Marcus Card is training with Forestry Commission Scotland and is currently a mid-year student on a one-year placement as part of his Forest Management degree at Aberdeen University.
“It was the variation in the tasks which attracted me to this scheme: we get to move through the various departments within Forestry Commission Scotland. At the moment I am supervising re-stocking sites, and I look after digger operations and re-planting. The trees were felled a year or two previously and we’re replacing them with new saplings which will grow to maturity in about 40 years. Next I’ll move on to harvesting, then forest management and in the summer I expect I’ll be involved with educating school parties and the public who come visiting. Forestry Commission Scotland offers 26 places each year to students at universities across the UK and we have to go through an interview process to get a place on the scheme. “I’ve always liked walking in the forest with our dogs and hoped that one day I could take a job in forestry – and here I am. I started studying through a college course on general forestry and am now on an honours degree in forest management. For me the highlights are getting to know all the ins and outs of forestry and learning new skills. I also like meeting people, and I hope we can get more people to visit our forests in the future. I think we should be explaining to visitors how sustainably-managed forests produce a renewable resource that can be used to made natural products.
“I’ll certainly be staying within the forestry sector and I’d encourage anyone with an interest in this area to come and join me.”
