Mark Drury

Operations Forester, Forests New South Wales

Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Taree
gsemark@gmail.com

I was born in my home town of Taree in 1978 and grew up just outside of Taree at a place named Glenthorne which is set on the banks of the Manning River on the Mid North Coast New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Taree is a small regional centre of approximately 20 000 people and is the centre of a variety of industries including dairying, beef cattle, fishing, manufacturing, tourism and forestry. The Mid North Coast is a very scenic area with beautiful beaches, rivers, lakes, mountains and is frequently visited by holiday makers during the summer months. What I like about Taree is the fact that I can live 3 hours from Australia’s largest city, Sydney, and can be at the centre of all these fantastic recreational opportunities and for the most part not have to share them with too many other people.

I own and live on a small hobby farm (27acres) with my fiancé Jaimee where we run beef cattle on agistment and grow much of our own food. We also have chooks and a boxer dog named Ruby and Jaimee has 2 horses which are Australian Stock horses. When I am not pottering around on our farm I love to get out on the water and fish, paddle or sailboard and I also enjoy heading bush for a good long weekend of four wheel driving and camping. I love to travel and have travelled extensively through the tropical north of Australia and the arid interior in my 4wd. I also enjoy spending time with friends at live music events and am a big supporter of upcoming Australian bands. I enjoy keeping fit by going to the gym and running/ swimming.

My job is with Forests NSW as an operations forester. My current role involves supervising and coordinating a small team of staff who are responsible for managing fire, roads and fire trails, pests and weeds and recreational infrastructure in the region’s publicly owned native forest estate.

I really enjoy working outdoors managing land and the challenges that come with this.

Whilst I am on exchange in Canada I am particularly keen to;

• Experience and learn about the natural environment Canada is renowned for
• Work with a forestry agency in native forest harvesting and learn how they manage fire in the landscape, learn how they regenerate their forest and learn how they construct/maintain roads in steep challenging terrain
• Learn how Canada manages it’s public native forests sustainably for the long term
• Live with a rural family and learn about rural life in Canada’s prairie lands

When I return from this Group Study Exchange I hope to have learnt what it is like to live and work in another country . I also hope to be able to bring back to my workplace some new ideas and a fresh perspective on dealing with the challenges I face in my profession as a forester in Australia.