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The Greenest Workforce Celebrating National Forest Week
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Picture the forest The Association of BC Forest Professionals (ABCFP) and the Truck Loggers Association (TLA) are holding an art competition from September 17 to October 15 to celebrate National Forest Week. The art competition is open to kids aged four to 12 years old. Parents can submit their own kids’ artwork or teachers can enter the work of the whole classroom. Children from across the province are invited to draw a picture of what the forests in their communities mean to them. There will be three winners – one from each age group. Winners will receive a $50 gift certificate to Chapters and will have their pictures published in the ABCFP and TLA magazines and posted on the websites of both organizations.
“As a forest professional, I spend my days with policies, laws and permits and sometimes forget about the fun side of forests,” says Christine Gelowitz, RPF, president of the ABCFP. “It is always fantastic to be reminded about the fun factor when we see how children interpret forests.” “Children have a unique perspective of our world,” said Dwight Yochim, RPF, executive director of the TLA. “And they have an ability to capture that perspective and share with us a glimpse of what they see each and every day. What they perceive and how they interpret it reminds us of our own childhood when everything was new.” Pick up your pencil crayons and visit the ABCFP or the TLA websites to
download the art competition entry form, www.abcfp.ca or www.tla.ca. The Association of BC Forest Professionals, established in 1947, is the largest professional forestry association in Canada with more than 5,400 members. The association registers and regulates professional foresters and forest technologists under authority of the provincial Foresters Act. The TLA (Truck Loggers Association) represents over 400 independent coastal forest contractors and their suppliers in British Columbia. The TLA promotes a thriving, sustainable forest industry in BC, and fosters communication and education within resource communities, urban centres and governments.
Teresa MALLAM/Northern Report A bear carving by Prince George chainsaw carver John Rogers greets visitors to Studio 2880.
Write on about the forest The Association of BC Forest Professionals (ABCFP) wants young people to celebrate National Forest Week so it is hosting an essay contest. The essay contest is open to students aged 13 to 18 and carries a top prize of $300 (as well as two runner-up prizes of $150 each). Students are invited to write a short essay about what the forest means to them or to the province of BC. They might choose to write about recreational opportunities, the environment, the economic benefits or the cultural aspects of the forests or a combination of these factors. Young people can also sign up for the ABCFP’s START program which is designed to give high school and post-secondary students a head START on their way to becoming forest professionals. This free subscription gives students the ABCFP’s magazine, BC Forest Professional, and the enewsletter, The Increment, in addition to getting a discount on some association training events such as the annual conference. “I’ve learned that young people care deeply about the forest and the health of our environment,” says Christine Gelowitz, RPF, president of the ABCFP. “The essay contest gives youth a way of expressing their feelings on forests and gives the ABCFP the opportunity to learn what is important to them.” Visit the ABCFP website to find the essay contest rules or to sign up for a free START subscription, www.abcfp.ca. The Association of BC Forest Professionals, established in 1947, is the largest professional forestry association in Canada with more than 5,400 members. The association registers and regulates professional foresters and forest technologists under authority of the provincial Foresters Act.
Special Edition: The Northern Report
Prince George Free Press - SEPTEMBER 2013
What’s Inside 2013 4 Picture the forest – a contest for Forestry Week ......................................................................................................2 Write on - Forest professionals conducting a writing contest for Forestry Week...........................................................2
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Droning on about the forest industry – Drones used for research..................................................................4-5 Forest professionals help students with some cash............................................................................................6 Canfor celebrates Forest Week – A message from CEO Don Kayne..................................................................8 New president for the Council of Forest Industires.....................................................................................................10
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Woodlot owners hold annual general meeting...........................................................................................................11 Association of British Columbia Forest Professionals celebrate Forest Week.............................................................12 Fewer forest fires even though it was a hot, dry summer...........................................................................................13 Forest tent caterpillars can damage the forest...........................................................................................................14
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Take a Walk in the Woods at the Willow River Interpretive Trail..................................................................................15 Wood is a natural inspiration for a lot of artists around Prince George.....................................................16-17 Three northern artists present forest show at international exhibit in Banff.............................................18-19
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Droning on about drones it’s all about mapping B.C.’s forests Allan Wishart Northern Report It’s a pilot project without pilots. The CNC Applied Research and Innovation Department is teaming up with J.R. Canadian Mapping, a Prince George company, on a new way to map forests. J.R. Canadian Mapping is using drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), to map a portion of CNC’s research forest. “What we’re trying to do is assess the feasibility of this method,” says Hardy Griesbauer, director of the department. “By this fall, we will be able to analyze the data collected.” John Rankin, J.R. Canadian Mapping president, says the mapping was not the original intent of the company approaching CNC. “We had no intention of doing anything like this in conjunction with CNC. With the cost of a commercial UAV anywhere between $30,000 and $50,000, we wanted to create our own, and went to CNC to see if there was a way to work together.” However, the company was able to create its own UAV in house (“There’s a lot of information on the Internet,” Rankin says) and decided to work with CNC on the mapping. “We thought it would be a good way to test the systems we have in place and validate our claims for what the process could do.”
