TRANSFOR Canadian Field Course 2008

Forests and Forestry in Canada

Course report

Autumn 2008

Jonna Heikkinen

2

My trip to Canada started on 8th of August with my travelling companion Henna from Helsinki-

Vantaa International Airport. Our flight to Vancouver flew through Frankfurt and Calgary. The

flight was long and exhausting, but finally after 27 hours of travelling we were in Vancouver. We

stayed two days in the HI-Vancouver Jericho Beach hostel near the University of British Columbia

and explored the city of Vancouver.

10.8

Our Transfor course started on 10th of August. On Sunday afternoon we took a bus from our hostel

to the University of British Columbia. The course leaders had booked an accommodation for us in

the Pacific Spirit hostel in the Place Vanier Residence at UBC. After leaving our luggage to the

hostel we had a BBQ in the Forest Science Centre. In BBQ we met our course leaders in BC, Bruce

Larson and Craig Farnden and of course all the students on our course. There were 15 students from

four different countries Marek from Great Britain, Matias and Silja from Germany, all eight stu-

dents from Sweden and Kari, Anna, Henna and I from Finland. During the evening we ate well and

got to know each other. As an ending to our BBQ, Bruce gave us an introduction lecture to the for-

estry in Canada and in British Columbia. We were told how the foresters in BC are still cutting

original forests and how enormous are the areas being cut, but also how they are fighting against the

mountain pine beetle in BC.

11.8

The first day of our course started with breakfast at the parking lot of the Place Vanier Residence at

UBC. After breakfast we headed to north to Squamish. In Squamish we met Jeff Fisher who was

going to be our guide for the day. In our first stop we visited a place where they were handling all

the felled timber. The trees taken out of the forests were delivered with big trucks as whole trunks

to the handling area. Then the men measured and cut the trees to most valuable pieces. After laying

of the trunks were ready to be send to the clients. Then we headed towards the Tree farm License

38. Our first stop in the farm was a depot where they held all their forest machinery. All their ma-

chinery was very different from our Scandinavian machinery. Huge and dangerous! Then we took a

little break by this beautiful river, where Jeff told us about the wildlife in the farm. Then we kept

going onwards and had a lunch beside a little river. In the afternoon we visited a planted forest and

a forest which had been thinned. In the evening we drove to the UBC Ski Lodge in Whistler where

we had our dinner.

3

Picture1. Jeff Fisher and felled timber.

12.8

We had a breakfast in the Ski Lodge around 8 o’clock and after that we packed our luggage into our

cars. Our plan was to take a hike in the Joffre Lakes Provincial Park. On the way to the park we

made some shopping in Whistler. The hike in the Joffre Lakes Park was very nice and on the way

up to the glacier we made several stops. While stopping many different issues were talked about:

different tree species, stand dynamics and natural disturbance patterns in the area. Natural distur-

bances in that particular area are snow, wind, fire, different diseases and insects. We could also see

how the vegetation was chancing while walking up to the lakes because of shorter growing season.

After the hike in the park we made one stop on our way to Lillooet. We talked about partial-

cuttings, because about 20 percent of the cuttings are done as partial cuttings in the area. Also we

talked about mountain pine beetle damages in the area. Lack of cold winters and forests fires has

made possible for mountain pine beetles to breed and disperse dramatically in the area with serious

consequences. We stayed the night in Lillooet in Mile-0-Motel and had a nice dinner in local restau-

rant.

4

Picture2. The Joffre Lakes Provincial Park.

13.8

Our day in Lillooet started with breakfast and photos. Then our guide Ken Gay told us about the

history of the area, how there have been gold washing since 19th century. Also Ken and Craig told

us about the forest classification in BC. Then we headed towards Alex Fraser Research Forest. The

Alex Fraser Research Forest is about 10 000 hectares of forest and it’s taken care of Gavin Lake

Research Station. The station is established for education and there are five people working in the

research station. We had a lunch in Gavin Lake and after that we had several stops in Alex Fraser

Research Forest. During the afternoon were talked about different tree species in the area, mountain

pine beetle and different logging operations. The most interesting subject for the day was the moun-

tain pine beetle. The beetle is now serious problem in Canada and especially in British Columbia.

The beetle is spreading with mass occurrence and it is attacking dead but also living trees. The cli-

mate change is making worse the situation. The beetle does serious damage to the forestry and the

economics in BC by reducing the cutting amounts in the area. Our accommodation for the day was

at UNBC Quesnel River Research Centre. The centre was built 1989 for salmon breeding. We had a

BBQ in the evening, but also a little presentation on Pacific Salmon. Unfortunately we didn’t see

any Salmon in the river!

