A day in the life of a Technical Forester at Technical Forest Services

Fernando Lisboa and Pablo Moreno have travelled to Tasmania from overseas to work in the Tasmanian forest industry with Technical Forest Services.

Fernando and Pablo are both working as Technical Foresters. Fernando is a full-time staff member, while Pablo is working for 6 months on a student semester.

Fernando has travelled to Tasmania from Brazil, where he completed a Forestry Engineering degree at the Federal University of Parana (Universidade Federal do Paraná).

“I worked in Brazil’s centre-west as a Silviculture Forester, where I acquired knowledge and forestry skills in establishing and maintaining eucalypt and pine reforestation in the pulp industry,” he said.

Currently, Fernando’s work involves forest assets data capture. The data Fernando collects covers forestry and wood production life cycles.

“This data covers forest and health information, which is critical to a sustainable industry because imbalances in forest health can reduce establishment, survival, growth and quality of wood production,” he said.

“We also collect data to monitor forest inventory, where the accurate and up to date information on forest resources is used to maintain effective decision making on many levels.”

Fernando’s work takes him to remote areas of Tasmanian forest, where he has to access challenging locations and deal with inconvenient weather conditions.

Fernando says he thoroughly enjoys working in Tasmania.

“I heard someone say the other day, that this is ‘God’s country’, and I definitely agree with them,” he said.

“Tasmania has a beautiful cultural landscape and stunning coastline, wildlife and reserves.

“Having the opportunity to work in connection with these elements makes my days very interesting and enjoyable.”

Pablo is currently undertaking a Masters’ degree in Forestry Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Madrid (Universidad Politécncia de Madrid) in Spain.

“I have always had a link to nature as my family has deep roots in Spain’s rural areas,” he said.

“I have inherited a passion for the environment from my father, who has been a career inspiration for me.”

At Technical Forest Services, forest inventory, quality assessment, browsing assessment and tapping out harvesting areas are all activities included in Pablo’s position as a Technical Forester.

“During a typical work day, we will get to the work sites at first light and plan our day and our gear so we can be as accurate as possible with the information we provide to our clients,” he said.

“Once our field work is done, we sort through data to send through to our clients.”

Pablo said coming to work in the Tasmanian forest industry has showed him the consistency of work in the industry internationally.

“I thought coming to work in Tasmania would show me a completely different way of doing things, but after a couple of months working in the industry, I can see that even being on the opposite side of the world, forestry works the same way.

“One of the things I enjoy most about working in the Tasmanian forest industry is being able to visit amazing places and see some breathtaking sites on a daily basis.

“I also find it very encouraging to see that the Tasmanian forest industry is more active than any other forestry industry I have witnessed to date.”

Pablo hopes that before he returns to Spain at the end of this year, he can continue to develop his networking and field experience in his position at Technical Forest Services.

“Working in a completely new place is opening so many doors in my professional career, and maybe I will come back to Tasmania in the future.

“I would love to continue in an international career in forestry.”

The Network wish Fernando and Pablo all the best in their positions at Technical Forest Services, and safe travels to Pablo when he returns to Spain later this year.