The first ever scholarship programme allowing students the unique opportunity to pursue a full-time, third level programme within the area of forestry was recently launched by Coillte, the semi-state forestry company.
The Coillte Scholarship programme aims to highlight forestry as a fulfilling career for both men and women and attract the foresters of the future into the sector. The scholarship will award two students up to €20,000 for the duration of a degree programme (€5,000 per year), at either University College Dublin (UCD) or South East Technological University (SETU), to support with fees and living expenses.
PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE
Fermoy based Larissa Delazari, a resource analyst with Coillte, originally hails from Brazil. The 32 year old, whose remit covers the entire country, derives great job satisfaction due to the variety in her workload.
“As a resource analyst, I support Coillte’s forest planning and valuations. Forest planning is the process of making decisions and creating strategies for the management and use of forested land. We use tools such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and computer models to analyse data and simulate various management scenarios to evaluate their potential impacts and outcomes,” she told The Avondhu.
“Although I have a “desk-based” position, my role also entails visiting forests for operational work and to interact with colleagues from other teams too.
“Working in forestry is extremely fulfilling as it’s so broad, covering everything from environmental conservation, timber production, community engagement and outdoor work. Personally, what I like the most about my job is being creative, having the opportunity to learn and develop social and technical skills, and knowing that my work contributes to the sustainable management of forests for future generations,” she said.
APRIL 28TH DEADLINE
Forestry offers a broad spectrum of roles which focus on many areas including: sustainable wood production through tree planting and harvesting; promoting biodiversity conservation; implementing climate change adaption strategies in Coillte’s forests; as well as analysing environmental data to develop comprehensive plans for sustainable forest management.
Identified as a key enabler in the delivery of Ireland’s climate action goals, the forestry industry will need more than 1,770 forestry and wood processing professionals to realise the ambitions of Ireland’s Forest Strategy.
Each scholarship recipient will also be offered the opportunity of paid summer employment in Coillte for the duration of the scholarship and on completion of the degree, they will have the opportunity to join Coillte.
Applications for the Coillte Scholarship Programme can be completed online at www.coillte.ie, with the closing date for receipt of applications being April 28th.