5

Picture3. Ken Gay and a clear cutting in the Alex Fraser Research Forest.

14.8

Our day at UNBC Quesnel River Research Centre began as usual by eating breakfast, making lunch

for the day and packing our luggage into the cars. Our plan was to spend all our day in Alex Fraser

Research Forest with Ken. Our first subject for the day was regenerating the grasslands. Regenerat-

ing is very important, because the area of the grasslands is shrinking and about 90 percent of the

endangered species in the area are living in the grasslands. Also non-native species are threatening

the native, endangered species living in the grasslands by colonizing the living areas. The grass-

lands are being regenerated by fire which is the best way to increase the amount of native species.

During the day we also talked about mule deer and its living habitats. The mule deer and its’ living

habitats are taken to account when planning the use of the forests. After our day in Alex Fraser Re-

search Forest we had a long drive to Alberta. Around 6 pm we arrived to Mt. Robson and met our

new group leaders Alex Drummond and Simon Landhausser. We had a great supper at Mt. Robson

Café and then we headed to Hinton and to our hostel in Hinton Training Centre.

6

Picture4. Mount Robson.

15.8

Our first day in Alberta was very interesting. We had breakfast in Hinton Training Centre at 7.30

o’clock. After the breakfast we drove to Jasper National Park. Dave Smith was our guide for the

day. First we visited the fire station where he showed us the equipment used to fight the fire. Then

we had a tour in the Jasper National Park. Dave told us about fire management in the park and how

they use fire: some areas are let to burn and some areas are protected from the fire. He told us how

the fire is accepted and how it is a natural part of the nature, by using fire they can bring natural

mosaic in to the forests. Fire is very important for ecological restoration in the park, but also for

controlling possible mountain pine beetle attacks. After leaving the Jasper National Park we went to

Miette Hot Springs where we spent all afternoon hiking and swimming in the hot springs. In the

evening we had supper in Hinton Training Centre.

7

Picture5. Dave Smith and fire management in the Jasper National Park.

16.8

Our day started with breakfast in Hinton Training Centre. We spend all the morning with Alex and

Simon. We visited many places and talked about mining and its’ effects on nature and forestry. We

also talked about logging operations in the lodge pole pine stands, cultivation and planting black

spruce. After lunch C.Flynn from Woodhills Research Institute came to tell us about stream cross-

ings. She told us how different road constructions in stream crossings have serious effects on fishes

and the water ecology in the rivers of the area. Because of the crossings, there is lot of sedimenta-

tion in the rivers. Sedimentation complicates the breeding of the fishes and reduces the amount of

fish food in the rivers. The studied area was 10 000 m2 and there were about 4000 stream crossings

of which 40 percent are impenetrable. It’s very important that the fishes can get trough the

crossings. That’s why Woodhills Research Institute is restoring the stream crossings. During the

afternoon we saw already restored crossings and in one stop we looked for fish food, like mayflies

from the mountain river. In the evening we had a BBQ in Cache Percotte, where we also stayed the

night.

8

17.8

Our breakfast was served in Hinton training center where we could also take a shower, because

there weren’t any running water in Cache Percotte. In the forenoon we visited a beautiful aspen

stand where Simon taught us about managing aspen in mixed-wood stands with white spruce. With

mixed-wood stand it’s possible to grow 120 years old aspen. After removing 75 percent of the

aspen the spruce is let to grow. It’s challenging to grow mixed-wood stand when there are two

species growing in different growth rate, but they are the most productive stands. In the afternoon

we visited Millar-Western sawmill in Whitecourt. They told us the history of the factory, little bit

about the operations of the factory and then we had a guided tour in the pulp mill and in the saw.

Our supper was at Krause Lake in Swan Hills Firebase. In the evening we updated our diaries and

sent some emails back home.

Picture6. Simon and the aspen stand.

9

18.8

Our day started with very heavy breakfast in Swan Hills Firebase. Then we headed to the Millar-

Western forests with our guides from the company. During the day we saw logging areas belonging

to the Millar-Western Ltd. and talked about the logging methods in this area. First we saw an area

which was clear-cut and we could actually see one forest machine working in the stand. Then we

visited a seeding stand which was planted in 1994 where they had been doing weed control with an

aeroplane. The last stop for the day was a stand which had been thinned. It was very interesting to

see a stand where had been made a commercial thinning which was very similar to thinnings made

in Scandinavia. In the afternoon we went for swimming and then headed back to Swan Hills

Firebase where we had our supper. In the evening we all did our own tasks, washed our clothes and

wrote emails. We could also see how the firefighters left with helicopters to fight against the forest

fires.

