Each year, National Forest Week is celebrated by many organizations and individuals, who are passionate about the woods in their lives. Forests are home to wildlife, nature's air and water filters, amazing recreational spaces as well as the renewable source of products in everyone's lives.  At Irving Woodlands, forests have been at the heart of what we do since 1882.  As Canada celebrates 100 years of National Forest Week, we're sharing our commitment to healthy forests for generations to come.  Its a team effort that includes...

1. Equipping our forestry team with the latest technology to plan 80 years ahead

Technology is transforming sustainable forest management. We continue to work with the Canadian Forest Service, several universities and leading IT companies to develop and leverage spatial technology!  We can now understand what is happening in real time, while being able to predict how the forest is evolving into the future.

2. Conserving over 1,600 unique areas 

Irving Woodlands works with many environmental and community groups, as well as local universities who help us identify, conserve, and study the special places we like to call Unique Areas! From birds to waterfalls, to old growth forests, to a variety of fish species caring for these areas is a priority.

3. Planting trees - capturing carbon 

Irving Woodlands employs over 150 students each year to help plant high quality seedlings sourced from the strongest parent trees in the region.  Every year these students plant between 20 and 25 million seedlings in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Maine.  Over 1 billion trees have been planted since 1957 - each capturing about 1 tonne of carbon dioxide.  and, we're looking after more hardwood than there was 50 years ago because a diverse forest is better for everyone.

4. Tree improvement 

Our tree improvement program started with the goal of improving the quality of trees we plant starting with the best "parents" found in the natural forest. As a result of this program, the seedlings we plant today are growing 15-25% faster, are more resilient to pests and are high quality for our customers. Growing more wood than we harvest - every year.

5. Protecting our forests - and communities! 

Our forest workers are always aware of fire weather conditions and are ready to assist in the event of a fire. 2020 was double the 10 year average with over 350 fires.  Early detection, strong communication, the equipment to fight fire on the ground and in the air are all vital to safeguarding the forest and nearby communities.  We also work with other teams like DNR - supporting each other to contain a forest fire quickly.

The team that makes it happen...

Finally, none of this would be possible without our dedicated employees.  Their everyday passion are healthy forests and sustainable ecosystems.  Forest Week is a welcome opportunity to celebrate their work which in turn sustains over 4000 direct jobs for families across our forest value chain - from seedling to store shelf.

Visit https://irvingwoodlands.com/jdi-woodlands-healthy-forest.aspx for more reasons on how we continue to ensure our forests remain healthy for future generations! 

Happy National Forest Week!