Feedback on 42 nd International Forestry Students Symposium that was held in Canada, in August 2014

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1 Feedback on 42 nd International Forestry Students Symposium that was held in Canada, in August 2014 by Busisiwe Singama 2 nd year National Diploma Forestry student Prepared for: Fort Cox College of Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Forestry King Williams Town 5600, Eastern Cape, South Africa buciemaboosingama@gmail.com September,

2 Executive summary Feedback on 42 nd International Forestry Students Symposium that was held in Canada, in August 2014 Busisiwe Singama 2 nd year National Diploma Forestry student Fort Cox College of Agriculture and Forestry, P.O. Box 1287, King William s Town 5600, Eastern Cape, South Africa Telephone: +27(0) ; buciemaboosingama@gmail.com Participation by a 2 nd year National Diploma in Forestry student of Fort Cox College of Agriculture and Forestry at the 42 nd International Forestry Students Association (IFSA) Symposium 2014 that was held in Canada, in the province of British Colombia, is reported. Some 105 forestry students from a total of 32 countries of Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, attended the Symposium. Excellent exposure in a variety of technical forestry (research, silviculture, forest health, conservation, recreation, and management), environmental (biodiversity, river system management) and social issues was experientially learnt. The writer (Busisiwe Singama) and Athini Mthi, a Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University forestry student were elected IFSA commissioners in the Forest Research and Education Commission for the year As a foreseen fact, it is advised that the burden of making Southern Africa proud on IFSA s research agenda by the students will need institutional support. Keywords: International Forestry Students Symposium, British Colombia, Southern Africa i

3 Contents page Executive summary... i Contents... ii List of plates... iii Acronyms... iv 1.0 Background on the International Forestry Students Association (IFSA) Activities undertaken at the symposium in Canada General assembly meeting The 42 nd General Assembly meeting Field tours Stanley Park field tour Tour of Gavin Lake Forest Mountain pitch hike Ancient forest trail View of the Terry Fox Mountain Take home Conclusion... 6 Acknowledgements... 7 APPENDIX: Distribution of representation of countries at the 42 nd IFSA Symposium in Canada in July 2014 by continental region... 8 ii

4 List of plates page Plate 1. Some IFSS-2014 delegates during their participation in a tree identification tour in British Colombia, Canada... 3 Plate 2. Old growth and natural regeneration of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) at Lake Forest, British Colombia, Canada... 4 Plate 3. Some breath-taking view of the landscape at Terry Fox Mountain, British Colombia... 5 iii

5 Acronyms FCFSA: Fort Cox Forestry Students Association GA: IFSA: IFSS: LC: General Assembly of IFSA International Forestry Students Association International Forestry Students Symposium of IFSA Local Committee of IFSA iv

6 1.0 Background on the International Forestry Students Association (IFSA) What is IFSA? IFSA is a non-political global network of students studying forestry. The organisation has about 73 association members, frequently referred to as local committees (LCs) in about 54 countries. Its history dates back to 1973 in Great Britain where annual meetings of forestry students started, the aim being to build a platform for forestry students to interact internationally and share the ideas about forestry. IFSA meetings are held on an annual basis, the biggest being the international forestry students symposium which spans for about two weeks. Membership details and scheduled activities can be viewed on the website: The 42 nd International Forestry Students Symposium (IFSS) 2014 was attended by 105 forestry students; a total of 32 countries were represented. The distribution of representation of countries and continental regions by participants is shown in the Appendix. 2.0 Activities undertaken at the symposium in Canada 2.1 General assembly meeting The meeting of the General Assembly (GA) is of the highest perched for the decision-making body for the IFSA. All members of the associations took part in the general assembly meeting. In order for each Local Committee (LC) to take part in the meeting of the General Assembly, they are each required to have paid their current year affiliation fees, signed the membership form and submitted this to designated IFSA officials, so that the LC can be given a voting card. 2.2 The 42 nd General Assembly meeting The agenda for the meeting of this GA had been issued in advance. The purpose of the General Assembly was to: i. Receive and approve the annual report on IFSA work that was done in the current year and to plan for IFSA activities for the year 2015; ii. Receive and approve the financial report for current year and the budget for 2015; iii. Elect the IFSA board, Liaison Officers as well as Regional Representatives and Heads of Commissions for the year 2015; 1

