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Forestry is such a great job 

A Part 2 Blog by Michael Brownrigg- Assistant Forest Manager, South Scotland Region  

Since moving over from Ireland to work for Tilhill everyone always asks me what I do for work and I always reply with the same answer, “I work in forestry, and it’s brilliant.”  

Everyone I have spoken to that hears ‘forestry’ thinks it is just planting trees and watching them grow. But when they hear about all the different jobs we do and scenarios we come up against, I’ve yet to meet someone that doesn’t ask that extra question or does not want to know a little more.  

Forestry is one of those jobs with lots of variability and rarely are two days the same, whether it’s looking after a restock site, a harvesting site or working on a Forest Plan. We’re always getting to meet people from all over the UK, from all walks of life and get to see some of the best scenery the UK has to offer (which is always a bonus!). 

An example of the variability we deal with day to day was highlighted on my last site visit where I had to look at an eroding forest road caused by a watercourse.  

Road erosion site 

 I started the visit by inspecting the damage already caused by the watercourse which was quite substantial. The bank on which the forest road was built was eroding away quite badly and it was obvious that if something wasn’t done that part of the forest road would be lost to the watercourse.  

Measurements and photos of the bank were taken, and these will be used in a licence application to install rock armour (big boulders) on the eroding bank to hopefully stop the erosion and prevent the bank and forest road from falling into the watercourse.  

And finally

If you’ve read my blogs and are thinking about taking up forestry after university or thinking about a career change then I would definitely suggest Tilhill’s graduate scheme. It is a fantastic way to get practical on-the-job experience and gain invaluable knowledge from colleagues and courses within the company, which will help you progress in your career. 

 

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