Fourth-generation logger Loren German knew since he was a young boy that he wanted to work in the woods. But he had one piece of advice for a gaggle of third-graders who had gathered around his feller-buncher to learn how it works. “Learn computers,” he told the class from Columbia Elementary School near Redding, Calif. “At the age of 30, I had to learn computers, and it’s harder when you’re older.”
German, who works for Creekside Logging Co., in Redding, was among 16 industry pros who recently provided a unique field trip for Northern California schoolchildren – an inside look at an actual logging operation. About 800 kids from elementary through high school made the trek May 1-2 to a Sierra Pacific Industries-managed timber site near Viola, about 40 miles east of Redding.
The outing is hosted each year by organizers of the Sierra Cascade Logging Conference, which is held in Anderson, Calif., in February. Students go from station to station watching various pieces of equipment in action and learning what they are, and they’re also taught about such efforts as water quality control, fire prevention and forest replanting.
The field trip is one of numerous events throughout the year aimed at attracting the next generation of workers to an industry whose labor force is aging. The trips to the woods also help students – and their teachers – “understand it’s not what environmentalists say it is,” says Larry Strawn, owner of Blue Ridge Forest Management and an organizer of the field day. “It’s a managed forest.”
Many of the education events are part of the logging conference itself. While a keynote speaker is entertaining attendees at a kickoff breakfast on the first day, about 800 students – mostly fourth-graders – tour the conference’s heavy equipment exposition at the Shasta District Fairgrounds. In addition, students from area community colleges and universities take part in logging sports competitions, and several local colleges have booths at the conference trade show.
Read more on this from the Western Farm Press at https://www.westernfarmpress.com/crops/education-programs-seek-woo-young-people-timber-industry.