Seeding Innovation in Forestry—FESBC

The Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) wrote about how CCR is bringing about seeding innovation in forestry using drones to seed in hard-to-plant wildfire-devasted areas.

Photo Credit: Droneseed • Paul Grinder (Councillor, Tl’etinqox Government), Dave Conly (Operations Manager, FESBC), Grant Canary (CEO, Drone Seed), Percy Guichon (Director, CCR) on site for the Drone Seed planting.

With support from the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC), Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation (CCR) is using drones to reforest areas of the Chilcotin plateau devastated by the 2017 wildfires. Watch the video:

The project is a trial using drones and hand deployment to direct seed close to 52 hectares – roughly the area of 128 football fields – with thousands of both Lodgepole pine and Douglas fir. The seeds are embedded in a small vessel which contains a mix of soil and nutrients to give the seeds the best chance at germination. If successful, large fire-impacted areas can be restored much faster than by hand planting alone.

“Generations and generations relying on the land, and having the fire come through was very devastating for a lot of people,” said Paul Grinder, Councillor, Tl’etinqox Government. “This is just another way to improve and help the forest regenerate as fast as possible.”

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