Forestry Corporation’s Elissa Tolson has been recognised as the top student in TAFE NSW’s Certificate III in Forest Operations, receiving the prestigious G&J Groves Award for outstanding achievement across the two-year course.

The award recognises excellence in practical forestry operations, safety, planning and industry knowledge.

Elissa was one of 20 Forestry Corporation staff to undertake the qualification alongside employees from Local Land Services, forestry contractors and members of the NSW timber industry.

Currently based in Grafton, Elissa works as a forestry officer overseeing hardwood timber operations across the Clarence Valley and Northern Rivers.

“I work as a harvest coordinator looking after hardwood timber harvest crews and conducting pre-harvest forest surveys through to monitoring harvest operations and quality control audits,” Ms Tolson said.

“I’ve always been interested in the environmental and scientific side of forestry. Before this, I worked at the University of Queensland’s St Lucia campus in Brisbane as an animal research assistant.

“I got sick of living in the city, so I came home to the Coffs Coast and traded the concrete basement of a laboratory for an incredible job working outdoors in State forests.

“I love being in the bush all the time and the thrill of working outdoors. It’s been a complete lifestyle change and the most amazing experience in my career where the forest is mostly my office.”

TAFE NSW Forestry Teacher Adam Farquharson presents Forestry Officer Elissa Tolson with the G&J Groves Trophy.

TAFE NSW forestry teacher Adam Farquharson said Elissa stood out throughout the course.

“The Certificate III course is a 13-unit qualification undertaken over two years and is designed to give students an all-encompassing introduction to forestry operations across NSW,” Mr Farquharson said.

“The course covers a wide range of forest types and operational environments and includes field trips to experience operations in coastal hardwoods in Grafton, softwood plantations in Tumut, cypress pine forests in Narrandera and red gum operations at Barham on the Victorian border.

“Students completed practical safety units, log grading and written assessments, while gaining an insight into how operations are planned and carried out in different forest types across the state.”

“Elissa really shone as a conscientious student. Her work and assessments were consistently top notch, and she demonstrated a genuine passion for the industry and the environment.”

Elissa is now planning to continue her studies undertaking Certificate IV level training focused on operational planning and crew management.

Ms Tolson said one of the most valuable aspects of the course was the opportunity to network with forestry workers from across NSW.

“The course has been a great networking opportunity because you meet people across the state who you wouldn’t normally work alongside unless you were on a fireground together,” she said.

“It also opened my eyes to the variety of careers in forestry — from ecology and road planning through to harvesting and fire operations.

“Being able to see how the softwood sector operates in comparison with coastal hardwood forestry was really valuable.”

An Advanced Firefighter, Elissa has recently undertaken firefighting deployments to Narrabri, Bulahdelah and Tenterfield, in addition to supporting numerous fire operations across the Clarence Valley and Northern Rivers.

“Firefighting is a really good skill set to have in forestry and it’s fascinating learning how fire behaves in a forest and how it can be used as a tool to safeguard communities, timber assets and wildlife from future wildfires,” she said.

A large part of Elissa’s role also involves tree marking and forest surveys in steep native forest terrain.

“When we’re tree marking, we do surveys across forest patches under 10 hectares and usually walk between four and six kilometres a day,” she said.

“I enjoy the fitness side of the job, which includes working in really steep country. Working in a forest is such a rewarding career and one that I am glad every day that I pursued.

The award sponsor, G&J Groves, has been part of the Australian forestry industry for 68 years.

Established in 1957 by Geoff and Jean Groves after relocating from the Blowering Valley during the development of Blowering Dam, the company has grown into a major forestry haulage operation and remains a fourth-generation family-run business with strong ties to the NSW timber industry.