Griesbauer says students at CNC are working on the ground as part of the same project. “Our students are mapping the same areas as the planes are flying over. That will give us data to compare to the photos, which will show how accurate the program is.” Rankin says there will be no cross-comparison of data until the end of the project. “We won’t have any information from Hardy. When we’re finished, we’ll give him our data and they will compare it to what they have.” The project sees a drone travel about 15 metres a second, taking one high-resolution photo every second. The plane is able to cover about 250 hectares in a 45-minuyte flight. Rankin says there have been some minor weather problems. “We want to be able to fly when the sun is at the highest angle, which unfortunately is also when the winds usually pick up. We have a great number of redundant images though, so we can pick the best ones of each section.” According to Transport Canada regulations, the UAV can only fly at heights up to 120 metres, which Rankin says is a good height for the project. In a press release announcing the project, Rankin said he was excited about the idea. “This study is very important to us because if we can prove our methodology is productive, it will be a great boon to our company and the forest industry.” The images should allow researchers to predict tree heights, numbers and types of trees, the location of streams and slopes, and the health of the forest.
We want to be able to fly when the sun is at its highest angle, which, unfortunately, is also when the winds usually pick up. -John Rankin
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DRONE MAPPING
Photo courtesy of J.R. Canadian Mapping J.R. Canadian Mapping project development manager Christina Tennant and president John Rankin show the size of one of the unmanned aerial vehicles they are using in a mapping project at CNC’s research forest.
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Allan WISHART/Northern Report John Neumann, left, of CNC and Kathy Lewis of UNBC accept a cheque from Ed Morrice of the Association of BC Forest Professionals. The money will go to bursaries and scholarships at the two schools for students in forestry and natural resource programs.
Forest professionals help students Allan Wishart Northern Report It wasn’t supposed to make any money. But when the annual conference of the Association of BC Forest Professionals (ABCFP) was held in February, there was some money left over at the end. “We never try and make a profit,” said Ed Morrice, an instructor in the Natural Resources Environmental Technology program at CNC and one of the organizers of the conference. “We were very well-supported by the community and by the industry, and we had some left over at the end of the day.” The money, slightly more than $6,000, was donated the ABCFP’s charity arm, ForesTrust, and set aside for bursaries and scholarships for CNC and UNBC. The presentation was made Sept. 9.
Kathy Lewis, a forestry instructor at UNBC, said it was nearly impossible to overstate the importance of this kind of funding. “When I was a student in the program some years ago, I was lucky to have parents who could help me get through the first year. Then I got a good summer job each year to pay for my education the following year.” Now, she said, things are different. “Many students struggle to make ends meet. The tuition and rent and other costs have gone up faster than the money earned at the summer job. You’ve also got more students coming back to school, and they face a different set of difficulties. “These bursaries and scholarships do make a difference.” CNC instructor John Neumann agreed, but said the aid available helped students and schools in another way as well. “It attracts the students to the schools to start with. They go through the calendar, and they see how many scholar-
ships and bursaries are available, and they figure this must be a good program to get into.” He acknowledged they sometimes need that help attracting students these days. “When I started at CNC in 1997, we had about five applications for each seat available in the program. Now, we have to find ways to attract students.” Morrice said the conference this year had been designed with young people – in and out of the industry – in mind. “We took it upon ourselves to make an impact on young students and young people. We designed it to appeal to young professionals, and we reached out to non-traditional industries, like oil and gas, where they have need of forestry professionals.” The group also partnered with the Council of Forest Industries to bring high-school students to the conference. “They came to a couple of our sessions, and then did tours of UNBC and CNC. “I heard one of them say, ‘Best field trip ever!’”
