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Cariboo Highlights
Gail Wallin/Maureen LeBourdais (Forest Educators)

Teacher’s Professional Day- “Skogdag”

The May 6th Professional Development Day was a Skogdag for 13 teachers from School District 27 in the Cariboo/Chilcotin. What’s a Skogdag? That’s Swedish for “day in the woods.”

The day-long event was coordinated by Gail Wallin and Maureen LeBourdais, forest educators in the Cariboo-Chilcotin who work with teachers and forest specialists to facilitate the integration of forest awareness into a variety of subjects. Elementary teachers from the Williams Lake and 100 Mile House area, and as far west as Anahim Lake, got out in the forest for a site tour with local forest experts, and learned first hand how mule deer ecology, First Nations culture, and natural history are key factors in forest planning.

Cathy Koot, Research Coordinator, talks to SD #27 teachers on the Knife Creek Block of the UBC Alex Fraser Research Forest.

The Alex Fraser Research Forest (AFRF) Knife Creek Block is located about 20 km south of Williams Lake off Hwy 97 and is part of the Faculty of Forestry at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Predominantly in the Interior Douglas-fir biogeoclimatic zone, the AFRF was established in April 1987 and is held under Forest Act Tenure by the UBC Faculty of Forestry. It is managed according to provincial regulations and the Cariboo-Chilcotin Land Use Plan to provide an optimal environment for research, education and the demonstration of integrated resource management.

Cathy Koot, Research Coordinator, and Ken Day, AFRF Manager, were the field tour guides for the day. Other participants included Jeff Alexander, Planning Forester for Tolko Industries, Karen Longwell, Williams Lake Tribune, and Neil Davis, Associate Recruiter from the UBC Faculty of Forestry.

Teachers were delighted to get out of the classroom and even a few showers didn’t dampen their enthusiasm for seeing first hand how forest health, cattle grazing, tourism and recreation, maintenance and enhancement of wildlife habitat, etc. can impact forest management decisions.

A picnic lunch was provided, and teachers also received take-home resources for use in their classroom. The most commonly asked question at the end of the day? “When’s Skogdag Two?”

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