Growing the North

Last month I attended the Growing the North Conference in Grande Prairie, and it got me thinking that I should write about the massive growth potential in the Great White North (for this blog’s purposes, I’m referring to Alberta).

Alberta is experiencing huge growth. However, according to the Financial Post, Alberta’s oil and gas industry—the largest contributor to Alberta’s GDP—has been gradually decreasing its production since 1985. Our province is relying on its three other biggest industries to keep competitive in an international market.

These industries are:

Agriculture

Tourism

And as you may have guessed…

Forestry

Did you know that 60% of Alberta is covered in forest?

More than half of our province is covered in trees! That alone makes our forests very important to us.

There are a number of other reasons that our forests mean a lot to us:

First, the forest creates jobs. About 18,000 Albertans rely on direct and indirect forestry jobs to make a living. These jobs include the cultivation and management of our forests, as well as the manufacturing and production of forest products.

Second, the forest makes a lot of products that we use every day. See Forest Products: More Than Wood and Paper to learn more about the wide variety of products we get from trees.

Also, forests contribute to our economy. Not only can trees be made into paper money (from pulp), but forests also make other products that make money, stimulating our economy. Did you know that direct and indirect revenues from Alberta’s forest industry add up to $5.5-billion per year?

Next, forests provide us with oxygen. And if there’s any truth to what they teach us in school, we need oxygen in order to live. Read Trees: What Age is a Good Age to learn more about how we get oxygen from our forests.

And finally, forests are enjoyable. My guess is that if you’re reading a blog about forestry, you probably like using forests for activities like hiking, motor sports, camping, hunting, fishing or even just to look at a beautiful scenery from a window or in a photograph. So it’s really important that we take the appropriate steps to ensure that our forests are healthy and sustainable. Foresters and Forest Technologists are responsible for managing our forests. To learn more about these exciting, outdoorsy, and environmentally conscious career paths, (and how to contribute to the growth of our North) click here.