AFTER almost two decades working indoors, Kirrily Oliver made a decision that took her in a different direction.
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These days she roams the "beautiful forests" of the Bathurst region in her role as a harvesting supervisor - and is a fully trained firefighter to boot.
Her story was highlighted by Forestry Corporation as part of International Women's Day.
"I was stuck in typical office-based roles for nearly 20 years and one day thought what else could I be doing in my life in my early 40s," she said of her decision to join Forestry Corporation.
"Until I started working in the role, I never knew how much went into the business regarding how in-depth the management of forests is and the huge amount of work that goes into the renewable side of the business, through to how everyone is welcomed as part of the broader teams, male or female."
State forests in the Bathurst region
- Sunny Corner (between Bathurst and Lithgow).
- Lidsdale (south of Wallerawang).
- Vittoria (between Bathurst and Orange).
- Dog Rocks (near Rockley).
- Hampton (between Oberon and Lithgow).
- Vulcan (south of Oberon).
Ms Oliver's daily role as a harvesting supervisor "involves supervising our harvesting contractors - making sure they stick to the outlines, processes and safety and environmental guidelines set for production in the field".
"This involves daily checks in the field with many kilometres travelled daily across our beautiful forests," she said.
"Aside from our daily roles, we are also fully trained and certified firefighters when required, working to protect our teammates and our great assets - our forests."
Ms Oliver said she is looking forward to starting a Certificate III in Forestry Operations through TAFE, which she hopes will "broaden my knowledge within the corporation and hopefully give me a long career within Forestry".