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Canfor celebrates Forest Week Don Kayne Canfor September 22 to 28 is National Forest Week in Canada. It can be easy to take our vast natural resources for granted, but our forests provide us with security and sustainability unmatched anywhere else on Earth. As one of the world’s largest forest products manufacturers, our company’s current and future success depends on sound forest management, and National Forest Week is a great opportunity to reflect on how we all rely and benefit from our vast forest resources. Our forests have a big part to play in providing for our expanding world, and Canfor is proud to be producing truly sustainable building products for markets around the world. As global populations continue to grow, governments will need to meet those housing needs in a way that is affordable, renewable and safe – and lumber is the only building material that meets all three criteria. B.C. lumber is shipping across North America and across the Pacific to fill these needs already, and that’s good news for our future in British Columbia. A thriving forest products industry can meet building needs around the world, but here in Canada it opens doors for young people and families to create rewarding lifestyles in their own communities. Lumberjacks are a thing of the past – at Canfor, biologists, professional foresters and nursery specialists are all part of how we manage
forest sustainably. Our success depends on sustainable forest management to keep our woodlands strong and vibrant, and we are proud of the high standards we’ve put in place over the last decade. Third-party certification of best practices ensures that our forests are benefitting from rigorous re-planting, robust measures protecting wildlife habitat and diversity, and conserving recreation opportunities for our communities. Canfor is one of the few companies in the world able to offer products certified under all three of the major certification programs in North America – the Canadian Standards Association, the Forest Stewardship Council and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. We are proud of our commitment to forest certification, and the opportunities it provides for the public to participate in and understand how we manage our forestlands. Innovation is leading the forest industry into the future, as leaps in technology and new ways of thinking allow us to make more out of less, cut down on waste, and convert wood by-products into clean-burning biofuel. These are the first steps forward as we continue to be more sustainable, more adaptable, and more resilient to changes in our forests and in the world economy.≠Canadian forests build our homes, provide jobs in our communities, store carbon from our atmosphere, and are naturally renewable – so they’ll continue doing all that and more for generations to come. This National Forest Week, take a moment to appreciate our gifted place amongst Don Kayne, President and CEO of Canfor. the greenest forests in the world.
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Special Edition: The Northern Report
What it’s all about. Dave Ebbett’s logging truck carved out of wood, is an actual working model. It is in display at Studio 2880.
Teresa MALLAM/Free Press
COFI gets a new boss The Council of Forest Industries (COFI) Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of James Gorman as President and Chief Executive Officer effective September 23, 2013. Gorman brings extensive public policy and senior management experience to his new role. He most recently served the Government of British Columbia as the Deputy Minister of Advanced Education and prior to that as Deputy of Education (K-12) and the BC Public Service Agency. His accomplishments include transforming the BC Public Service into a top employer; expanding the province’s K-12 education brand into international markets; and managing complex labor relations files on behalf of government.
“We are exceptionally pleased to have James joining us”, stated Nick Arkle, COFI Board Chair, “as his experience at the highest levels of the public service will be instrumental in helping us shape an exciting and productive future for our forest industry and the employees and communities that depend upon it.” Gorman has a Masters Degree in Political Science from McGill University and a Bachelors Degree from the University of British Columbia. The Council of Forest Industries (COFI) is the voice of the BC interior forest industry. COFI members vary in size and produce lumber, pulp and paper, panels and engineered wood products at more than 60 facilities across the interior. All share a commitment to a future based on employee safety, sustainable forestry and manufacturing practices, and innovative product development.
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& Commercial industrial maintenance supplies File Photo Students of the Sunny Day Preschool lead the charge up a trail at Forests for the World last year. The school made a hiking trip to the site, and enjoyed some beautiful weather.
