Algoma forests featured in Shaw TV segments

Starting this week, through until mid-January, Shaw TV's Plugged In program will feature weekly segments on Algoma forestry.

The 13 segments are produced through a partnership of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), the Canadian Forest Service Great Lakes Forestry Centre and the Algoma Forest Coalition, an association of local private-sector forestry operators.

Segments will include a tour of area forests, profiles of MNR’s aviation, fire and flood operations, and a look at Great Lakes Forestry Centre's current research into non-timber forest products.

Viewing times for Plugged In on community channel 10 are daily from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., and 10 p.m. to midnight.

Program schedule - October

Oct. 14 - Forest Focus – the partners tell why they are doing this community TV series. Geoff Munro, CFS; Bill Thornton, MNR; Jim Miller, AFC

Oct. 21 - Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources in Sault Ste. Marie. Visit a few of the many MNR offices in the Sault and find out what they do. Bill Thornton, Barry O'Brien, and Terry Taylor.

Oct. 28 - Great Lakes Forestry Centre. A part of the Sault Ste. Marie community since the late 1940s, this regional centre is part of Natural Resources Canada’s Canadian Forest Service and one of five such centres across Canada. Geoff Munro, Director General, provides an overview of the organization, its work and its history.

Program schedule - November

Nov. 4 - Algoma Forest Coalition. Forest tours, Loggers Day, community information displays, Great Outdoors map and more. Jim Miller, AFC Director and a Registered Professional Forester, is interviewed. Also Mike Morgan, Midway Lumber, AFC member company.

Nov. 11 - Algoma Forest Coalition. Take a tour of the forest north of Sault Ste Marie with a group of Sault residents and Jim Miller, Clergue Forest Management and Kerry Sinabaldi, St. Marys Paper.

Nov. 18 - Envirothon, a partnership with students. Supporting this program annually is a creative partnership with regional secondary schools and a variety of local organizations. The Algoma Forest Coalition and Natural Resources Canada work together each year with others such as Sault College and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Together they provide a hands-on learning program, team work, and outdoor activities focusing on forests, soils, wildlife, aquatics, and other environmental issues.

Nov. 25. Great Lakes Forestry Centre, Insect Rearing. The Insect Production Unit has a big job supplying live insects for the research programs at the Great Lakes Forestry Centre. The production of these bugs is key to the Centre’s research programs and will provide a fascinating glimpse into the world of insects.

Program schedule - December

Dec. 2 - Algoma Forest Coalition, Midway Lumber Mill. Take a tour of this Thessalon lumber mill and hear company spokesman Mike Morgan explain how it works.

Dec. 9 - MNR, Aviation, Flood and Fire. Visit the MNR airplane hangar and the forest fire emergency response centre with Barry O'Brien and Howard Dupuis, MNR.

Dec. 16 - Great Lakes Forestry Centre, Non-Timber Forest Products. Dr. Luc Duchesne, a researcher with Natural Resources Canada, talks about NTFPs — products, other than timber, that can be harvested from forests. They include maple syrup, mushrooms, berries and ginseng and can be a valuable, culturally acceptable source of income to rural and Aboriginal communities.

Dec. 23 - Turkey Lakes, a project of partnerships. The Turkey Lakes research site is a very busy place. This site houses partnerships and research projects that involve OMNR, Natural Resources Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Algoma Forest Coalition. It is a showcase for partnership in research that often draws other researchers to see this ecosystem laboratory in action.

Dec. 30 - Algoma Forest Coalition, St Marys Paper. Take a tour of a world class paper mill and hear how it works from Mill Manager Marc Dubé and St Marys employees, Kerry Sinibaldi and Todd Black.

Program schedule - January

Jan. 6 - MNR, Forest Management Planning. Find out how the Ministry of Natural Resources, the forest industry and the public work together to plan sustainable forest harvesting and regeneration.

To learn more

For additional information about forestry, just click on the following links:

Algoma Forest Coalition Ministry of Natural Resources Great Lakes Forestry Centre

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