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Feedback on 42nd International Forestry

Students’ Symposium that was held in

Canada, in August 2014

by

Busisiwe Singama

2nd year National Diploma Forestry student

Prepared for:

Fort Cox College of Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Forestry

King Williams’ Town 5600, Eastern Cape, South Africa

E-mail: buciemaboosingama@gmail.com September, 2014

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Executive summary

Feedback on 42nd International Forestry Students’ Symposium that was

held in Canada, in August 2014

Busisiwe Singama

2nd year National Diploma Forestry student

Fort Cox College of Agriculture and Forestry, P.O. Box 1287, King William’s Town 5600,

Eastern Cape, South Africa

Telephone: +27(0)406538033; E-mail: buciemaboosingama@gmail.com

Participation by a 2nd year National Diploma in Forestry student of Fort Cox College of

Agriculture and Forestry at the 42nd International Forestry Students’ Association (IFSA)

Symposium 2014 that was held in Canada, in the province of British Colombia, is reported.

Some 105 forestry students from a total of 32 countries of Africa, Asia, Europe and the

Americas, attended the Symposium.

Excellent exposure in a variety of technical forestry (research, silviculture, forest health,

conservation, recreation, and management), environmental (biodiversity, river system

management) and social issues was experientially learnt.

The writer (Busisiwe Singama) and Athini Mthi, a Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

forestry student were elected IFSA commissioners in the Forest Research and Education

Commission for the year 2015. As a foreseen fact, it is advised that the burden of making

Southern Africa proud on IFSA’s research agenda by the students will need institutional

support.

Keywords: International Forestry Students’ Symposium, British Colombia, Southern Africa

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Contents

page

Executive summary .................................................................................................................................. i

Contents .............................................................................................................................................. ii

List of plates ....................................................................................................................................... iii

Acronyms ........................................................................................................................................... iv

1.0 Background on the International Forestry Students’ Association (IFSA) ........................................ 1

2.0 Activities undertaken at the symposium in Canada .......................................................................... 1

2.1 General assembly meeting ............................................................................................................ 1

2.2 The 42nd General Assembly meeting ............................................................................................ 1

3.0 Field tours ......................................................................................................................................... 2

3.1 Stanley Park field tour .................................................................................................................. 2

3.2 Tour of Gavin Lake Forest ............................................................................................................ 4

3.3 Mountain pitch hike ...................................................................................................................... 5

3.4 Ancient forest trail ........................................................................................................................ 5

3.5 View of the Terry Fox Mountain .................................................................................................. 5

4.0 Take home ......................................................................................................................................... 6

5.0 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 6

Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. 7

APPENDIX: Distribution of representation of countries at the 42nd IFSA Symposium in Canada in

July 2014 by continental region .............................................................................................................. 8

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List of plates

page

Plate 1. Some IFSS-2014 delegates during their participation in a tree identification tour in British

Colombia, Canada ................................................................................................................................... 3

Plate 2. Old growth and natural regeneration of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) at Lake Forest,

British Colombia, Canada ....................................................................................................................... 4

Plate 3. Some breath-taking view of the landscape at Terry Fox Mountain, British Colombia ............. 5

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Acronyms

FCFSA: Fort Cox Forestry Students’ Association

GA: General Assembly of IFSA

IFSA: International Forestry Students’ Association

IFSS: International Forestry Students’ Symposium of IFSA

LC: Local Committee of IFSA

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1.0 Background on the International Forestry Students’ Association (IFSA) What is IFSA?

IFSA is a non-political global network of students studying forestry. The organisation has

about 73 association members, frequently referred to as local committees (LCs) in about 54

countries. Its history dates back to 1973 in Great Britain where annual meetings of forestry

students started, the aim being to build a platform for forestry students to interact

internationally and share the ideas about forestry.

IFSA meetings are held on an annual basis, the biggest being the international forestry

students’ symposium which spans for about two weeks. Membership details and scheduled

activities can be viewed on the website: http://www.ifsa.net/discoverifsa.php

The 42nd International Forestry Students’ Symposium (IFSS) 2014 was attended by 105

forestry students; a total of 32 countries were represented. The distribution of representation

of countries and continental regions by participants is shown in the Appendix.

2.0 Activities undertaken at the symposium in Canada

2.1 General assembly meeting

The meeting of the General Assembly (GA) is of the highest perched for the decision-making

body for the IFSA. All members of the associations took part in the general assembly

meeting. In order for each Local Committee (LC) to take part in the meeting of the General

Assembly, they are each required to have paid their current year affiliation fees, signed the

membership form and submitted this to designated IFSA officials, so that the LC can be

given a voting card.

2.2 The 42nd General Assembly meeting

The agenda for the meeting of this GA had been issued in advance. The purpose of the

General Assembly was to:

i. Receive and approve the annual report on IFSA work that was done in the current

year and to plan for IFSA activities for the year 2015;

ii. Receive and approve the financial report for current year and the budget for 2015;

iii. Elect the IFSA board, Liaison Officers as well as Regional Representatives and

Heads of Commissions for the year 2015;

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iv. Fix the membership fees for all the Associations, and;

v. Decide on a venue for the next IFSS.

The General Assembly congregation performed its tasks through five (5) working groups i.e.

IFSA plenary sessions.

