If you go out in the woods: Millar Western foresters teach kids about outdoor fun and safety
On a recent sunny, summer’s day in Whitecourt, a group young people gathered in a park to meet two Millar Western woodlands employees, Conor O’Donnell and Shannon Crossland, and learn more about how to enjoy the outdoors, safely and responsibly. Shannon and Conor loaded up some equipment and headed to Whitecourt’s Rotary Park on July 5th, ready to make a presentation to kids from the Whitecourt Teen Centre and Boys and Girls Club. The talk was a chance for Whitecourt youth, and other community residents out enjoying the park, to meet forestry professionals and find out about their work, to see and work with some cool gear, and to learn more about opportunities and responsibilities in the forest landscape.
Conor, Silviculture Supervisor for Millar Western’s Whitecourt and Fox Creek operations, spoke to the kids about the important work of reforestation and then demonstrated tree planting and conifer identification, while Shannon, the company’s Forest Protection Coordinator, provided information on wildland firefighting, complete with a demonstration of firefighting equipment.
Other topics the foresters covered for the enthusiastic young audience included how to set up a camp-site and manage a campfire safely, and bear, cougar and wolf awareness – key outdoor recreation skills for young Whitecourt residents looking forward to spending some time in the woods!