{"id":18105,"date":"2016-09-28T17:40:03","date_gmt":"2016-09-28T17:40:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/162.217.168.59\/?p=18105"},"modified":"2023-03-22T13:13:05","modified_gmt":"2023-03-22T17:13:05","slug":"centralcanadasic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forests.org\/fr\/centralcanadasic\/","title":{"rendered":"Central Canada SFI Implementation Committee Grows Partnerships One MOU and Hard Hat Sticker at a Time"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\"Jared\n<\/div>\n

CLEARWATER BEACH, FL<\/strong> \u2014 Operating across two time zones and two Canadian provinces, with a combined area the size of continental Europe, hasn\u2019t stopped the Central Canada Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) Implementation Committee from setting a new standard for community building, partnerships and member participation. In recognition of this outsized effort, the committee received the SFI Implementation Committee Award at the SFI 2016 Annual Conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe committee has established an extraordinary range of partnerships and signed 15 memorandums of\u00a0understanding (MOUs). The central Canada committee is the first Canadian committee to win this award. The fact that they managed to stand out in such a competitive competition, among 34 SFI
\nImplementation Committees, speaks volumes about the good work they are doing to promote SFI and\u00a0spread responsible forestry,\u201d said Kathy Abusow, President and CEO of SFI Inc. The committee\u2019s partners come from government, NGOs, universities, Indigenous groups and industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was deeply impressed by the level of commitment, participation and attendance at their meetings,\u201d said Mike Sullivan who sat on the award evaluation committee. Sullivan is a member of the SFI External Review Panel and a Director at the New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources. \u201cThe committee\u2019s enthusiasm for spreading responsible forestry is contagious and their hard hat sticker campaign is engaging frontline harvesting professionals.\u201d<\/p>\n

The committee developed hard hat stickers for forest workers who have met the requirements of a Qualified Logging Professional (QLP). The benefit is two-fold, serving as public recognition of QLP status and promoting on-the-ground worker awareness of SFI. To-date the committee has recognized 1,270 QLPs in Manitoba and Ontario.<\/p>\n

The stickers show off one of the core pieces of the committee\u2019s mandate \u2014 education and training on
\nbest management practices for forest workers and operations. The committee has developed field tools
\nfor SFI Program Participants, including 10 QLP training modules, and the Guide to Best Management
\nPractices for Forest Operations in Northern Ontario & Manitoba.<\/p>\n

A partnership initiative with Lakehead University in Northern Ontario is also underway to put the training modules online to increase the accessibility of continuing education for forest workers and forestry students. These kinds of tools are a big reason the committee is so popular across the 44 million acres\/18 million hectares of forestland certified to SFI in Ontario and Manitoba.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur quarterly meetings are always well attended, energetic and full of ideas. Meetings are hosted by participants and partners across the two provinces. We bring in guest speakers, arrange tours and talk about projects or grant opportunities we can collaborate on,\u201d said Mike Maxfield the Ontario Certification Superintendent for Resolute Forest Products who also chairs the SFI Implementation Committee. We are fortunate that our committee and partners are so motivated, whether the topic is Indigenous Peoples engagement, the latest forestry research, best practices or continuing education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maxfield\u2019s boundless enthusiasm for SFI is summed up in his stretch goal for the committee: \u201cI see no reason why we won\u2019t continue to see growth in SFI Certification and double the number of partners and MOUs.\u201d To get there, Maxfield intends to keep building on another of the committee\u2019s strengths, the members\u2019 willingness to network and help each other. \u201cCollaborating and engaging likeminded organizations that truly care about sustainable management of working forests is a way for encouraging certification and growing the SFI community.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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