Forestry program a cut above > Foxcroft Academy’s course only 4-year secondary plan in state

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DOVER-FOXCROFT — When Kirby Ellis took over the budding forestry department at Foxcroft Academy in 1984, he inherited a broken bulldozer, two antique chain saws and a cold garage bay for his classroom.

While the equipment has been upgraded and expanded over the years, the small garage bay has continued to serve as a classroom, a room so bleak that more than one student has referred to it as a dungeon.

“When I interviewed there, the shop was just a hole, a lot of mud, a lot of dirt and it hadn’t been painted since I don’t know when,” Ellis said.

In a corner of the garage, a partition separated Ellis’ office, which consisted of a dilapidated desk with no lock and a wooden chair held together with duct tape, from the instruction and equipment repair areas. A portable heater was stationed near Ellis’ desk to keep him warm during cold weather.

The center of the room featured rows of old-fashioned wooden desks with connected chairs that seldom fit the bodies of the students. Counters covered with assorted parts and tools surrounded the garage.

Although handicapped with this confined space, Ellis, a licensed forester, managed to mold the program into one of the state’s top forestry programs at the secondary level. Help toward that end was also provided by Beth Postlewaite, a licensed forester, who joined the FA staff in 1995.

While many vocational and technical schools throughout the state offer forestry programs to high school students, FA is the only secondary school in Maine that offers its own on-campus, four-year forestry management and harvesting program. The program is open to college-preparatory and noncollege preparatory students alike.

Today, the forest management class has about 22 students enrolled in it, while there are 15 in the harvesting program. In 1984, there were only four students signed up for the latter course. About 50 percent of the academy’s forestry students go on to seek further education in the field after graduation, according to Ellis.

A significant move to strengthen the program was made last year when University of Maine officials agreed to guarantee entrance to FA forestry students in the university’s program, if the students successfully completed the FA forestry curriculum and could meet UM qualifications.

The program’s success also sparked enough interest among school officials, businesses, industry and citizens to begin a major fund-raising campaign for a new building and equipment.

More than $125,000, including significant donations ranging from $1,000 to $20,000, were given for the construction and furnishing of a separate forestry building at the private academy, which accepts tuition students from surrounding towns.

One individual who reached deep into her pocket to help toward that end was 92-year-old Christine L. Packard of Willimantic. She donated $20,000 in memory of her late husband, Burton N. Packard, an area businessman. It seemed a natural thing for her to do, she said, knowing of the love her husband had for the Maine forest.

Because of her generosity, and the fact that her husband had devoted his life to good forestry practices, school officials decided to name the new facility in his honor.

A dedication of the Burton N. Packard Center for Forestry Management will be held at 10 a.m. today with Dr. Frederick Hutchinson, president of the University of Maine and an FA alumnus, as guest speaker. Tours of the building will be offered to the public from 11 a.m. until noon.

Headmaster Bradley Ashley hopes the public will turn out in force for the dedication of the building, which marks the first construction on the campus that has been completely funded by private donations.

It marks a significant commitment by the academy’s board of trustees to seek the continued growth of the academy, both in its buildings as well as its programs, through a combination of public tuition and private support, Ashley said. He called it an important landmark, because he believed the future of education lies with both public and private support.

“It’s an accomplishment of the present and a symbol for the future,” he said.

The center also recognizes the importance of forestry to Maine, according to Ashley.

“It’s more than just our heritage, it obviously is one of our top resources, not only in an economic and environmental sense, but quality of life,” he said. “It’s a symbol and a reminder that all of us, not just in education but throughout the state, need to recognize forestry management as an important part of the way of life here in Maine.”

The academy has actually had a longstanding tradition with forestry. The school property was bequeathed to the academy by the Louis Oakes estate with a stipulation that forestry always be taught there, according to Jay Brennan, development director at the academy. That was the impetus for FA to maintain the program, he said. He expects that the new center and its technology will be a draw for other students in the region.

Through the program, students can learn how to devise management and harvest plans, from marking skidder roads to cutting wood, according to Ellis.

The management course taught by Postlewaite primarily deals with the science end of forestry, from biology to zoology. The management end helps students understand the life cycles of forest land and what they need to understand and factor in when developing a land management plan. This could include the preservation of plant species or the habitat of wildlife.

The second series of the forestry program, that of harvesting, involves the management of approximately 1,000 acres of woodlands, both in the public and private sectors. The woodlands are all within a 10-minute drive from the academy. A GMC Suburban that was purchased for the program is used to transport the students to and from their field assignments.

All students in the course have the opportunity to become Certified Logging Professionals, according to Ellis.

With technology playing a larger role in forestry management, Brennan said FA needed to provide access to state-of-the-art equipment, and the former garage did not provide the proper environment for that change.

The new 28-by-55-foot facility located behind the stately academy houses a bright and sunny classroom and work station. A large office with a window facing the classroom will allow the teachers the privacy needed when conferring with students on grades and other matters. It will also allow them a locking storage area for small expensive tools not in use.

While the forestry center does focus on forestry, the technology also will be used by Peter Classen, a teacher of engineering and mechanical and architectural drawing.

“It’s such an update, it’s a big shot in the arm,” said Classen, whose 50 students will be on the receiving end of the gift.

Working at a station this week lined with state-of-the-art computers was Adam Chambers, 17, of Dover-Foxcroft who will graduate from the academy next month. Chambers couldn’t be happier with the gift of the new building, even though his use of it will be short-lived. It’s a gift that will be enjoyed by many through the years, he said.

Chambers, who represents the first generation of his family to go on to college, found his education in forestry an exciting one. He has plans to become either a forester, a tree surgeon or a landscaper. He has not yet decided which college to attend.

“I think FA is by far the best” for technology, job handling and job training, Chambers said. This is confirmed each time the students gather yearly for the state forestry competitions among schools, he said, when FA students typically have acceptable scores in comparison to the state’s vocational schools. The competitions include 12 to 15 events that center around accuracy, precision and control of a chain saw, as well as other woods-related competitions.

“You just don’t realize what you have until you hear what other people have,” said Chambers.

Encouraged by the interest shown by Chambers and others in the forestry program, Christine Packard said the public should do everything it can to help them. Forestry was a way of life for her family and that of her late husband, who was known throughout the region for his good forestry practices. He also owned and operated Packard’s Camps for many years, which is now operated by his heirs.

Gerald Packard of Willimantic, Packard’s grandson, said it was an honor to have something named after his grandfather. He believes his grandfather, too, would be proud of having played a role in the construction of the facility. The businessman, he said, was very precise in how he managed his land.

“When you flew over the town of Willimantic and you looked down from an airplane, you could always tell his woodland, because it looked like woods,” without strip cutting and clear-cuts, he said.

The unique support that this project received was astounding to Ellis, who also made a large donation to the center. From Packard’s gift to those donations from paper companies, land management firms, local businesses and private individuals — they are all investments in the future, the future of the students and the forest as well, according to the instructor.

“This is an important step in developing a relationship between business and education,” he said. “It makes a significant difference, and we’re very, very grateful to those who played a role.”