7 iv. Fix the membership fees for all the Associations, and; v. Decide on a venue for the next IFSS. The General Assembly congregation performed its tasks through five (5) working groups i.e. IFSA plenary sessions. 3.0 Field tours There were several field tours on this IFSS; the tours were optional. Delegates could choose one tour from the following: Stanley Park field tour; Mountain hiking; Guided tour of the Museum of Anthropology; Shelterwood forest tour; Tour of downtown Vancouver; Salsa cruise on a ship, and; Forest research tour at the Gawin Lake forest area. 3.1 Stanley Park field tour Participating delegates were allocated to teams of four. Each of the four-member team participated in tree identification exercises as a means of learning and getting to understand the local flora. Some blind-folded tests were conducted to get feedback from team members on their ability to identify tree species through the feel of bark and leaf/cone texture. Popular candidates for identification were the following: i. Douglas fir: Pseudotsuga menziesii ii. iii. bigger bark compared to western hemlock bark is very rough and flaky; the tree is one of the most valuable species in the Canadian province of British Columbia Western hemlock: Tsuga heterophylla thin bark rough bark plays a role in important wildlife Western red cedar: Thuja plicata 2

8 This is the official tree of the province of British Columbia; its growth is phenomenal. It easily regenerates through layering, thus, enabling cloning of the old trees. It is shade tolerant and produces a lot of seeds. It can grow in the open as well. It was said to have the effect of increasing acidity in the sea waters. Some of the notable features of Thuja plicata include a flared base and an imposing presence due to its giant size in mature trees. Plate 1 shows a scene during the tree identification tour in which the writer was a participant. Plate 1. Some IFSS-2014 delegates during their participation in a tree identification tour in British Colombia, Canada 3

9 3.2 Tour of Gavin Lake Forest Gavin Lake is a research forest that is popular with visitors who are interested in sustainable forest management studies. Since 1987, some research and teaching services have been offered at Gavin Lake; some 150 hectares of harvest are allowed in the forest each year in the more than 10,000 year-old forest. The dominant species in Gavin Lake Forest are spruce, western red cedar and Douglas fir. Pine species that were there were wiped-out by the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) years back. Some regeneration failure caused by frost in some parts of Gavin Lake was observed; frost is a major limiting factor, particularly for Douglas fir. The shelterwood silvicultural system was being used to promote Douglas fir which is a shade tolerant commercial tree species. Plate 2 shows a site at one of the areas that were visited. Plate 2. Old growth and natural regeneration of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) at Lake Forest, British Colombia, Canada 4

10 3.3 Mountain pitch hike This hike took place on south-facing slopes that were dominated by Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and some species of spruce. Here some good fire resistant characteristics of Douglas fir were observed. 3.4 Ancient forest trail One of British Columbia s rare and hidden treasure trails, approximately 2.3 kilometres, was explored during a minutes walk. The trail had some slippery and steep sections but it was well sign-posted to assist visitors with directions and locations of sites of special interest. 3.5 View of the Terry Fox Mountain Some wild land that was named in honour of an amputee athlete, Terry Fox, who died of cancer at an age of 22 years after the The Marathon of Hope had been instituted to raise funds for bone cancer research, was visited. Plate 3 shows one of the breath-taking views of the landscape at Terry Fox Mountain. Plate 3. Some breath-taking view of the landscape at Terry Fox Mountain, British Colombia 5

11 4.0 Take home A major contrast between forestry practice in the British Colombia and that in South Africa was noted. Commercial forests in South Africa are predominantly planted forests managed on a clear-cutting silvicultural system; in British Colombia, natural forests are the hub of commercial forestry. The writer (Busisiwe Singama) and Athini Mthi, a Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University forestry student were elected IFSA commissioners in the Forest Research and Education Commission for the year The two commissioners will represent the Southern Africa region. 5.0 Conclusion The 42 nd International Forestry Students Symposium was a great experience, providing a lot of diverse exposure in a variety of technical forestry (research, silviculture, forest health, conservation, recreation, and management), environmental (biodiversity, river system management), social and even forest philanthropy! The student networks that were created will be a lasting resource. However, the immediate task for the South Africans who were elected to the IFSA Forest Research and Education Commission for Southern Africa is to swiftly embark of a project that will make the nation proud. 6

12 Acknowledgements The author takes great pleasure in acknowledging the financial support that was received from Forestry South Africa and Fort Cox College of Agriculture and Forestry. I am indebted to several staff members of Fort Cox, particularly Mr Phillip Tshidzumba (the Head of Forestry Department) for painstaking logistics of the trip. Last, but not least, I am grateful to my colleagues in the Fort Cox Forestry Students Association (FCFSA) for nominating me for the trip to Canada. 7

13 APPENDIX: Distribution of representation of countries at the 42 nd IFSA Symposium in Canada in July 2014 by continental region Africa continental region Country National flag South Africa Nigeria Europe continental region Country Austria National flag Denmark Finland France Germany Ireland Italy Netherlands Portugal Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey... Appendix I, continued 8

14 Asia and Middle East continental region Country China National flag Indonesia Iraq Japan North Korea Lebanon Philippines Malaysia Taiwan Syria Thailand America continental region Country National flag Brazil Mexico Canada Peru 9

15 Guyana New Zealand 10