Fire Smarting & Composting
Working in Whitehorse up in the subarctic climate region we are surrounded by trees and mountains. As part of my work for Realty 6000, I had ample opportunity to learn about the large scale effects of fire-smarting and compositing. While we fire-smarted in and around the property, about 14.5 hectares, I have dealt with a variety of loggers and arborists. It was a good learning opportunity to learn practical fire smart management from these people and how removing the old dead growth could encourage the remaining growth to survive and thrive, as well as learning how leaving the healthy trees and fire-resistant plant and around them can benefit us all. Also knowing that these efforts were helpful in the sustainability of the property and surrounding areas from possible fire dangers that we see with the increased forest fires across the country was re-assuring.
For the composting part, I believe that this was the most notable time for me while working at the trailer park. Part of my daily job would include separating organics (clean wood, brush, leaves, grubbing), from the garbage piles, as well as going around the property to clean up any excessive organics and dead material. During my working at Realty 6000 I was able to help facilitate weekly compost pickups, and even encourage extra bins for the residents to put their personal compost amounts in. Before the bins were available I would drive the compost from the park up to the landfill, and was able to watch the city upgrade of the compost facility over the course of a few years. This interaction inspired me to learn about and keep up with local compost regulations and the future of our city compost program as they were upgrading to the new facility. This interaction of watching the city compost program and helping to increase the facilitation of our own compost program has really encouraged me to part take in environmental sustainability for my local community
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