Woodlot owners meet Woodlot licensees and owners from around the province met between September 19 and 22, on Quadra Island and in Campbell River. The North Island Woodlot Association hosted the three-day meeting where they showcased “Woodlots – The Island Way - Community Friendly Forestry” through workshops, meetings and fieldtrips on Quadra Island. Woodlotters include private forest land owners, called woodlot owners and Woodlot Licencees, managers of an alternative tenure to managing Crown forest lands in the province. Woodlot licences are B.C.’s smallest Crown tenure managed for timber, being anywhere from 400 to 1,200 hectares in size and are often combined with private forest land. The people managing these forest lands are the stewards of the land employing foresters and contractors in their local community to ensure the forest lands are well managed. There are 74 woodlot licences and many woodlots on Vancouver Island from Victoria to Port Hardy. Many are close to urban communities, rural subdivisions and sensitive forest areas. Wolfram Wollenheit, professional forester and president of the North Island Woodlot Association, says: “The woodlot program connects people and forests. Through woodlots, local communi-
ties experience the direct benefits of their adjacent forests.” Forests Minister Steve Thomson spoke to a full house Friday night at April Point Lodge. “This is a great way for woodlotters to pool their considerable knowledge on responsible forest stewardship. It is encouraging to see local communities embrace this program and subsequently benefit from the jobs it creates,” said Thomson. Other presenters included: • Judi Cunningham – UBC Sauder Business School, “Family Forests.” • Rick Monchak, – Timberwest, “Woodlot Forestry on a TFL.” • Bill Markvoort and Terry Basso, – Probyn Log Group, “Log Markets: Opportunities & Planning for Future Cycles”. The Federtion of BC Woodlot Associations was founded in 1988. The FBCWA represents 23 woodlot associations, whose membership includes woodlot licensees and small private woodland owners from throughout British Columbia, united in an effort to demonstrate exemplary forest and natural resource management. The NIWA is a member of the FBCWA and represents 32 woodlot licensees and more than 20 woodlots. To find out more about woodlots in British Columbia go to www.woodlot. bc.ca.
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Submitted Photo Amanda Brittain of the Association of British Columbia Forest Professionals urges everyone to get out and celerate National Forest Week.
Celebrate National Forest Week Amanda Brittain Assoc. B.C. Forest Professionals During National Forest Week, September 22-28, British Columbians are invited to join Canadians nationwide in celebrating and learning more about our spectacular forests and all they have to offer. Since its creation in the 1920s, National Forest Week provides an opportunity to learn more about the importance of our forests and their contribution to our economy, culture, history and future. This year’s theme, The Greenest Workforce, highlights forestry as a “green� career choice. From sustainable resource management and water stewardship to wildlife protection and habitat conservation, forestry offers a wide range of opportunities for individuals wanting to contribute to a sustainable, healthy environment. Careers ranging from biologist, silviculture specialist, lab technician, tenures forester, lands officer, forest health technician and species at risk specialist – just to name a few – provide numerous opportunities for an excit-
ing and rewarding career in the forest sector. You can participate in National Forest Week in multiple ways, including: • Plant a tree. • Tour a local mill, tree farm, woodlot or nursery. • Use wood to create fun items such as bird and bat houses. • Learn about organizations that demonstrate sustainable forest management. • Take a walk in the woods nearby and get to know your forest. • Learn how First Nations use the forest for shelter, medicine and food. For more information about National Forest Week, including events happening around the province, resources for teachers and students, and additional ideas for how to celebrate visit the National Forest Week webpage (www.abcfp.ca/about_us/events/national_forest_week.asp). Our forests play a significant role in the daily lives of all British Columbians. Millions of trips are made into B.C.’s forests each year for work and recreation. During National Forest Week, get out into the woods and take time to enjoy our forests firsthand.