19.8

Our trip to Edmonton started with breakfast in the firebase. On the way to Edmonton we bought

some groceries and we had our lunch in the Elk Islands National Park. After the lunch Alex and

Simon gave us a little lecture about the national park, bison and fire in the area. The Elk Island

National Park is the biggest fenced are in Canada and it was established for elks. Still the park is

more famous for its bison. There are two species of bison, the wood bison and the plains bison. The

wood bison is one of the endangered species in Canada. Then we drove to Edmonton to the

University of Alberta where we were going to stay for two nights in the Lister Hall. In the evening

I, Henna and Anna went for a run. After the showers we walked to see the Fringe Festival, which

was held near the Lister Hall. The Festival was very nice; there were food and live performance.

20.8

This day was our off-day in Edmonton. We had a quick breakfast in Lister Hall and then I, Henna,

Silja and Anna headed to the West Edmonton Mall to do some shopping. It took all day to see the

place and to do all the shopping. The place was enormous! In the evening we took a bus back to the

Lister Hall, went for a run and packed our luggage, because next day we were going to travel to

Fredericton.

10

21.8

This day was full of travelling! Our day started at 4.00 am. We left Lister Hall at 5.00 am and our

first flight left at 7.00 am. We flew from Edmonton to Toronto and from Toronto to Moncton. We

landed to Moncton 17.00 pm local time and met our new group leaders Dirk Jaeger, Luke Amos-

Binks and Jean-Francois Carle. In the evening we had very nice BBQ though were very tired be-

cause of flying all the day.

22.8

My first day in New Brunswick started with a run with Henna in Fredericton. After showering we

had breakfast and then we packed our cars and headed for St. Leonard to meet the JD Irving people.

The plan for the day was to go and see how the local company JD Irving is working in forestry.

First we had a little introduction in the office about the company. The JD Irving is a family com-

pany, about 120 years old and the company is working in many different branches of business. The

company is the main forests owner in New Brunswick. After the introduction we drove to Black

Brook District where we meet Gaetan Pelletier, who was our guide. In Black Brook District we

could see actual thinning operations in the forest. Then we visited several different stands and

talked about different forest management. We were told how the thinnings are made, we talked

about planting the forest, weed control, different regulation when managing the forest and also

hardwood management. We were also shown some trials that they had done concerning weed con-

trol and patch cutting. After the interesting day in Black Brook District we drove to Bear’s Lair

Camp where we had supper. In the evening we went to see Bill Miller’s Canoe Shop which was

amazing experience!

11

Picture7. Harvester in the Black Brook District.

23.8

After nice breakfast in Bear’s Lair Camp we went to canoeing in Topique River. I did the canoeing

with Dirk, which was really nice, because I hadn’t done the canoeing before our trip. It was amaz-

ing to paddle along the river for two hours. The weather was beautiful and we could see many ani-

mals along the river. After canoeing we went for a hike to Mount Carleton Park. In the evening we

went for supper to the Hilltop- restaurant and stayed the night in Fredericton.

24.8

In the morning we had a presentation about the forests of New Brunswick at the university. Then

we had a guided tour around the university. In the afternoon we drove to Sussex to see the McCrea

Farms. There we had a presentation about the Fundy Model Forests. The Fundy Model Forests are

established 1992 and it’s consisting of ten different forests. There are many different co-operators

working with the Model Forests and they working together to improve the forestry in the area. After

lunch we did a tour around the McCrea Farm. They showed us the Christmas tree plantation, the

Pond, the Fish Hatchery, The Maple Syrup plantation and the Hunting Cabin. In the evening we

went for supper in Sussex in a restaurant called Blue Canoe.

12

25.8

Our day in Sussex started with a breakfast in Blue Canoe restaurant. Then we drove to St. John and

on the way there Jean-Francois talked with us about the main trends of the forestry in New

Brunswick. In St.John we visited JD Irving tissue mill. First we had a presentation about the

factory. Mark Tudor told us about the history and the present state of the factory, the machines, the

paper making process and the products of the factory. The factory is producing toilet paper, kitchen

paper, napkins etc. JD Irving owns four different tissue mills and the factory in St.John is one of

them. There are about 100 workers in the factory and they are using mainly hardwood-softwood

mixture to make the paper. The markets on tissue paper have been very stable for many years now.

