A bus tour set for later this summer will give people an in-depth look at woodlots in southwestern Ontario.
The South West Woodlot Association is hosting the Woodlot Bus Tour on August 25.
According to organizer Rick Wilkins, the tour starts at at Bothwell Arena and will venture across the region with several stops.
Wilkins said there will be no shortage of things to see and learn about on the tour.
"We'll be visiting a Carolinian plant nursery, the shop of a master bowyer who creates unique and functional archery and weapons from woody harvest," he explained. "We'll also be at the Clear Creek Forest and Nature Reserve for a site visit and discussion... Then we'll be moving over into west Elgin and southwest Middlesex and we'll be visiting a commercial hazelnut orchard... and also a post-harvest plantation thinning."
The tour is scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. on August 25 and the bus will be back home in Chatham-Kent around 4:30 p.m.
Wilkins said registration is open to the public.
"Anyone who has an interest in our forestry cover in southwestern Ontario. They could be a private land owner, owning a forest, they could be a person who's a naturalist who has an interest in wildlife, a botanist. The wood lot bus tour encompasses so many things that would be of interest for so many different people," he explained.
Wilkins said the tour is also a way to bring together woodlot owners and help them get information on how to sustainably managing their establish woodlots. He added that the main piece of information he hopes people take away from the tour is management techniques for the Carolinian forest habitat.
"Every year we touch on different things," he said. "Sometimes it's harvesting, sometimes it's reforestation, or if we're dealing with invasive species. Just all kinds of information that is very critical to the management of the habitat we're stewarding."
Anyone interested in the tour must pre-register. The cost is $35 if registering before August 19 and $45 if registering after August 19.
To pre-register contact Tim Payne at 519-245-3710 ext. 224 or tpayne@scrca.on.ca.
