World Forestry Day on March 21.

Wikipedia states that Forestry is the art and science of managing forests, tree plantations, and related natural resources. People often visualize gargantuan logging equipment clearing huge swaths of forest to feed our ever increasing need for wood-based products. This is only a small portion of the careers in forestry available to those who want to work with nature.

There are Foresters who are involved with sustainable forestry, making sure that our forest resources (not only trees) meet the needs of the present generation without jeopardizing those of the future’s. An almost impossible task without help from the general public. It is in this group that me and my buddies proudly belong to.

Well, there were these scientists who met in 1971 and decided that people should know the importance of forests in our lives and the applied science that makes it possible for us to enjoy the benefits coming from them. They declared that there should be a World Forestry Day, which we are going to observe this March 21. Yep, it isn’t as exciting as having a new iPhone or MacBook nor as fun as celebrating Paddy’s Day but let’s take a look around, I’ll bet there’s something in the vicinity that came from forests. Even the oxygen that we breathe, most of them little molecules came from large stands of trees.

So what can we do to help celebrate World Forestry Day? The usual suggestion is pay a visit to the nearest forest and enjoy its freshness and beauty. Except that there’s not much of them left and a lot of folks don’t have easy access to one. Anyways, we need more than a few people visiting forests. We need people spreading the word. We need young guns to replenish the ranks of the old guard.

I once remembered a college teacher of ours asking us why we we choose the field of Forestry instead of more lucrative careers. Being young and idealistic, we were resentful of her for poking her nose into our affairs. But she was right, the future of Forestry doesn’t look bright. It’s not only the forests that are in danger of getting wiped out, the people who dedicate their lives working to save them are dying off too. My buddies and I, we often talk of who are we going to pass the torch to when our bones become too brittle, our knees too painful.

Even then, we find it hard to encourage kids to follow our trail. Sure there are Foresters and Forestry technicians who found a comfortable niche but, for the most part, it’s a lot of hard work with low pay, not to mention the dangers inherent to the profession. The decision must come from the heart. But we do get to celebrate World Forestry Day once a year. :chuckle: