landscape culture. The 10 students in the maple production program at Coaticook Vocational Training Center – CRIFA will soon discover their new playground, the Martelodrom Forêt Hereford.
For starters, a hammerodrome is a forest area designated after a thorough inventory. The facility on the Chemin de la Slouce was completed at the end of September. “It’s basically an outdoor laboratory for our students,” said Barbara Leblanc, a maple production teacher. The aim is to specifically observe the deficiencies and diseases of the trees in order to be able to identify them and recognize their severity. In our case, we also want to study the impact of these diseases on headwater rivers. »
The site is divided into two half-hectare areas. There are 98 trees in each of these trees. Maple occurs in the majority, along with companion species such as yellow birch, cherry and ash.
This theoretical part, which was previously taught in class, can now largely be taught in practice. “The practical side is really important. If students are able to recognize and pay attention to healthy trees, they will have a balanced maple grove. “Being on site will help us understand the ecosystem better,” believes Ms. Leblanc.
The Hammerodrome is located off the footpaths of Forêt Hereford. However, when people go there, they should not be surprised to find that every tree in the area is numbered. “We might want to develop a little path to our website to explain what we do. “We could put up a sign and announce the goal of the project,” says the teacher.
COOPERATION
The creation of the Hammerodrome is the result of teamwork. The Coaticook CFP team received help from forestry technologists and technicians from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests, Sylvain Gagnon and Jean-Marc Bilodeau. The organization Appalaches Forest Development and Cooperative and its forest technologist Arnaud Martin were also involved in the founding. “By using everyone’s strengths, we are able to put together a solid project,” says Barbara Leblanc.
The project could also go through a second phase. “The University of Sherbrooke and its Faculty of Applied Geomatics could help us with this by creating a database for each of our locations. “This would enrich our project and advance the collection of our data even further,” she concludes.