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Fewer forest fires in sunny summer Tom Fletcher Northern Report B.C. has emerged from one of its sunnier summers in recent years with a below-average number of forest fires. As of Sept. 1, the B.C. government’s wildfire management branch record 1,687 reported wildfires for the season, compared to an average year of nearly 2,000 fires. This year’s fires burned a total of 11,434 hectares, far less than the average damage of more than 130,000 hectares. Wet weather returned with school to large parts of the province, after a sunny summer that saw several dry-weather records set. For the first time since records were kept, Vancou-
ver airport recorded no rain for the entire month of July. The number of reported fires so far this year is slightly higher than the total for last year, but the total area burned in 2012 was nearly 10 times greater. The province spent $133 million on firefighting last year, a total that should be much lower when the bills are added up for 2013. Open burning remains banned for the Southeast Fire Centre region until as late as Sept. 20. Campfire bans were lifted Aug. 26 for the Kamloops and Coastal Fire Centre regions, and earlier in the month for the Northwest, Cariboo and Prince George regions as dry conditions were relieved. Despite public information campaigns and open burning restrictions, provincial statistics continue to show about 40 per cent of wildfires are human caused, with most of the rest sparked by lightning. The relatively quiet fire season allowed B.C. to send crews to help battle wildfires in Washington, Montana and Idaho during August.
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Special Edition: The Northern Report
Prince George Free Press - SEPTEMBER 2013
Caterpillars impact the forests Forest tent caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria), an insect pest native to North America, has historically caused extensive defoliation of trembling aspen, oak, ash, maple and white birch. The area defoliated by forest tent caterpillar ranged from 14.3 million hectares in 2001 to 150,000 hectares in 2009. Widespread outbreaks have occurred in much of the boreal forest at intervals of 10 to 12 years and typically last 3 years or less at the stand level and up to six years at the landscape level, depending on natural control factors such as weather, host-parasitoid interactions and forest structure. Trees are weakened by repeated defoliation, which makes them more susceptible to stresses such as drought or other pests. Two or more years of heavy defoliation can also result in a severe reduction in the radial growth of trees and may cause considerable branch and twig mortality. Forest tent caterpillar is one of the causes of aspen decline reported in Alberta and Ontario, and tree mortality has been shown to increase with the duration of sustained defoliation. Population outbreaks of forest tent caterpillar have not been as widely studied as those of other cyclic insects, such as the spruce budworm and gypsy moth. However, forest tent caterpillar outbreaks represent a model system of forest insect disturbance ecology. In addition, from a timber supply perspective, the decline caused by forest tent caterpillar defoliation could have important implications for management planning. Furthermore, if climate change alters the pattern of future outbreaks, the overall health of the boreal forest in Canada could be affected, with potentially serious environmental and economic impacts. For these reasons, researchers at Natural Resources Canada’s Canadian Forest Service have been working with collaborators to improve our understanding of the disturbance ecology of the forest tent caterpillar by examining
historical records of outbreaks. This will help resource managers develop effective pest management strategies. The information will be further used in predicting the influence of climate change on outbreaks and the effects of insect outbreaks on carbon budget estimates.
PATTERNS OF OUTBREAKS Records of forest insect defoliation in Ontario and Quebec have been maintained since the 1930s. The researchers used Natural Resources Canada defoliation maps from 1938 to 2002 to study the frequency, severity and return interval of forest tent caterpillar outbreaks at a broad scale, in order to better understand the processes driving these outbreaks. The maps showed that six major outbreaks had occurred, with the infestations lasting two to five years and recurring every seven to 11 years. The largest average intensity of defoliation occurred during the period 1951–54.
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE OUTBREAKS Previous studies that analyzed data from Ontario found that outbreak cycles of forest tent caterpillar were sensitive to local climate, which can influence temporal processes governing population growth and host-parasitoid interactions. The Canadian Forest Service researchers and their collaborators sought to determine whether topography or climatic factors had a greater influence on the synchronization of outbreaks. They hypothesized that the ability of insects to disperse in the landscape was more important, with the relatively flat topography of Ontario and Quebec allowing for greater dispersal than the mountainous regions of the west, where there has been less synchronization. Understanding this effect is important in management efforts, because it could help determine the survey range required around new infestations to accurately detect their extent.
