Forest tours return after highly successful year

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This article was published 20/04/2025 (340 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The RM of Piney’s forest tours are back again after popular demand and this year there will be a trip to a lumber mill.

Forest educator Bob Austman will guide the tour through the forests of Piney and said the tours, which sees people from the all over the Southeast and Winnipeg attend, are a way for people to take a few hours out of their busy day to just bathe in the tranquility and fresh air of the forest.

“There’s evidence that being in the forest will lower the stress hormone known as cortisol and it also can reduce blood pressure and heart rates and give you a sense of calm in an otherwise crazy world,” he said.

New to the tour will be the theme Goods From The Woods, the last leg of the forest tour, which will take place on Sept. 26 from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. where participants will meet at the Southeast Forest Products in Blumenort. In this theme, Austman will discuss products that can be taken from the forest on a small scale (berries and mushroom picking, and maple harvest) to large scale (lumber production).

“We’re going to take a look at the logs that you see rolling down Highway 12 into Blumenort. We’re going to look at how they’re made into lumber and firewood and pallets and rafters and a whole host of things that we get from local wood fiber right here in the southeast corner,” he said.

This tour is limited to 15 people.

Returning to the tour series is Forest 101 and Fire Smart.

Forest 101 will teach participants how to identify trees, the forest structure and ecosystem, the role of forest fires, minimizing damage to a forest, and the economics of a forest.

“In general we’re looking at the whole forest from how it starts off as a seedling, and the whole life cycle, and eventually it gets old and matures and it dies of old age, that’s the time when we can do our careful harvesting,” said Austman.

This tour will be offered on May 31 from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Participants are requested to meet at the RM of Piney office in Vassar. Transportation will take visitors to the forest.

“And people in Forestry 101 will come home with a booklet to identify trees so they can become the local expert in their family….they’ll come away with the skills to identify tress by the bark and by the cones and needles,” said Austman.

The second tour will focus on being Fire Smart and it will run on June 28 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. with the starting point being the RM of Piney office in Vassar.

“What we’re going to look at there is different ways landowners can prepare for the fire season. The climate models are saying that forest fires are going to become more frequent more intense and so we’re going to cover things like, what can the landowner do if they’re facing the risk of a fire,” said Austman.

Austman recommends that people who are coming to the tours wear comfortable shoes and to dress for the weather as the tour will continue come rain or shine, with the exception of a severe thunderstorm.

“I think at the end of the day if we want to care more about our forests the first thing we need to do is learn the proper names of the trees and shrubs that grow in the forest, how they live, and how they grow, and even sometimes how they die.”

For those who would like to register for a tour, call the RM of Piney’s office at 204-437-2284 or 204-437-2060.