I think my decision to stop working as a timber measurement contractor for Coillte and take up a position as manager with the Forestry Development Association Co-Op was the most important decision in terms of my career. I liked working with Coillte and I had an excellent mentor but the manager's position was an extremely interesting opportunity and I had to give it a try.

I think my decision to stop working as a timber measurement contractor for Coillte and take up a position as manager with the Forestry Development Association Co-Op was the most important decision in terms of my career. I liked working with Coillte and I had an excellent mentor but the manager's position was an extremely interesting opportunity and I had to give it a try.

I started my position as manager in Lismore Estate in 2003 after the retirement of the previous manager. I had to attend two interviews before I was offered the position in Lismore. In Waterford Institute of Technology, I started off doing part-time lecturing hours in 2003 and then was given a Contract of Indefinite Duration after I had been working for the college for a number of years.

During term time for WIT, I deliver lectures on the above subjects or prepare lecture plans, mark exams, attend meetings, organise and run field trips. In Lismore Estate I manage operations dependant on the time of year (establishment in the winter, harvest management in the spring and summer, management of maintenance operations, management of pesticide operations, staff training). I also measure timber, conduct inventory and survey the forest in general.

Currently, I have two part-time positions: as a lecturer on the Bachelor of Science in Forestry at Waterford Institute of Technology and as manager of Lismore Estate forest. In WIT, I deliver lectures to forestry students in WIT on various modules including forest harvesting, sustainable forest management, forest engineering, forestry in the environment, forest economics, forest establishment and fundamentals of forestry. Also, I manage the forest resources for Lismore Estates including budgeting and financial management; harvest management, grant applications, health and safety, forest operations management, legislative requirements, personnel management.

Juggling the workload between WIT and Lismore Estate can be a challenge.

Forestry! I love my work even though I fell into it almost by accident!

Work pressures when things are busy.

I think I bring the practical experience I am continually gaining at Lismore Estate into my college work and the knowledge I learn from my colleagues and researching for lectures into my work for Lismore Estate.

I went to school in the UK in the 80’s taking English, Maths, Geography, History and Art and did not go back to education until I was a mature student in 1997.

I have, and it is still my most treasured award, a National Diploma in Science in Forestry from Waterford Institute of Technology, which is now called the Bachelor of Science in Forestry. I also have a BSc (Hons.) in Forest Management, an MSc in Sustainability and Environmental Management, a Diploma in Environmental Impact Assessment and two Certificates in Renewable Energy Development.

My Diploma in Forestry and my BSc in Forest Management have been vital, although the other awards have proven useful at times.

The most rewarding events are definitely when I meet up with previous students who are now fellow forestry professionals and working in the industry.

Is luck a quality? And I suppose the potential to see when something has come my way and take the opportunity.

I would have liked to study Landscape Architecture and be involved in forest design planning.

Yes, my job does provide a reasonable lifestyle for me and my family.

A willingness to continually learn, a level of humility (with all the required disciplines involved in forestry you need to be able to seek and take good advice), being personable (you will have to work with others and must be able to communicate and engender trust).

Yes, I would still like to attend further courses. I think that a forester is always capable of learning something new because the field of interest for a forester is vast. A forester must have an understanding of economics, engineering, ecology, biology, chemistry, hydrology, silviculture, environmental science, and be knowledgeable in all the potential digital tools for use in forest management. And this is not even a complete list of the potential disciplines involved in forestry!

Any kind of forestry or agricultural work, tree felling, planting, fencing, spraying, surveying as well as gaining academic qualifications and attending courses.

Forestry Lecturer in WIT & Forest Manager, Lismore Estate.