Dive into a summertime recap from the SIP and learn about new upcoming grants!

August 21

 

A summertime wrap-up and expectant look ahead

 

Good morning!

 

We hope you’ve been keeping safe and cool this summer. Welcome to the Silviculture Innovation Program (SIP) August newsletter where we will wrap-up of activities from this summer and hint at what is to come. In this recap, we mark the launch date for our new grants program (!), remind you of your last chance to complete our ongoing silviculture communities of practice survey, and share details about our new collaborative research project that follows up on retention treatments in the northwest. Finally, we roundup and reflect on our summertime circuit of meetings and gatherings that were attended by SIP team members. 

 

Read on to learn more about what we’ve been up to this summer and what exciting opportunities are ahead!

 

Connect again soon,
 

Gillian Chow-Fraser
Extension Specialist

sip.extension@bvcentre.ca

Coming Soon! SIP launches two new grants

We are very excited to announce that the SIP is launching two brand new grants on September 3, 2024! Two grant streams will be accepting applications: Innovation in Action grants and Capacity Building grants. The grants will focus on supporting operational projects by providing resources to plan and implement complex prescriptions, add data collection on multiple values, enhance monitoring protocols, develop and share lessons learned from treatments, build relationships and more. Capacity grants will help provide resources to support skill development and initiate collaborative co-created projects.

 

You will hear from us again once the portal launches and further details on the grants are available. We will also host an information webinar in September to tell you more about the grants and walk through eligibility. 

 

The two grants mark our journey of offering funding opportunities to support implementation of innovative silviculture and we look forward to offering more opportunities in the future. Our newsletter subscribers will be the first to know about our next granting processes!

Last chance to complete our survey and win prize

We’re excited to invite forestry professionals in management or operations, fire operations or management, or those in the silviculture space, to share their experiences and insights through our short survey, which closes on August 30. Your input will help us understand how your communities of practice support you in implementing innovative silviculture (or “alternative silviculture”). And as a token of our appreciation, every participant will be entered into a raffle for a beautiful tree ring monoprint by Aragorn Arts

 

If you have already taken the time to complete the survey, we thank you! We've heard from hundreds of you already and we cannot wait to share the results and learnings. 

New research project returns to decades-old retention treatments

The SIP Research team has embarked on an exciting collaborative project this summer, looking at how different retention cuts impact wildlife, fuels, carbon and cultural plants in sub-boreal ecosystems over time after harvest. The team will evaluate the impacts to multiple values in the forest based on a spectrum of different “retention” treatments using a variety of different surveying and monitoring techniques. The project is a collaboration with the Office of the Wet'suwet'en, building on community values and expertise, and incorporating existing environmental monitoring programs. 

“I am inspired by the diversity of voices in the forestry community that have told me about how we’ve tried many things before,” reflects Dr. Alana Clason, project lead. “We have a real opportunity to learn from the past to support practitioners of the present and future.”

Read more about the project in our latest blog here. 

Roundup of gatherings across the province

Alana Clason, SIP research lead, attended the Ecosystem Restoration Community of Practice workshop in Prince George, an event that marked the beginning of a new community of practice in northern BC for those in restoration. The gathering was a reminder that innovative silviculture has an important role to play in the restoration process - by reducing the need for restoration of degraded and sensitive ecosystems, and the opportunity to learn and share with those who actively restore the water, fish, wildlife, and culture to systems impacted by previous management or disturbance.

At the BC Community Forest Association (BCCFA) meeting, Gillian Chow-Fraser (SIP Extension Specialist) enjoyed the sights of Mackenzie and learned about the myriad of work being done by Community Forests across the province. At our exhibitor booth, we also shared our vision for innovative silviculture with new faces. Check out our fun collaborative video highlighting the secret talents of our friends and colleagues at the BCCFA meeting here!


Kira Hoffman, SIP Extension lead, gave a keynote presentation at the Wildfire Resilience & Training workshop in Prince George, sharing why cultural and prescribed fire is integral to proactive landscape management in BC. She was also an invited panelist at the Wildfire Coexistence Symposium in Vancouver sharing her perspectives on the uses and benefits of cultural and prescribed burns to help build resilience and how “pyrosilviculture” can be an important tool in the silviculture toolkit.

 

While the SIP still feels like the "new kid on the block" - we are enjoying meeting new people, re-connecting with old friends, and spreading the word about our ambitious program. 

Helpful links, in case you missed it: 
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