EFFECTS ON OVERALL HEALTH OF DEGREE OF ASPEN SYNCHRONIZATION Repeated defoliation by forest tent caterpillar may not BETWEEN OUTBREAKS allow trees to recover to a normal state of health, which can
The researchers also wanted to determine to what degree outbreaks were synchronized among the various regions, as well as the patterns and processes governing synchronization among populations. The outbreaks recurred periodically and somewhat synchronously among regions of Ontario and Quebec. Three regions—northwestern Ontario, eastern Ontario/ western Quebec and southeastern Quebec—showed the strongest large-scale, synchronized fluctuations. However, defoliation in the vast surrounding hinterlands tended to be infrequent and sporadic. In addition, there was one area in northeastern Ontario that stood out as having experienced persistent defoliation between 1992 and 1999.
lead to decline. This appeared to be the case in northeastern Ontario, where an area that experienced eight consecutive years of defoliation starting in 1992 was subsequently mapped as in decline in the early 2000s. The researchers wanted to know if this pattern of outbreak was consistent with the other populations in the insect’s range and if there was an increasing trend in outbreak severity over the entire northeastern region. They concluded that this particular population occupied a region of marginal habitat for forest tent caterpillar and that the population fluctuations followed those of the other populations only if weather and tree health at the time of the outbreak were conducive.
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Take a walk in the woods at the Willow River Interpretive Trail The Cariboo Section of the Canadian Institute of Forestry (CIF), in its annual tradition of celebrating National Forestry Week, will take over 600 Prince George school children on a Walk in the Woods Tour to the Willow River Interpretive Trail, between September 23 and 27. In 2013 not only will elementary students and their teachers have an opportunity to take this “Walk in the Woods” Tour, but so will the general public. Bus transportation will be provided at no charge, however pre-registration to reserve a seat is required. Forest professionals will be acting as tour guides and will provide a knowledgeable and entertaining hour long trek along the Willow River Interpretive Trails, which are located east of Prince George. This event is part of the local celebrations for National Forestry Week. The CIF theme this year is The Greenest Work Force which is intended to highlight the important work of forest practitioners and to promote the value in choosing forestry as a career. People recreate in the forest, they collect berries in the forest, and they work in the forest. The event also addresses a challenge of National Forest Week that is to first and foremost encourage learning about our forest heritage and to support greater recognition of this valuable resource. The tour takes place at the Willow River highway pullout on Highway 16 East. This is the starting point for a forest trail maintained by the Willow River Demonstration Forest Society. Most of the year it provides an opportunity for hikers to take a self-guided tour of a typical forest site of the Sub-boreal forest that surrounds Prince George. The site is located on the edge of the 1961 Grove fire and also was more recently attacked by mountain pine beetle. The site illustrates the changing nature of the forests whether by the hand of man or by nature. The site is in a state of “collapse and rebirth” that is illustrated in the short 45 – 60 minute
walk in the woods. The tour will leave Prince George on Friday September 27 at 11:30 a.m., returning at approximately 2:30 p.m. For more information and/or to reserve a seat on the bus, please contact Peter Forsythe at 250-563-9158. The CIF/IFC has been the national voice of forest practitioners since 1908. Our mission is to advance the stewardship of Canada’s forest resources, provide national leadership in forestry, promote competence among forestry professionals, and foster public awareness of Canadian and international forestry issues. Its membership includes foresters, forest technicians and technologists, educators, scientists and others with a professional interest in forestry. We work in government, industry, research, education and consulting and represent one of the largest professional voices for forestry in Canada. The Cariboo Section is based in Prince George and is one of eighteen Sections that cover the country. Each Section organizes a variety of activities involving the sponsoring of regular meetings and programs, field trips, participation in public awareness programs and the preparation of briefs and policy statements. The Sections provide the basic linkage with provincial governments and provincial forestry issues. The Association of BC Forest Professionals (established 1947) ensures that British Columbia’s forests are in good hands. It registers and regulates professional foresters and forest technologists under authority of the Foresters Act. It
has more than 4,300 members, including registered professional foresters, registered forest technologists and those working towards registration in BC. It is the largest professional forestry association in Canada and the first to include forest technologists. Locally the association is represented by a Network of Forest Professionals (NFPs) and their purpose is to: 1. Raise local public awareness regarding the profession and the role of professional foresters. 2. Promote good forest stewardship at the local level. 3. Contribute to the ABCFP’s provincial effort to promote good forest stewardship. 4. Act as a forum for professional development activities and open discussions of professional issues. 5. Promote good professional/social relations within the membership (between age groups and employment sectors) as well as with other professional and technical groups. 6. Be a conduit for internal association communications to local members regarding association and professional matters. 7. Develop local media relations to respond to local and provincial issues.
