Students get hands-on forestry lesson

The classroom became trees and machines for a group of Taieri College students, taking the opportunity to see how to cut and thin trees.

The students spent a day last week in Berwick Forest and saw the ins and outs of the forestry industry.

Wenita Forest Products chief financial officer Kate Rakin said there have had various schools groups through to see how a forestry operation runs and get people interested in the industry.

Like many industries, forestry has an ageing workforce and is always looking for keen workers.

The visit around the forest included a visit to Stewart Logging to view harvesting operations and have a look at the machinery involved. Introductions and inductions will be held on site.

They also visited Halfway Road Native Reserve to complete the walk through the native area and used stream health monitoring and assessment kits to test the water.

The students had a look at how trees were pruned and thinned and how to use various equipment.

The group visited the site of the Radiata Pine Breeding Company’s genetic gains trial.

Wenita Forest Products staff demonstrated the use of drones in forest operations.