“This was such a nice experience. It was fun hiking with the crew and getting to know others in the field.”
In an effort to procure prospective personnel and meet employers in the forestry industry, Ironwood Forestry and The Practicing Foresters Institute (PFI) sponsored the 3rd Annual Field Day held on March 27.
“This field day is an opportunity to meet employers from private industry. We began with team-building activities to become acquainted with one another and then we participated in a group physical challenge,” said Ironwood Forestry owner and Coconino County/Arizona@Work Development Board member Eli Jensen.
The group challenge was a hefty nine-mile hike with up to a 45-pound backpack trekking down Lone Tree Road through the woods and looping back through Flagstaff to the starting location at Markit! Forestry Management off east Butler. Two of the participants carried an Arizona and a U.S. flag. Upon returning, they had a barbecue and met with businesses.
Industry representatives attending the event were Northwest Management Geospatial Analyst Robert Loesch, Campbell Global Area Supervisor, Tabi Bolton, Markit! Regional Operations Manager/Forester Bryan Zebrowski, Forest New Life Forest Products Operations Manager Kevin Ordean and NewLife Forest Products Operation Administration Supervisor Lily Chamberlin.
“I think this is awesome,” said Lauren Hovelsrud. “It’s a really good way to meet people, talk and make connections. I’m just a freshman so I’m not sure what part of the Forest Service I want to work for, but this way I can learn about my options.”
The group also played two name games. “The first one, we used a mnemonic device to learn each others’ names and the next game was a tossing game using a plush Lorax,” said Jensen.
NAU forestry student Sophia Maricich thought the concept of hiring was “very cool. That’s what I love about forestry, it’s very interactive. I look forward to one day working with the Forest Service in fire management or restoration.”
As a contractor and service provider for the Forest Service, Ironwood Forestry seeks to find solutions for forest restoration in the Southwest through innovation, partnership and workforce development. “Our end goal is to be a viable resource for restoring and managing our forests in Arizona and to give our team the pay that their hard work deserves,” said Jensen.
“When I graduated from NAU’s School of Forestry in the 90s, the forest industry had all but left the area. With the Forest Service announcing last November that they would be investing $54 million per year for the next five years in making our forests resilient to catastrophic wildfire, there will be an incredible amount of work to be done by private industry,” said Coconino County Forest Restoration Director and Interim Deputy Public Works Director Jay Smith.
Smith applauded the vision for the recruitment efforts. “Eli’s vision to host a hiring event that allows local industry to find young, professional foresters will be key in the success of restoring our forests back to a healthy state. Eli is leading the way in finding solutions to some very difficult problems that we are facing regarding the workforce in our area.”
City of Flagstaff Business Retention and Expansion Manager and Vice-Chair for ARIZONA@WORK John Saltonstall said he became aware of the Forestry Recruitment 3rd Annual Field Day through an email from Jensen sent to Councilmember Regina Salas, who also is involved in the ARIZONA@WORK Coconino County Workforce Development Board.
“I found the email interesting and reached out to Eli to learn more. It became clear that this event is an innovative workforce solution and as such the story should be captured and celebrated. The primary goal is to connect forestry students with jobs in industry. Eli hopes to partner with NAU in the future with hopes of growing the event,” said Saltonstall.
“I really enjoyed the hike and especially meeting other professionals and forestry companies,” said NAU sophomore Nousseir Bahlous, who is studying sustainability and forestry. “This was such a nice experience. It was fun hiking with the crew and getting to know others in the field.”
The Practicing Foresters Institute (PFI) is a non-profit corporation that seeks to offer educational information for practicing foresters and the public. FBN
By V. Ronnie Tierney, FBN
For more about Ironwood Forestry, call 928-606-0373 or elijensen@ironwoodforestry.com
