Every year Canada celebrates National Forestry Week, now held during the last week of September. National Forest Week, an initiative of Natural Resource Canada, is a time to reflect on the vital role the forest plays in our daily lives. As a member of the NRCan Forest Communities Program, Resources North is an active participant in activities hosted during this Week.
EVENTS
Details of events that happen across the country can be found at the Canadian Forestry Association’s website.
In 2007, in partnership with the Council of Forest Industries, we aired the three different radio advertisements that we had developed last year across northern B.C. during National Forestry Week to promote careers in forestry. To listen to the ads, click on the following links: Possibilities ( mp3 file, 486KB); Testimonial (mp3, 499KB); and Forest for the Trees (486KB).
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
- arrange a tree planting: www.treecanada.ca
- take a walk in woods nearby and get to know your forest
- care for a newly planted or neglected tree, and study its species
- identify all the things at home or school that are made of wood
- learn about organizations that demonstrate sustainable forest management
- tour a forest sector industry or processing site
- learn about the prevention of forest fires
- contact a provincial forestry association for teaching materials
BACKGROUND AND HISTORY
“National Forest Week is a time to reflect on the vital role the forest plays in our daily lives.
Canada’s forests contribute significantly to the high standard of living, clean air and water that we enjoy. The week was established in 1926 by the Canadian Forestry Association and originally called Forest Fire Prevention Week.
National Forest Week is a time to celebrate Canadians’ connection to the forest.
Canada is a forest nation. As Canadians, we depend on and need our forest for benefits that encompass the economic, environmental and social.
Experts at Natural Resources Canada’s Canadian Forest Service help keep our forest healthy by continuously developing, improving and sharing their scientific innovations, by leading the international dialogue on forests, and by fostering better communication and cooperation among the forest community in Canada and abroad.
The Canadian Forest Service, over the last 100-plus years has maintained and will continue to maintain a tradition of excellence. A healthy Canadian forest is one of the many success stories we like to share with the world especially during this special week.”
From the Natural Resources Canada website: History:
“Established circa 1920 as Forest Fire Prevention Week, the intention was to encourage greater public awareness towards Canada’s forests. At the time, there was no apparent shortage of trees for industrial expansion – the greatest threat came from forest fires, due mainly to human causes.
Since then National Forest Week, as it was renamed in 1967, has evolved to encompass the many and varied human and environmental aspects of Canada’s forest resources – past, present and future.
Although special activities are promoted across Canada, National Forest Week remains first and foremost a challenge to individual Canadians to learn more about their forest heritage and support greater recognition of this valuable resource.
National Forest Week is observed annually during the last full week of September, Sunday through Saturday.”
From the Canadian Forestry Association website 
