A man of the woods

 

When Andreas Radich Scheffel graduates as MSc in Forest and Nature Management, he would like to be a consultant in forestry.
 
”I would like to advise forest owners on what to plant, what to fell and when to thin out, as well as help them with sales and budgeting,” says 28-year-old Andreas Radich Scheffel. He is in his second year in Forest and Nature Management and dreams of a job as a consultant in the Association of Forest Owners (Skovdyrkerforeningen) or in a smaller consultancy firm. 

 

The practical side of forestry appeals to Andreas. He therefore greatly appreciates that an MSc in Forest and Nature Management includes the opportunity to do an internship.

 

As a part of his own vocational project, Andreas was affiliated to Sorø Academy that administrates 4,000 hectares of forest. Andreas assisted the three forest rangers in their daily work and mapped and elaborated a stand list for 170 hectares of forest. Furthermore, working with the project demonstrated why subjects such as conflict resolution might come in useful in forestry.
 
”Now I have a better understanding of how emotional peoples’ relationship to nature can be. An example could be residents nearby a forest who find forest thinning a shame because they routinely watch a little squirrel in the thicket every morning. We need to be able to handle a situation like this well,” says Andreas.

 

Getting the hands dirty

Before Andreas started his studies in Forest and Nature Management, he took a bachelor in Natural Resources. But if the pragmatic student were to start from scratch today, he would begin with a degree in Forest and Landscape Engineering and then complement it with Forest and Nature Management.

 

”This would give a combination of theory and practice that fits me better because I enjoy

the outdoors so much,” he says.

 

The next exciting challenge will be his thesis and this will, of course, also include “getting his hands dirty”. Andreas will study how to find alternatives to the ash trees that all gradually have died from the fungal disease “ash dieback”.

 

”Ash trees typically grow in rather moist environments and at the moment it is quite a challenge in our line of business to figure out what to plant in its stead,” Andreas explains.

 

To do this, he will interview the forest rangers in Denmark on what they have planted and how any possible natural rejuvenation has turned out. Andreas will collect all experiences in a guide that will be accessible to all forest rangers.