Thirty-five teachers from across South Carolina were chosen to participate in the 2007 Forestry Teachers' Tour, a three-hour, graduate level course on Teaching Sustainable Forestry in Environmental Education. The tour included Johney Haralson's Double K Tree Farm located between Denmark and Barnwell.

Classroom instruction introduced the teachers to hands-on experience with all aspects of South Carolina's growing forestry industry. Transportation, lodging and meals were provided through the generosity of the host industries, businesses and private individuals. Participants gained a firsthand perspective on the many facets of South Carolina's forestry industry as well as the positive impact on the environment that modern timber growing, harvesting and processing has on the whole community.

A three-day environmental workshop at Harbison State Forest (Columbia) laid the foundation for the four-day tour of Lowcountry timber producers, loggers, processors and manufacturers. Tour stops included MeadWestvaco Kraft Paper mill, Santee Cooper Public Lands, Francis Marion National Forest and Bonneau Ferry Wildlife Management Area.

A tour of Grant Forest Products' OSB mill in Allendale -- one of the newest manufacturing plants for engineered wood products (OSB - Oriented Strand Board) in the state -- offered a view of technological advances in engineered wood products. At Collum Lumber Products in Allendale, a modern sawmill, teachers saw how lasers and computers are used to reduce waste in turning raw timber into structural lumber.

Boiling Springs High School wildlife biology teacher Sandy Phillips-Long was excited about forestry career opportunities for her students.

"The tour has highlighted the many positive benefits the forestry and logging industry give to South Carolina," Phillips-Long said. "Many of my students are interested in DNR careers. I know they'll also be interested in forestry careers when I make them aware of the wonderful outdoor-oriented jobs in the industry."

Riding in open wagons, the teachers toured Haralson's Double K Tree Farm.

"South Carolina's forestry industry is in better shape today than it has ever been," Haralson said. He also discussed his management objectives, techniques and the heritage of his forest lands.

Haralson is passionate about his land, trees and wildlife. He was recently honored as the 2007 Southern Regional Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year.

"This tour is so great," said Phillip Rabon, a social studies teacher at Busbee Creative Arts Academy in Cayce. "I really appreciate the opportunity to learn about forestry and ecology right here in South Carolina. I'll incorporate what I've learned in my classes so that my students will understand how important forestry is to all of us."

Land management from an industrial standpoint was emphasized on the Plum Creek Industrial Land Tour. Plum Creek is one of the largest landowners in the nation, but with no mills to support, its primary product is timber for surrounding manufacturing facilities while providing recreation, soil and water conservation and other benefits. The full spectrum of industrial forestry, from the planting to the mature forest, was incorporated in the tour.

Touring Brosnan Forest of Norfolk Southern Railroad near St. George, the teachers visited the largest colony of federally endangered red cockaded woodpeckers on private land. At Brosnan, they also toured one of the last old-growth longleaf pine ecosystems left in the Southeast. Protection of endangered species and ecosystem management were key topics.

A video, lecture and demonstration of prescribed fire as a forestry and wildlife management tool impressed Schofield Middle School (Aiken) science teacher David Culp.

"The emphasis on the importance of fire as a method of promoting economically valuable timber and companion species that are native to South Carolina was an eye-opener for me," Culp said. "I really wasn't aware of how important properly managed fire is as a forestry management tool."

Patricia Bradford, Sumter High biology teacher, said she was taking the class for recertification.

"These activities will come in great when I teach about ecology. I'll be able to give my students real-life examples," Bradford said. "The information about job opportunities in South Carolina in the forestry and timber industry will really catch my student's interest."

She added, "The whole process of getting a finished product -- starting from a tree and ending with paper and pencils, books and boxes, blended products from wood and other products -- is happening right here in South Carolina."

The S.C. Teachers' Tour is a project of the S.C. Forestry Foundation in cooperation with private landowners, forestry professionals and forest industries. Selected teachers are given a firsthand experience of the woods and mills of South Carolina. They see how society and the economy depend on forest resources and learn about sustainable forest management.

T&D Correspondent Laura G. Carlson can be reached by e-mail at Laura@carlsonclan.com or by phone at 803-793-3336. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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