News & Events
PEI does DEMO 08!
"This article was first published in the November 2008 issue of Atlantic Forestry."
by Sarah Glinz
As part of their efforts to promote the Island’s forest sector and learn about emerging trends and technology in the forest industry, the PEI Model Forest Network Partnership, with the support of the PEI Department of Environment, Energy and Forestry hired a coach to send a group of Islanders to the final day of DEMO 08 on Saturday, September 20. Participants came from all over the Island, beating the sunrise to catch the coach in Charlottetown and Borden before heading across the Confederation Bridge to the mainland. The turnout was excellent at 36 people and included a diverse group of landowners, forest consultants, harvesting and silviculture contractors, sawmill operators, value-added wood producers and government employees. The participants had a great time meeting one another and easily passed the three and a half hour journey discussing forestry on the Island and sharing what we were looking forward to seeing at DEMO.
When we arrived at the DEMO registration area, we all put on our PEI Model Forest Network ball caps, picked up our registration packages and jumped on the commuter bus to complete the last leg of our journey to the DEMO forest site. We were delighted to have a member of the Ledwidge family on the bus to welcome us and do a DEMO orientation before arriving at the site.
When we departed the bus at the show entrance, we were like kids in a candy store! There was so much to see and only a few hours to take it all in! Within the first five minutes, our team of orange ball caps quickly dispersed into the busy crowd. With the sun shining and crisp near-autumn air, the day was perfect! It didn’t take long to realize the amount of work it took to put on such a fabulous show. We were incredibly impressed with the site and the variety and quality of the exhibits and demonstrations that lined the three-kilometre loop.
Although we enjoyed every minute of the event, some of the highlights included meeting and congratulating Mr. Laurie Ledwidge, founder of Ledwidge Lumber, on hosting such a wonderful event; learning about and watching demonstrations of the latest technology, particularly the newest equipment designed for biofuel production; and the small-scale forest equipment. With only a few hours to take everything in, time passed quickly and we had no problem filling our bags with the generous volume of promotional gadgets and product information to take with us and digest more thoroughly on the bus ride home.
We want to take this opportunity to thank the PEI Model Forest Network Partnership and the Department of Environment, Energy and Forestry for providing us with the opportunity to learn about the latest developments in the forest industry and wish to extend our appreciation and congratulations to all of the DEMO 08 coordinators and exhibitors. We look forward to the next one that comes to the Maritimes!
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