School VET Coordinators Forest Learning Bus Tour a success
 |
 |
 |
 |
| VET teachers touring Wellington Discovery Forest |
Tour of the Wespine Softwood mill | Tour of the Bunbury Port | Tour of Wapres site at the Bunbury Port |
On the 22nd July the Leschenault Timber Industry Club hosted over 30 Vocational Education and Training coordinators from around the southwest Western Australia on a forest learning teacher professional learning bus tour. The primary intent with this group was to raise their awareness of career and employment opportunities in the forestry and forest products industry in WA and the advanced technology applied in the industry today.
The group visited the Wellington Discovery Forest east of Bunbury in-forest demonstration management area to hear about native forest management, associated career paths and education programs available to the schools at the Wellington Discovery Forest Eco-Centre with Nearer to Nature education team.
Teachers were then provided a snapshot of the plantation industry with a visit to a radiata pine plantation at Dardanup. Wespine Resources Manager Brad Barr, along with Forest Products Commission plantations manager Richard Hartwell, discussed plantation management, harvesting practices and softwood products. Greg Meachem, state representative for Forest and Wood Product’s WoodSolutions market development program, spoke on the innovative use of wood in the built environment.
Following lunch the group then splitting up to tour different parts of the Wespine timber production operation.
Last stop for the tour group was a visit to Bunbury Port and WA Plantation Resources chip export facility with operations manager Gary Stanger.
Very positive feedback was received from the VET teachers partcipating including:
‘Being able to link with a different agricultural industry and experiencing the work environment and opportunities available to school leavers’;
‘Learning about the diversity and sustainability of the industry’;
‘To learn so much positive information about the industry’;
‘Being given the opportunity to understand how wood is a renewable resource, also getting the opportunity to attend the factory’.
Background to the Teacher tours and its hosts:
The Leschenault Timber Industry Club (LTIC), Located in Bunbury, WA, has been conducting its Forest Learning Teacher Tours since 2016. The objective is to engage with school teachers to raise awareness of the diversity, technology and resource sustainability of the native and plantation forestry and forest products industry. Better informed teachers then feel more confident speaking about the industry and using the range of teaching resources provided through the ForestLearning website. The club coordinates the tour dates with a school’s student free PD days. It raises funds to conduct the tours primarily through fee for service tree planting programs and community grants, and is able to take on tour up to 45 teachers at a time. LTIC members volunteer to accompany the group, supported by Government and industry representatives, adding voice to the diversity of forest products industry.
Upcoming Tours
LTIC has two tours organised later in 2020
- October - VET career advisory group,
- November - Teacher group from schools in the Great Southern WA region.
Want to learn more and join an upcoming tour?
If a school in WA would like further information on LTIC’s Forest Learning Teacher Tour email greg@timberinsight.com.au.
