| 2013-05-22 |    |
Full Circle For Forestry Leader
The new head of forestry courses at Newton Rigg College, Penrith, is herself a former student of the college.
Susie Grainger has been appointed to lead the NPTC Levels 2 and 3 Forestry courses, formerly the Forestry National Diploma Course. Susie, originally from London, completed the course at Newton Rigg 19 years ago and never went home, following a career path in the forestry industry. She now lives in Penrith.
Susie Grainger, Head of Forestry at Newton Rigg College with student Cameron Hedley
She joins the College from Electricity North West where she was part of the vegetation management team based in Carlisle and she has in-depth experience in forestry, with previous roles working for the Forest Enterprise, for private consultancy firms, as a forestry establishment and maintenance contractor and for United Utilities.
The forestry course was relaunched last year after an absence of nine years from the prospectus. There are currently 14 forestry students and Susie’s aim is to raise that number to 40 in the next academic year.
She said: “There are so many different opportunities now for forestry
students and we want to develop them so that they can take advantage of these.
For example, careers might include forest research, arboriculturalists and
surveyors, tree specialists for councils, or land management teams for organisations
such as the RSPB.
“It can be a fantastic career for anyone with a love of the countryside and outdoors and we want to provide them with as much practical experience and knowledge as possible so that they are ready to make their own impact on the industry.”
Susie aims to work with local forestry businesses and
contractors to ensure the college is providing students with the right
experience into the industry.
One business that is already involved with the College is AW
Jenkinson Forest Products in Clifton, Penrith, which recently awarded sponsorships
to six forestry students to assist them with their studies and practical
skills training. This was followed by a visit to the firm’s premises
to see the process of turning raw products into graded bark, compost
and biomass.
Anyone who would like to find out more about the forestry course or to offer a work placement can contact Newton Rigg’s forestry department on 01768 893704.
