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Three dynamic women who have staked out successful careers in the forestry industry will inspire your female students to explore new career pathways.Female role models help get this career on the radar of women and girls because they’re able to see someone who looks like them on the job. The video reveals the personal experiences and insights of successful women working in this field. Forestry and related industries employ millions of people. Increasing numbers of women are establishing rewarding careers in the traditionally male-dominated forestry field. |
Career Options for Women -- Forestry:
This 24-minute video features profiles of three women with successful careers in forestry:
- Karen Trimmer, a helicopter pilot who transports raw lumber by air
- Lorraine Muskwa, a dispatch attendant for a large pulp mill
- Chantal Isabelle, a forest technician responsible for ensuring that woodland development stays within legal boundaries
Additional information from co-workers and supervisors supplements each job profile.
Meet the role models featured in the Forestry video:
Karen: Helicopter Pilot
To see heli-logging pilot Karen Trimmer in action is quite amazing. The guys on the ground trust her with their lives as she hoists huge logs out of the woods, into the air and down to the water with a twin blade helicopter capable of immense lifting power. She's as at home in the pilot's seat as she is being the only girl in a fly in float camp. Her workmates treat her like a sister and respect her like the pro logger she is.
Karen says her job is great because the money is good and she gets to fly. It's a good job if you like the outdoors too, because you're outside all the time! “I love the beautiful sunny days and I get to be out there in the middle of the most beautiful land. It's just gorgeous.”
Karen really flew at her helicopter training. The first day up you get the controls. After a long day on the job, Karen gets to go home…to a barge camp. It has all the comforts of home, the food is great and the people are just like family. Karen even gets a bit of time to catch up on her reading.
Lorraine: Dispatch Attendant
Dispatch attendant Lorraine Muskwa works for a large pulp mill company. Her resumé of forest industry jobs and education includes everything from stand tending to environmental evaluations. This background is all part of Lorraine’s ideal career goal, being a registered professional forester.
There are a lot of other areas in forestry she can branch into as well. She could work in field operations, reforestation, forest protection, fire fighting or be a woodlands coordinator. “Other people would like this job because it's fast paced and demanding. The day always goes by quickly.”
Lorraine is one of those people who’s constantly learning. Her approach to the job is the kind of attitude forest industry employers look for. Build on your knowledge, set goals and move forward. There are plenty of places to go in this business!
Lorraine works 12 hour shifts, four days on and four days off. But when she isn’t working she likes to get outside. One of her favorite places to spend time off is on the golf course.
Chantal: Forest Technician
Chantal Isabelle is a forest technician. Chantal is responsible for ensuring that all kinds of development done on forested land is done well and in accordance with the permits obtained. For example, if a developer needs to trim branches off trees on his land to facilitate access, she will follow the process with the developer from start to finish. She'll make sure the work is done well, that the trees have not been damaged and that the forest remains healthy.
You have to love nature and be resourceful to do this work. Chantal often spends whole days in the woods in all kinds of weather, sometimes in very difficult terrain. But you also need good communication skills to work effectively with the developers. It was towards the end of her college studies that Chantal decided to follow her heart. She left the sciences to go into forestry and she had to convince her father that she was doing the right thing. Now she loves her work and even thinks of pursuing her studies in engineering.
Chantal is convinced that other women would really enjoy this kind of work, especially if they like the outdoors and are in good physical condition. “I'm sure that other women would love this kind of work but they have to be passionate about.
Video details:
Run time: 24 minutes total, including three segments of approximately 8 minutes each.
Format: DVD. Closed-captioned.
Year: 2006
Note: Videos are interspersed with Canadian salary and labor statistics, which are similar to the numbers in the United States.
Policies: There is a no-return policy on these videos.
Grade level: Middle School, High School, Two-Year College, Four-Year University