Young Professionals

Hi there, my name is Nelly Grace Bedijo and am pleased to introduce myself as the new CFA Youth Officer. I am a forester by profession with a BSc. Degree in Forestry from Makerere University in Uganda and currently practicing my profession as a Plantation Officer with the Uganda Sawlog Production Grant Scheme (SPGS). Since I started at SPGS in 2010, I have been involved with many aspects of forestry, particularly plantations but also community tree planting. I now coordinate as well climate change and carbon finance matters. I must admit that am delighted to join the CFA. I learnt of CFA through Miss Celia Nalwadda - the outgoing Youth Officer and I have been keen to discover more about the association from the CFA website too. I am looking forward to sharing my experiences and working amicably with the members of the association to move CFA forward.

As young people, I believe there is a lot that we can do to promote forestry in this era to ensure it benefits people in a sustainable manner and especially now that the whole world is discovering its values and the link between forests and people. I’m strongly calling upon you young people to embrace the marvelous opportunities CFA offers, for instance, scholarships for researchers, placements in other countries to practice forestry, research publication in International Forestry Review journal to advance your career and also enrich the forestry discipline. All you need to do is to sign up for membership (find out more from the CFA website).

During my term in office, I hope to explore the various existing avenues including the valuable initiatives of the former Youth Officer like the CFA newsletter, CFA award and link with the International Forestry Students Association (IFSA), to get more youth on board and to keep members up to date on new developments in forestry. I hope to engage more community associations with the CFA and particularly to enlighten people on new prospects regarding climate change and carbon finance.

I hope that together we shall utilize this office to enlighten people on the roles of forests and why we can’t do without them!

To all the young foresters out there, join CFA today to explore the opportunities mentioned above and many more to come. I hope you sign up soon as a member so we can work together to move forestry to another level.

Best wishes,

Nelly

nellyb@sawlog.ug; www.sawlog.ug

Students

My name is Katie Gibson; I am the Liaison Officer between the International Forestry Students Association (IFSA) and the CFA. I am a third year undergraduate student at the beautiful University of British Columbia in Vancouver. My specialization is International Forestry. I am very passionate about this subject and I consider my involvement in IFSA and the CFA to be solid education in this field. These are both very fruitful organizations and I have no doubt that I will be an active member in both for years to come. I plan to obtain my Masters and PhD in a field that will allow me to be connected with forestry on a global scale.

IFSA is a fantastic organization comprised of approximately 3000 students from over 40 different countries. Our  main purpose is to connect them on academic, social and professional fields which creates strong networks of driven and educated youth. We work with various professional partners (IUFRO, EFI, CIFOR, IPFE, FAO, SILVA network, ICA, ITTO) in order to offer the voice of global forestry students to the professional world as well as conduct joint projects which assist both parties.

IFSA’s network is vast and dynamic and this is something which can be offered as a resource to the CFA. In my term as Liaison Officer, I will be actively working to increase the student membership in the CFA and promote awareness about its benefits to forestry students of the world. Items such as the Young Foresters Award, Young Scientist Publication Award and the CFA Young Scientist Research Award are all things that have potential to attract youth and make them more active/engaged. I will make students aware of the potential for professional networking and the opportunities to make their voices heard amongst highly respected individuals. I will be facilitating the participation of IFSA members in relevant CFA projects that require the voice and/or the energy of the global youth. In this way the relationship between our two organizations will not only remain strong, but will become enhanced and further fortified for the future.

I am excited to see this relationship grow. I am always available to be contacted with any concerns, suggestions or ideas that arise regarding the CFA and IFSA.

Cheers

Katie Gibson

katiegibson5@gmail.com; www.ifsa.net

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