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 Newsletter
Expanding Our Roots
Johnson Ginger- Forest Resources Technology
I am of first people's descent,
and for the past twenty years my goal in life has always been
to work for my tribe one day as a forest practitioner. My tribe
is located around the Bamfield area, on Vancouver Island, BC,
and we are part of the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Tribal Council. Formally
called Ohiaht First Nation, today we have adopted our non-colonialized
name, Huu-ay-aht (sounds like, "who
ate it").
 My first start in forestry was as a tree planter in northern BC,
planting ~279,000 seedlings into BC soil between 1986 and 1990.
This experience gave me the ability to gain further work opportunities
in silviculture and I was able to carry out planting quality checks,
regeneration surveys, free-to grow surveys, plantability surveys
and survival surveys. After ten years in silviculture, I was introduced
to a forester who mentored me in other areas of forestry, specifically
engineering. I take my hat off to Mr. Fred Phillpot, R.P.F., as
he believed that I would make an excellent forest practitioner
and so I chose to acquire some formal training and become a forest
resources technologist.
I chose Malaspina University College 's forestry program, but
first, I had to upgrade some of my grade 11 and 12 courses. I started
that process in Terrace, BC, at Northwest Community College and
later I took distance education courses from the UBC's Forestry
Faculty, finally ending up at Malaspina.
Located in Nanaimo, BC, Malaspina is built on the sunny southwest
slopes of Mount Benson, offering students a great view of the
city as well as the Strait of Georgia . One can even see the outline
of the Sunshine Coast or Vancouver on clear sunny days.
The forest resources program is very well put-together, with state-of-the-art
equipment and experienced instructors who are either Registered
Professional Foresters (R.P.F.) or Registered Forest Technologists
(R.F.T.), or both. Since it is a very condensed program, those
wishing to attend should come well-prepared to go through a battery
of exams, quizzes and demanding professional report writing. This
prepares the student for the responsibilities of practicing forestry
in BC, elsewhere in Canada or abroad.
With the experience I have gained over the years in forestry at
various institutions in BC, and with hands-on training as a field
worker in forestry-related jobs, the Forest Resources Technology
program has taught me more than I had ever imagined forestry to
be. I would recommend Malaspina to any person that seeks a career
as a forest resources technologist.
I encourage young people to stay in high school, as upgrading
later in life as I did may not be an option. Education has given
me more choices in life, and it will give those that complete high
school more choices as well. High school graduates may not want
to pursue post-secondary training right away, but completing graduation
requirements will allow them to consider college or university
down the road rather than having to upgrade first.
Forestry will always be a major industry in
BC, so for those who choose this career, there will always be
bread and butter on your tables. To those who become part of
the forest industry, "May the
forest be with you" © and
to all the forest practitioners working today, "The forest is with
you". ©
Many thanks to Johnson for providing a student's perspective
on post-secondary training!!
©Coined phrase by J. Ginger, 2000
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