Firefighters from Grafton, Coffs Harbour, Casino and the wider north coast were put through their paces this week, being trained and tested at Forestry Corporation of NSW’s pre-season fire day held in Bom Bom State Forest.

Students at Coffs Harbour Christian Community Junior School will now enjoy computer lessons in a new timber-clad building and deck built using timber donated by Forestry Corporation of NSW and Boral Timber.

Local Forestry Corporation of NSW staff have completed the first stage of their annual fire season preparations, passing gruelling fitness tests that simulate the strain placed on the body during firefighting.

The first shipment of 60 containers of timber has been loaded onto the train at Werris Creek destined for Port Botany, as the region’s new rail hub gears up to take up to 230,000 tonnes of timber from Walcha and Nundle annually.

More than seven million pine seedlings are being dispatched from Forestry Corporation of NSW’s Blowering Nursery near Tumut this winter, which is one of the largest crops since the nursery began producing containerised seedlings a little over a decade ago.

More than 2,000 hectares of southern pine plantations near Grafton are now in public hands, after Forestry Corporation of NSW bought the timber rights to plantations established under contract for a private company.

Pilliga West, Merriwindi, Clive and Mount Topper State Forests are now open to the public after sustaining heavy flooding and bushfire damage earlier in the year.

The Black Springs Community Association recently unveiled a memorial and heritage wall to mark two centuries since the explorer Charles Throsby camped in the area.

The Nature School has built an outdoor learning and natural play area, thanks to donated timber from Forestry Corporation of NSW and Boral.

Forestry Corporation of NSW has been trialing drones for aerial ignition to better understand how this emerging technology can support a safe and effective hazard reduction burning program.