Back to SearchRenfrew County Forester Lacey Rose recently had the opportunity to travel to South Korea where she served as a keynote speaker at the 2022 World Forestry Congress in Seoul, in the Young Professionals in Forestry segment of the program.
Lacey has been employed by the County of Renfrew for more than a decade, including the past seven years as County Forester. In 2021, County Council supported Lacey’s nomination to participate in the Global Network for Young Professionals (ForYP) in Forestry and to be on the world stage for young forestry professionals in South Korea. As a keynote speaker, funding for Lacey’s trip was provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
“The County of Renfrew is extremely proud of Lacey and fully supports her presence on the world stage,” Warden Debbie Robinson said. “We know how remarkably talented she is and how our forests are thriving under her stewardship.
“Lacey’s expertise, knowledge and commitment to the forestry sector is well known locally and having her share these talents with her international colleagues shines a positive light on our county as well,” Warden Robinson added.
The Congress is a forum for the exchange of views and experiences on all aspects of forests and forestry, which may lead to the formulation of broad recommendations applicable at national, regional and global levels. The theme for the event was Building a Green, Healthy and Resilient Future with Forests.
During her keynote address, Lacey shared her career journey and offered some lessons learned for those just beginning their forestry careers. Lacey has been the first woman hired for every full-time job she has ever had. In 2015, she co-founded a network for women in forestry called Women in Wood, which has now grown to close to 3,000 members worldwide. As of 2016, only 17 per cent of the forestry sector was comprised of women, but that is improving.
“I’ve been really lucky in my career to have a lot of amazing support,” Lacey said. “There are some things that have served me well – find a mentor or be a mentor as you get further along in your career; find or build your community so you have that peer support network and say yes to opportunities. I’ve been really grateful for the experience and support I’ve received at the County for the last 10 years.”
At the World Forestry Congress, Lacey also helped to launch the Global Network for Young Professionals in Forestry (ForYP) as a member of the organization’s inaugural board of directors, serving in the position of vice-chair (north).
Building a peer network is often challenging early in a forestry career because of the solitary nature of the work. This was the reason behind the creation of ForYP, which aims to increase the visibility of young professionals, providing an inclusive space to share ideas, learn, and showcase the contributions of young professionals to the forest sector.
“It’s an online forum to bring youth and young professionals together from all over the world to learn from each other, support each other and build that peer network they will have going forward in their career,” Lacey said. “Forestry can be lonely work. You spend most of your time outside alone and having people to connect with and share what you’ve seen or done is valuable.”
ForYP’s mission is to empower a global, diverse, and inclusive community of young professionals in the forest sector with the vision to grow experts in the forest sector.
The creation of the group has been in the works for some time, with the launch and actual conference delayed due to the pandemic. Lacey was happy to finally meet individuals she had only spoken with virtually. She was able to share practical forestry experience with people from New Zealand and the United Kingdom which have similar forest management systems.
“It was really nice to gain a global perspective of what others are dealing with in the forestry sector,” Lacey added.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lacey Rose - County Forester - 613-735-3204 ext. 438
Jason Davis - Forestry and GIS Manager - 613-735-7288 ext. 463
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