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Teresa MALLAM/Northern Report Natural cracks in the wood become facial lines in a beautifully detailed face carving set among other large sculptures outside Studio 2880. The work of art is by local wood carver Elmer Gunderson, who created other enigmatic faces in trees along the Cottonwood Trails.
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Natural inspiration Teresa Mallam Northern Report Artists have always found inspiration in nature. In the North our forests have much to offer not just with employment for people working directly in the industry but also for our region’s talented artisans. For many of them wood is just another medium, a canvas upon which to express their talent and creativity. Members of the Prince George Wood Turners Guild and individual artists such as chainsaw carver John Rogers or woodworker Elmer Gunderson have turned raw “stumps” of wood into beautiful pieces of art. Many artisans in recent years have also made use of beetle kill wood with its distinctive blue stains to make beautiful bowls and other giftware. Some people may not be able to see the forest for the trees – but innovative artisans see harvested trees and fallen branches as potential art: museum quality wildlife sculptures, wooden chests, childrens’ toys, bird Teresa MALLAM/Free Press houses, ornate walking sticks, A grove of wood sculptures outside the Studio 2880 complex displays just-completed works by Keith Carlson who carved masks, musihand-carved chess pieces and cal instruments, pots and paintbrushes to represent local guilds and arts groups (PGSO, PG Potters Guild, etc.) along with a black bear sculpture by chainsaw carver John Rogers and a face sculpture by Elmer Gunderson. even tiny tea light holders.
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File Photo Wells artists Claire Kujundzic and Bill Horne, partners in Amazing Space Studio and Gallery, at Studio Fair last year.
Forest art Three northern artists exhibited thie work at an international forest science conference in Banff. Claire Kujundzic and Bill Horne of Wells and Annerose Georgeson of Vanderhoof exhibited their pine beetle-based art at the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) conference in Banff from September 15-19. Forest scientists from around the world gather periodically at various IUFRO working groups. The Banff conference brought together the Ecology and Management of Bark and Wood Boring Insects group with the Population Dynamics of Forest Insects
group. The conference partners were IUFRO, the University of British Columbia’s Department of Forestry, Natural Resources Canada, and the Government of Alberta. Their topic was Forest Insect Disturbance in a Warming Environment. Kujundzic and Georgeson both appear in a chapter about mountain pine beetle-inspired art in Andrew Nikiforuk’s book, Empire of the Beetle. Georgeson organized the first “Red and Blue” group exhibition of beetle art at the Saik’uz First Nation near Vanderhoof, in 2007, which went on to tour many communities in north central British Columbia.
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File Photo Vanderhoof artist Annerose Georgeson is one of three artists picked to display art featuring our forests at an international show in Banff.
Three picked for international show FROM PAGE 18 “I’m very excited to have this opportunity to share my work with an international audience,” said Kujundzic, who created an installation of torn, stained canvas “trees” for the athletes’ villages in Vancouver and Whistler during the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. She also exhibited her paintings and “trees” at IUFRO conferences in Montesclaros, Spain and in Sopron, Hungary in 2011. Horne was looking forward to sharing his silkscreen investigations of mountain pine beetle galleries and hearing the latest research at the conference.
Forest insects and pathogens affect all of us. The mountain pine beetle infestation has affected over16.3 million hectares of forest and 675 million cubic metres of wood in BC, making it one of the most critical outbreaks in the world. Devastation on this scale has impacted the economy, culture and environment of every community in the Cariboo-Chilcotin-Nechako Region. Dead pines have become a potent symbol of the fragility of the environment, and the artists have used a variety of techniques in their art to depict what it feels like to live in the midst of such rapidly changing forests. The result is an
evocative, diverse series of work. To cover their travel and conference accomodation costs, the artists embarked on a special fundraising initiative – making a selection of their art available for sale. Among the pieces available is a unique silkscreen print edition of mountain pine beetle “galleries” that the three artists produced together on used, reclaimed denim material - a reference to “denim pines.” Other artworks range from semi-abstraction to representational, from vivid to muted colour palettes, and from small to large sizes.
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