looking for access to the rest of the road. While I was unsuccessful in finding the road, I did find many giant champion trees in that area including this massive Balsam Poplar pictured above.
July 23, 2019 9:52 am Leave your thoughts
Just recently I passed my one-year anniversary of writing in a journal. If I’m being honest, I’m not sure if it’s really a journal because I record my thoughts in feelings in it so maybe that makes it a diary (this mildly offends my rugged masculinity) . The entries I’ve had in my “journal” largely reflect the undertones that I’ve had in my blog.
July 22, 2019 10:40 am 1 Comment
I woke up to the morning sunlight showering into my home, warming my chilled face. I yawned slowly and stretched hard, shaking my body. I didn’t want to be up this early. I could hear my children beginning to stir from their slumbers and I knew that sleeping in is not an option with 2 under 2. I wandered over to my babies to be surprised with kisses and cuddles.
July 16, 2019 11:30 am Leave your thoughts
Unfortunately for the last several weeks, the heavens have decided to turn Edson into a marsh. I have brought up my hiking shoes this time, but I suspect that even they would get extremely soaked and/or destroyed by the crazy weather. My coworker Neil, one of the electricians, did a mock rain dance when the weather was hot and dry –
July 15, 2019 11:04 am Leave your thoughts
For this blog I thought I’d share a bit about my hometown of Peace River, a beautiful northern community that depends on forestry to employ many people and support the local economy. If I do a really, really good job maybe you’ll pack your bags and move here, but my goal is just to put my town on your radar.
July 9, 2019 11:09 am 2 Comments
Welcome back, dear reader. In this instalment, I’m going to share my understanding of LiDAR technology, and further delve into how it can inform forestry practices.
What is LiDAR technology?
LiDAR, or Light Detection And Ranging, is a remote sensing method that uses pulses of laser light to measure distances to the earth’s surface,
July 9, 2019 10:59 am Leave your thoughts
It’s the season of wildflower bouquet in my cup holder! Creating art from pressed plants is a hobby of mine that started as a result of a herbarium school assignment in my first year of university. This project opened me up to a whole new understanding and appreciation of the world around me. Over the last few years I have become less reliant on my identification books and more adept at predicting the changing of wildflower seasons or micro-seasons.
July 9, 2019 10:44 am 3 Comments
Hello all! I’m currently finishing up an electronics project and collecting adventure stills to be featured in upcoming blogs. For now, here’s a collection of limericks by yours truly about the versatility of lumber, the importance canoe ownership, and situational silver linings respectively.
As a precursor, please don’t fret, I will be keeping my day job.
Timber,
July 8, 2019 3:52 pm Leave your thoughts
During my time as a layout crew member, I have made several trips to remote logging camps. These trips to and from camp require travelling a considerable distance on the logging roads that surround Williston Lake. These road trips, while potentially long and fraught with hazards, can be a fun experience if you prepare and execute these trips accordingly. I will be providing tips in the form of three categories Safety first,
July 8, 2019 3:40 pm Leave your thoughts
Hey gang!
I hope everyone had a super fun and safe Canada day long weekend! My boyfriend and I went camping near the river that runs through Sundre. We did some fly fishing and played a few games like frisbee and ring toss, it was perfect! The weather was warm and sunny, and it felt so nice to be in a tent again.
July 4, 2019 2:55 pm Leave your thoughts
Hi there dear readers,
Welcome to another blog. I’ve been very busy with field work, since my last blog entry. It has truly been a dream.
An important component of forestry field work is using an ATV to travel to field sites. At Al-Pac, the Woodlands summer students receive a full day of ATV training.
June 27, 2019 10:32 am Leave your thoughts
One part of the Layout and planning component of the forestry industry (and it’s prevalent at a lot of the woodlands management steps) is mapping! Now, because I mentioned this in my first blog you knew this was coming. Maps of the blocks we work in are important for being able to navigate on the ground. We use GPSes and compasses/paper maps to navigate while we are doing layout,
June 27, 2019 10:20 am Leave your thoughts
I figured that random drawings of large pipes and still mats are rather boring… so this week I have asked if I could post videos of those large pipes and still mats moving.
The Press. Codename: Moneymaker. “Our job is to keep that press going without stopping. If it stops, we lose money.” – Every employee I’ve talked to in the mill.
June 25, 2019 2:43 pm 1 Comment
A lot has happened in the last two weeks. With the shutdown of the Armstrong mill I was temporarily relocated to the Lavington division, Tolko’s ground zero mill that has been operational for over 60 years. It’s fascinating to see how different the layout and processes are between mill sites. Older mills are particularly interesting in that the arrangement is a representation of the original design,
June 25, 2019 2:25 pm 3 Comments
Hello readers,
It has not been long since I last wrote a blog entry, but it seems like so much has happened. After weeks of training, I began to wonder if I was ever going to leave my office and experience the sunshine. Luckily, I started fieldwork in the Woodlands department at Al-Pac.
I recently achieved my summer goal to learn about and work in Poplar Farms.
June 25, 2019 1:26 pm 1 Comment
I am happy to announce that, in the last two weeks since I’ve written, I have not gotten my feet wet, nor had either set of wheels stuck! I also proudly towed someone else out of a mess and had only a few nearly-stuck moments with my quad (thank you, winch). Some other exciting opportunities I and students from other departments have experienced include assisting with a grade 6 archeology dig day at the Whitecourt Forest Interpretive Center where a few kids actually found legitimate artifacts,
June 24, 2019 1:39 pm Leave your thoughts
How do trees access the internet?
They log on.
Welcome back to the blog, and thank you for joining me. In this instalment, I’d like to provide a biography of myself, including the experiences that have led me to where I am today – a member of the Greenest Workforce. We will conclude with a brief discussion of some of the topics I’d like to cover in my upcoming instalments.
June 24, 2019 12:00 pm 1 Comment
Hi again! For this blog, I’m going to talk a bit about one of my favorite roles at Mercer Peace River. Part of my job involves leading school field trips at Leddy Lake, and helping to maintain the Leddy Lake Interpretive Trail.
Elementary and junior high students from schools in the region come to the trail to learn about the boreal forest,
June 21, 2019 11:43 am 1 Comment
(SUN-dree)
You must remember from my last post that I described the town of Sundre as a “small town with a lot of character and places to explore”. Well, for this post I’m going to tell you about the exciting recreation opportunities this spicy little town has to offer.
I could go on and on for days about what adventures you could find down here;
June 10, 2019 7:10 pm Leave your thoughts
My Name is Trenton Horsley and I am a summer student working as a Forestry assistant at Conifex Timber in Beautiful Mackenzie, BC! I was drawn to the forestry industry after having spent a previous summer in Mackenzie working as a trail builder and seeing the wealth of opportunity that existed therein, I decided to take the leap this summer and work for Conifex in their planning division.
June 10, 2019 7:00 pm 3 Comments
A warm welcome to you, reader. My name is Leeza Perehudoff, and I am one of the contributors that is fortunate to participate in the 2019 Green Dream Job Blog. Instead of jumping into a biography (which will come later), I would rather you join me on a little journey…
Spring, well, more like summer, had just sprung in my hometown of Castlegar,