3.0 Field tours There were several field tours on this IFSS; the tours were optional. Delegates could choose

one tour from the following:

Stanley Park field tour;

Mountain hiking;

Guided tour of the Museum of Anthropology;

Shelterwood forest tour;

Tour of downtown Vancouver;

Salsa cruise on a ship, and;

Forest research tour at the Gawin Lake forest area.

3.1 Stanley Park field tour

Participating delegates were allocated to teams of four. Each of the four-member team

participated in tree identification exercises as a means of learning and getting to understand

the local flora. Some blind-folded tests were conducted to get feedback from team members

on their ability to identify tree species through the feel of bark and leaf/cone texture. Popular

candidates for identification were the following:

i. Douglas fir: Pseudotsuga menziesii

bigger bark compared to western hemlock

bark is very rough and flaky; the tree is one of the most valuable species in the

Canadian province of British Columbia

ii. Western hemlock: Tsuga heterophylla

thin bark

rough bark

plays a role in important wildlife

iii. Western red cedar: Thuja plicata

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This is the official tree of the province of British Columbia; its growth is phenomenal.

It easily regenerates through layering, thus, enabling cloning of the old trees. It is

shade tolerant and produces a lot of seeds. It can grow in the open as well. It was said

to have the effect of increasing acidity in the sea waters. Some of the notable features

of Thuja plicata include a flared base and an imposing presence due to its giant size in

mature trees.

Plate 1 shows a scene during the tree identification tour in which the writer was a

participant.

Plate 1. Some IFSS-2014 delegates during their participation in a tree identification tour in

British Colombia, Canada

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3.2 Tour of Gavin Lake Forest

Gavin Lake is a research forest that is popular with visitors who are interested in sustainable

forest management studies. Since 1987, some research and teaching services have been

offered at Gavin Lake; some 150 hectares of harvest are allowed in the forest each year in the

more than 10,000 year-old forest. The dominant species in Gavin Lake Forest are spruce,

western red cedar and Douglas fir. Pine species that were there were wiped-out by the

mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) years back.

Some regeneration failure caused by frost in some parts of Gavin Lake was observed; frost is

a major limiting factor, particularly for Douglas fir. The shelterwood silvicultural system was

being used to promote Douglas fir which is a shade tolerant commercial tree species. Plate 2

shows a site at one of the areas that were visited.

Plate 2. Old growth and natural regeneration of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) at Lake

Forest, British Colombia, Canada

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3.3 Mountain pitch hike

This hike took place on south-facing slopes that were dominated by Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga

menziesii) and some species of spruce. Here some good fire resistant characteristics of

Douglas fir were observed.

3.4 Ancient forest trail

One of British Columbia’s rare and hidden treasure trails, approximately 2.3 kilometres, was

explored during a 60-90 minutes’ walk. The trail had some slippery and steep sections but it

was well sign-posted to assist visitors with directions and locations of sites of special interest.

3.5 View of the Terry Fox Mountain

Some wild land that was named in honour of an amputee athlete, Terry Fox, who died of

cancer at an age of 22 years after the “The Marathon of Hope” had been instituted to raise

funds for bone cancer research, was visited. Plate 3 shows one of the breath-taking views of

the landscape at Terry Fox Mountain.

Plate 3. Some breath-taking view of the landscape at Terry Fox Mountain, British Colombia

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4.0 Take home A major contrast between forestry practice in the British Colombia and that in South Africa

was noted. Commercial forests in South Africa are predominantly planted forests managed on

a clear-cutting silvicultural system; in British Colombia, natural forests are the hub of

commercial forestry.

The writer (Busisiwe Singama) and Athini Mthi, a Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

forestry student were elected IFSA commissioners in the Forest Research and Education

Commission for the year 2015. The two commissioners will represent the Southern Africa

region.

5.0 Conclusion The 42nd International Forestry Students’ Symposium was a great experience, providing a lot

of diverse exposure in a variety of technical forestry (research, silviculture, forest health,

conservation, recreation, and management), environmental (biodiversity, river system

management), social and even forest philanthropy! The student networks that were created

will be a lasting resource. However, the immediate task for the South Africans who were

elected to the IFSA Forest Research and Education Commission for Southern Africa is to

swiftly embark of a project that will make the nation proud.

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Acknowledgements The author takes great pleasure in acknowledging the financial support that was received

from Forestry South Africa and Fort Cox College of Agriculture and Forestry. I am indebted

to several staff members of Fort Cox, particularly Mr Phillip Tshidzumba (the Head of

Forestry Department) for painstaking logistics of the trip. Last, but not least, I am grateful to

my colleagues in the Fort Cox Forestry Students’ Association (FCFSA) for nominating me

for the trip to Canada.

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APPENDIX: Distribution of representation of countries at the 42nd IFSA Symposium

in Canada in July 2014 by continental region

Africa continental region Country National flag

South Africa

Nigeria

Europe continental region Country National flag

Austria

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Ireland

Italy

Netherlands

Portugal

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

... Appendix I, continued

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Asia and Middle East

continental region

Country National flag

China

Indonesia

Iraq

Japan

North Korea

Lebanon

Philippines

Malaysia

Taiwan

Syria

Thailand

America continental region Country National flag

Brazil

Mexico

Canada

Peru

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Guyana

New Zealand