Then we had a guided tour in the factory. After the tour Dirk had organized the Transfor Olympics

for us. There were several questions about the topics that we had learned during our stay in New

Brunswick. Kari from Finland won the competition. Then we headed to the St. John airport and

after few hours on waiting we flew back to Toronto. The flight was late when we finally arrived to

the airport of Toronto where we met our teacher for the last week, Andy Kenney and John McCar-

ron. It was already very late when we arrived to our hostel Canadiana Backpackers Inn. We checked

ourselves in and after that we had a little introduction given by Andy for the next four days. Then

we had dinner in a nice Irish restaurant nearby.

26.8

Our day started at 7 am in the hostel where we fixed little breakfast for ourselves. Then we drove to

the Durham Forest where Ken Elliot gave us a tour. First he told us about the history of the area,

how the first people had arrived in mid 19th century. He also told us how agriculture is important

livelihood and how 80-90 percent of the forest area is privately owned. We also talked about Oak

Ridges Moraine. Oak Ridges Moraine is an important formation in the area because it’s providing

all the drinking water. That’s why the forests in the Oak Ridges Moraine should be kept live and

healthy. However some of the area has been cut down for agriculture and now it’s difficult to get

the trees to grow back because of strong erosion. Then he showed us his experiment plots where he

had performed several different thinning operations. After lunch Ken showed us several stands with

hardwood management. In the afternoon Marney Isaac came to tell us more about the soil formation

in the different parts of the Oak Ridges Moraine. In the evening we did some groceries, shopping in

Toronto.

13

Picture8. Lunch in the Durham Forest.

27.8

A first thing for the day was to go for a run with Henna. Around 6.30 am we run around the CN

Tower, which was really nice! Then we had breakfast in our hostel. Today we were going to meet

people from Regional Municipality of York. They were a bit late so we had some time to go and

have coffee in Tim Horton’s. After coffee we had a really interesting lecture in the office given by

Sandra Malcic. There are six persons working in Regional Municipality of York. They are working

in urban forests and there is lot of pressure how to manage, protect and use the urban forests at the

same time. Education is an important part of their work. In the York Region there are only 22, 5

percent of protected forest and they have high hopes to protect more. The goal for the year 2026 is

25 percent. Because of the number of people it’s very hard to protect more forest. After the lecture

we did a little tour in the forests of York Region. We saw a young forest, which was protected by

the law and couldn’t be cut down. We visited also a forest which had been taken over by mountain

bikers. Mountain bikers are a real problem in these forests because of their big ecological footprint

caused by littering and erosion. After the lunch we visited a red pine stand and gardens which was

going to be cut down. In the evening we went for shopping in the centre of Toronto!

14

28.8

The day started with a run with Henna and Anna. Then we had breakfast in the hostel and around

8.30 am Andy and John came to collect us from the hostel. We drove to the University of Toronto

where Andy gave us a lecture about Forests in Settled Landscapes. After Andy’s lecture Philip van

Wassenaer came to teach us about Urban Forest Innovations. We talked a lot about the benefits

having forest and trees in the city. The things that we could pull together were for example better air

quality, microclimate, easier storm management, energy saving and preventing noise disturbance.

Also we talked about the veteran trees and the tree risk assessment. After Philip’s lecture he showed

us how they scan the trees to find out whether the tree is a risk for the environment. After lunch we

met Norman DeFraye and Ruthanne Henry from the City of Toronto. We did a little tour to a local

park and talked about the management of the parks in the city of Toronto. After the day of urban

forestry we went to visit the Hall of Fame. In the evening we had dinner in the Wayne Gretzky’s

99-restaurant where we ate a huge chocolate cake for dessert!

Picture9. Philip van Wassenaer scanning the tree.

15

29.8

After the breakfast Andy and John came to collect us from our hostel for the last day of our course.

We started the day with Andy’s lecture about urban forestry, which was so interesting and fun! We

all were participating to the conversation. After lunch we had a little ending conversation and then

we took a group photo. Then our course was officially over! In the afternoon we went for shopping

(again) and in the evening we had sushi in the restaurant nearby, which was really interesting!

30.8 & 31.8.

The last to days in Toronto we could spend on our own. Saturday after having pancakes with syrup

in our hostel we took a bus to the Niagara Falls. The day was long and tiring, but it was totally

worth doing it. The scenes in the falls were amazing! On Sunday we visited the CN Tower, packed

our luggage and headed to the Pearson International Airport, where our journey ended with saying

goodbye to our new friends.