"What is Forestry?"

I owe my choice of university majors to my father, who every summer took his family across America by car. We saw beautiful mountains, national parks, and wildlife. When I picked up a college course catalog and saw "forestry," I knew immediately it was what I wanted to study.




When I tell people my university major was forestry, they usually get a perplexed look on their face. "What's forestry?" they ask. Forestry is defined as "the art and science of managing forests." A forest is a multiple-use environment. Some management considerations are for wood products, recreation, watershed, aesthetics, and wildlife habitat.




My university classes included chemistry, biology, statistics, mathematics, surveying, and ecology. In order to graduate, it was necessary to complete an internship. I took a job with the United States Forest Service for two summers in Colorado's Rocky Mountains on
the timber crew ( as a lumberjack ). I was given just a 5-minute lesson on how to cut a tree safely and how to make it fall where I want. It was the most dangerous job I ever had, but I never had an accident because I always followed safety procedures.



Trees are cut for many reasons. Sometimes for wood products, to open areas for recreation, to thin an area of trees to produce a healthier stand of forest, and to remove diseased trees. I did the latter. Watching a heavy tree around 30 meters tall come crashing down is pretty exciting ! Without a doubt, working on a timber crew was one of the most interesting and challenging jobs I've ever had.



▼▽▼▼Robの過去の記事を読む━━━━━━━━━━━

・【Fun with Frisbee】2008.10.31 (Fri)
・【Music Manifestation】2008.12.05 (Fri)

ブログランキングに参加しています。
下記の3つをクリックして、応援していただけると嬉しいです。
▼Please help us increase our blog ranking by clicking below!▼

We thank you for your continued support!

Posted By: Robin Tschudi on January 16, 2009