Educators and industry leaders are simultaneously touting fire prevention, forestry jobs and environmental education at upcoming events and on their respective websites.
An all-day California Tree School event will be held April 18 at Paradise High School and will be open to all, according to organizers at the Butte Fire Safe Council. The event, hosted by the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources and sponsored by the California chapter of Society of American Foresters, is not a job fair but will nevertheless be a great place for networking, said Kiara Heacock, community education manager.
People who attend the California Tree School event can sign up for four separate classes from a catalogue of 21 options that include topics such as defensible space and home hardening, using beneficial fire, forest insects, conifer identification, reforestation, nature journaling, reconnecting with nature after fire, tax tips for private forest landowners, California trees and their fire adaptations and forest stewardship with beneficial grazing.
The deadline to register is April 3 and some of the classes have already filled as of our press time. A $70 fee for the California Tree School event covers all four courses plus lunch.
Also sharing concerns about fire prevention and healthy forests, Matt Dias, president of the California Forestry Association, met with reporters at a March 31 American Community Media (ACoM) briefing. He focused his message on a growing availability of jobs in the forestry industry.
“The workforce within the forest products industry is aging and aging quickly,” Dias said. “We have persistent staffing shortages.”
Dias said there is a need to reach out to all areas of the state to build a more diverse workforce, and noted that the wildfire crisis has also spurred the need for more forestry workers.
Backed by the three-year, $500,000 California Forestry Sector Jobs Initiative that is funded by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Dias’ industry group has held job fairs and launched a new website to encourage job seekers to consider careers in forestry with a focus on forest management, wildfire prevention and sustainability.
“This initiative not only aims to address workforce gaps but also actively works to engage traditionally under-represented communities, including women, minorities, and veterans,” according to ACoM.
The Forestry Sector Jobs Initiative website currently has just under 100 jobs advertised (including one in Oroville), but Dias promised that number “will increase to 150 to 250 jobs in short order.”
Lindajoy Fenley is Spanish-language editor at ChicoSol.