Forestry Summer Student – Lil’wat Forestry Ventures
For the first half of the co-op term, I have been working as part of the Silvicultural surveying crew at Lil’wat Forestry Ventures. We have been focusing on the type of surveys that monitor the health and growing condition of forest blocks that have been treated in some way, including through burnings, logging, plantings, brushing, etc. I have learned a lot about this process from start to finish: how to plan out the surveys, evaluate the history and current state of a forest block, assess problems of access, vegetation health, stocking standards and species competition, use the technical side to collect the necessary data to accurately process it and finally to make silvicultural recommendations. This has been particularly rewarding as LFV carries out these tasks with a mixed communal, ecological and business approach that holds long-term, sustainable forest management as a goal.
How Co-op has been of great importance to me is that as an international student new to the Canadian forest industry, the program helped me get a sense of the career trajectories I can take and has been supporting me along the process of acquiring and succeeding at this position. I would recommend joining Co-op especially towards other international students such as myself. An unfamiliar country and industry are daunting enough; the Forestry Co-op program can offer guidance and a network of support at any point of your journey.