A summer student at Tolko Industries in Prince Albert has received a Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) scholarship and the opportunity to blog about his experiences in the forestry industry.
Jordan Rock, 22, was shocked in mid-June when the association told him he was one of 11 recipients of the 2020 Green Dream Bloggers. The program was launched in 2013 to provide students in the forestry products sector a chance to promote their work throughout the summer.
“There’s a lot of the misconceptions that go with forestry,” said Rock.
“I hope I can really emphasize all of the positive things that the forestry industry companies do in the province and across the country.”
Rock shared his first blog post on June 25, where he introduced himself to readers. In that post, he said the forestry industry employs thousands of people across Canada who properly manage the country’s forests.
He recently graduated from Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s Integrated Resource Management program. He’ll be virtually attending the University of Regina in the fall, chasing an Environmental Biology degree.
In the summer of 2019, he dove into forestry with a job at the provincial government’s Forest Service as a student field technician. This is a different side of forestry though, he said, and is eager to jump into more of an industry job.
This summer, Rock was slated to work in Slave Lake, Alta., but was transferred to Prince Albert because of COVID-19.
“I have read the other students’ blogs before, so I would hope that any students who are thinking about going into forestry would kind of go on to the website and read other people’s blogs. I think it gives you a good idea,” said Rock.
Blogging is also an ideal format, he said, because it allows him to reach a larger audience rather than talking to individual people.
“It’s a huge honour and I am super thankful,” he said. “Just to be able to share my experiences in the summer is something that most people don’t get.”
Rock’s introductory blog post said his hobbies include outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing, camping, quadding and hiking.
Tolko Industries also had two other recipients, Jace Timmer and Ty Edwards, both in Meadow Lake. That’s where Tolko’s main office is located, but they have a smaller location in Prince Albert.
“Despite the serious challenges posed by COVID-19, our team was happy to see such great interest in the program again this year from both forestry companies and summer interns,” said FPAC President and CEO Derek Nighbor in a news release.
“The Green Dream Bloggers program not only provides development opportunities for young Canadians and raises awareness of the different jobs in our industry, but it also showcases in real time how we are sustainably managing our forests and the innovative and environmentally-friendly products being manufactured at Canadian mills.”
Each of the 11 summer student recipients will be posting biweekly on www.the greenestworkforce.ca.
