From Concrete to Canopies: My Journey in Forestry

When people ask me how I ended up with a career in forestry, I always say “it was never my plan, but I am so happy I ended up here”.

Although I grew up in Toronto, my childhood was filled with nature. Being outside was always one of my favourite things. My family and I spent nearly three weeks camping every summer, we did multiple month-long road trips across Canada and the United States, I backpacked and hiked in some beautiful places, and dedicated lots of time to our family garden. So, naturally, you’d think I would choose a career in the outdoors.

Not exactly. I started university right out of high school thinking I was going to be a lawyer. I was majoring in criminology with minors in practical French and environmental studies.

Then I realized law was not for me.

Thankfully, I was able to switch my major to environmental studies and I decided to take forestry as a minor after having a conversation with the undergraduate coordinator – he said it would complement my major well. Neither of us knew at the time it would change my life.

During the next three years of university I really enjoyed my forestry courses. Once I graduated, I got a job in urban forestry to conduct tree inventories on private property. It was the first time I could blend my love for being outdoors with work. Through this job, I found out about U of T’s Master of Forest Conservation (MFC) program and decided to apply.

I took a year off to travel and work while applying for the MFC. I got into the program and that’s when my forestry journey really began.

The program was intense, but such a great experience. We had several field camps, an international field course in Costa Rica, an internship, and a research component. I did my internship with the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) at the Ontario Forest Research Institute in Sault Ste. Marie. I was an assistant technician for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence research program where we worked on several projects that summer: the Parkside Gully Single Tree Selection trial, the beech bark disease harvest trials in Algonquin and Bancroft-Minden Forest, and the International Diversity Experiment Network with Trees in Sault Ste. Marie. The joy of working in the field on these projects, with an amazing team, confirmed I made the right choice with my career.

Learning more about beech bark disease fascinated me. I chose to do the research for my master’s on the beech bark disease vegetation management. Although I have a love/hate relationship with statistics and presentations, I successfully finished the program and won the award for the best research.

In December 2023, I completed my master’s. I was offered a contract as an assistant forest biologist to help with prescribed burn research. I created an annotated bibliography on burn studies dating back to the 1930s. I was also fortunate to have worked on the bigger research project for the beech bark disease study which was published in the Canadian Journal of Forest Research in 2024.

After that contract, I got a job with Natural Resources Canada at the Petawawa Research Forest as a research and operations technician. I started working on another research project called Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change, then started working for the forest on their day-to-day activities and operations. I was also lucky to do a variety of other forestry work for the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories and the Department of National Defence, such as assisting in a red pine thinning, a slash pile burn, supporting the development of the forest management plan, planning and leading tours of research sites, and more.

Although I loved Petawawa and the community I made, I moved to Peterborough to work for the Ministry again working in the Regional Operations Division on the development of forestry policies and programs. This new position has provided so much growth and learning opportunities. I have travelled all over Ontario for different training sessions, I had the chance to take courses like the Provincial Tree Marking Course, meet a ton of new people, and that is just the beginning!

Although I am still learning every day, I’ve recently gained full membership to the Ontario Professional Foresters Association as a Registered Professional Forester. I’m incredibly grateful to have met some amazing mentors and friends along the way – they are the people who have really gotten me where I am today.

If there’s one thing my journey so far has taught me, it’s that career paths don’t have to be linear. I didn’t grow up knowing I’d end up in forestry—but in many ways, I was always heading here. Now when people ask where I see myself in five years, I say “I don’t know, I’m not even sure where I’ll be one year from now”. But I think that’s the exciting part of a career in forestry. It’s like a constant adventure and although it can be difficult, I can’t wait to see what’s next.

~ Aliya Bein :)