Back in O-town

Our FPInnovations Fibre Forum 2010 wrapped up on Thursday around noon, and the overall impression was that people thought it a success! That is always nice to hear, and I have to concur that everything went well. We ran into one of my colleagues at the airport on Friday morning, and he told us how he was able to establish some very valuable partnerships with other provinces and industry. Another sign the forum was a success!
The organizing committee had arranged for a tour of (part of) Jasper National Park on Thursday afternoon, which was really nice. We'd spent most of Wednesday indoors, so we finally had a chance to actually see the mountains, and soak up some of that fresh air. First we went to see the Athabaska Falls, which were stunning. Especially with some of the branches covered in ice. After that, we went up to Marmot Basin, a hill well used for skiing. November is off-season, so the town itself was extremely quiet. But they had 53 (!) runs open at Mamot Basin, out of about 150 in total... I can only imagine how busy it will be during peak season...

Now I'm back in Ottawa and life should slow down a bit. At least I hope so! The weekend was good: we went to see Fiddler on the Roof yesterday, which was absolutely well done. We both really enjoyed it! Nolan, unfortunately, had to work today, but for him life should slow down a bit as well. Only a few more days before he will shave off his moustache, but it was worth the cause!

We're trying to get our acts together and go running more often, but with our busy schedules it has been challenging at times. Hopefully we can really get at it again, especially since there is no real snow yet, so the trails are still accessible. Who knows for how long...

Below some photos of Jasper, and one of Murphy, just for fun.

Jasper. Again!

So when do you consider a cold winter day to be really cold? When is it too cold to go into the field? That was the recurring question today during our field day, as part of our annual forum. The thermometer measured around -27 this morning, so indeed a little frisk. But put a bunch of forest researchers on the bus, take them to a site and each and every one of them will actually get off the bus and listen to the presentations. Absolutely kudos’s to the people presenting their research work, who had to stand still for about 45 minutes, and do their little spiel several times to make sure all the people could hear about their work. Frosted hats, beards, and shivering people were all paying attention and learned more about the lodgepole pine partnership. I should add that by the time we actually got to the site, it had warmed up to about 21 degrees. Below zero that is.

Luckily after the site visit we didn’t have to wait long for our lunch stop, which was inside. After lunch we stopped at another research site, where we learned more about the boreal plains, which was also interesting. At this point, it almost felt warm with temperatures hovering around -15 degrees.

It’s interesting to see and learn more about the work we do in Alberta.

Tonight I have to provide an overview of today’s field tour, and how it links in with the next few days, what we’re hoping to achieve, and some of the questions we would like to answer. I’m not a very good, or confident, public speaker, but some people thought I would be the perfect person to do so. Not sure if I agree, but we’ll see. I’ll be happy when tonight is over though!

The rest of the forum, which runs until Thursday afternoon, will be indoors in Jasper. Similar to the CIF AGM in September, we’ll be locked indoors surrounded by beautiful mountains and green space. I guess we’ll have to try to sneak out a few times trying to soak up that fresh mountain air.

Oh, and on a little side note. I found myself on the cover of an Alberta industry magazine: Forest Innovations, The Edge. Totally unexpected, and perhaps not my most flattering pose, but still fun! I might get famous now! Nolan’s first reaction: don’t you think it’s time you buy a new jacket?

And even in Edmonton you see several people sporting that very popular Movember stache. Did you have a chance to donate?

http://ca.movember.com/mospace/670800/

Home sweet home

Yesterday afternoon, I finally returned after an amazing week in Jasper. I say finally, because by the end, I was ready to go home. The week was phenomenal, but I am not used to spending so much time with other people, and at the end I was just exhausted! But it was very much worth it.

The CIF Conference came to an end Wednesday afternoon, and we left shortly after to go back to Edmonton. There, Nancy and I spent one more night before I caught an early flight back to Ottawa the next morning. Nancy didn't leave till 3 pm, so she got to sleep in!

But it is good to be back home, to see Nolan (who spent most of the week in bed, sick...), to see the cats, and to see our new house again. I still love it!

Since the program in Jasper was so jam-packed with interesting sessions, we made the difficult decission to skip a couple of presentations and play hooky... We took a little tram up one of the mountains and hiked to the top. The view was amazing, and it feel good to finally see a bit more of the area than just the view from the conference room!

 But really, I can't complain. Especially since Tuesday was our field day, and we saw quite a bit of the area as well, followed by one of my best trail runs ever, after we got back to the lodge. So in a nutshell, it was one fantastic week, and I feel very privileged that I was able to go.

Below a few more photos:

Big horn sheep on the hills, which are reclaimed after coal mining. They try to grow trees, but are having a hard time with extremely low survival rates of the seedlings. As a result, the bighorn sheep population (and the elk) is booming!

The Rockies all around us! In the distance you can see Mount Robson, the highest peak of the Canadian Rockies.

And that's me...

And that's Jasper in the valley. 

The lines on the mountains are really neat. It looks like somebody held a ruler beside them!

Jasper!

I am currently in Jasper, Alberta, and it's absolutely fabulous around here! I was asked to go here in preparation of our annual employee forum which will also be held in Jasper, in November.  For some reason, I became heavily involved with the organization of the forum this year, and several of our partners are currently in Jasper to attend the Canadian Institute of Forestry's AGM and Conference. It's a great opportunity for me to make some very valuable contacts, and it allows me to sit in on some of the sessions of the conference and attend the board meetings. The fact that it is held in Japser, really, is the icing on the cake! Below are some photos to leave you with an impression of the area. After the board meetings this afternoon, Nancy and I went for a walk, which gave us a great chance to get a better idea of the area. Enjoy :-)