Woodlot owners convene to discuss forestry importance

As Canadian National Forest Week wraps up, the Huronia Chapter of the Ontario Woodlot Association hosted a 'field day' to share best practices for owners to manage their woodlots.

Craig Drury and his family have owned their Simcoe County woodlot for seven generations after settling in 1819. Craig is also the great-grandson of E. C. Drury, Ontario's premier from 1919 to 1923 and is always looking to learn new ways of maintaining what is a big part of his family's heritage.

"We're still learning," said Craid Drury. "Practices that happened 100 years ago aren't what we use now, so it's important to keep learning."

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Around 50 woodlot owners attended the 'field day' hosted at the 170-acre Drury woodlot near Highway 11 and Highway 93. They held equipment learning sessions, conversations around the economic value of woodlots and other discussions about forest management techniques.

"Protecting what we have and making sure they're healthy is really important," said Drury. "The more you know, the better you can be in terms of managing the resource that we have in our small woodlots."

Members of the Simcoe County Maple Syrup Producers Association were also in attendance.

"It's not just maple syrup trees that are important to maple syrup producers; it's the whole diversity that protects the maple trees themselves, so that's important to them as well," added Drury.