News & Events

Many thanks to our amazing foresters participating in 2019: Kathryn Cressell, Forico (Left),
Clinton Sim, Green Triangle Forest Products (Top Right),
Courtney Pink and Noel Bull, SFM Environmental Management (Middle Left),
and Alison Read and Adam, South West Fibre and LV Dohnt & Co (Bottom Left)

Over 150 students from around Australia have had the chance to talk in real time to a forest worker in the field last month – all without leaving their classroom! Facetime a Forester was held as part of National Ag Day (21 November), allowing students to chat with a forester via Zoom web video conferencing and learn more about their daily work, and the renewable cycle of forestry. Students had plenty of questions including “how long does it take to grow a pine tree?”, “what’s your favourite tree?”, and “what products are made from the trees you grow?”.

More than 150 students from Payne Road State School, Barnier Public School, St Pauls College and the Katherine School of the Air took part in the event, along with six foresters Kathryn Cressell, Forico, Clinton Sim, Green Triangle Forest Products, Courtney Pink and Noel Bull, SFM Environmental Management, and Alison Read and Adam, South West Fibre and LV Dohnt & Co. Facetime a Forester allows students to connect with professional foresters in real time as a class incursion, without having to travel to learn more about the renewable forestry cycle, and allows foresters to show off their workplaces and day to day activities without any associated OH&S concerns for students.

Teacher Sarah D. from the Katherine School of the Air said her students enjoyed learning more about sustainable plantation forests. “Today’s session with Kathryn the forester was outstanding,” she said. “Students were amazed that there are farms for timber and all of the perks of being a forester. It was great to link what happens in the forest with how things happen in a cattle station. It really helped students understand and contextualise what was being said.”

Facetime a Forester was an initiative of the Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia for National Ag Day, and was conducted in partnership with ForestLearning.

If you’re keen to have your class involved in a Facetime a Forester session in 2020, or to be involved as a forester, please register your interest, including term timings and year level/subject, at info@forestlearning.edu.au.