Women in Forestry: Bevin Wigmore, RPBio

Bevin Wigmore, RPBio

Mosaic Forest Management

Meet Bevin Wigmore, Manager of Tree Improvement at Mosaic Forest Management. In this role, she manages a 100-acre seed orchard on Vancouver Island and is responsible for producing all the seeds needed to grow 10-12 million seedlings (small trees that have sprouted) for Mosaic’s reforestation each year. She and her team work with scientists from the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development to select the most applicable trees to establish in the orchard, produces seed from these trees, and collaborates with nurseries to grow the seedlings.

From a young age, she knew she wanted to work outdoors. After completing a degree in biology at the University of Victoria, she got a job at a forest seedling nursery where she became interested in forest tree genetics and breeding.

One thing that never gets old for Bevin is the satisfaction of completing the cone harvest season in September as she can see the physical results of her labour, with all the cones in sacks and on racks ready to go to nurseries. Throughout her career, she’s had many highlights, but to this day, Bevin loves going out into the field and seeing a young forest thriving and knowing that it all started at her orchard.

For women considering a career in forestry, Bevin says: “Go for it! There are so many different types of forestry jobs; if you love working outdoors, you’ll be sure to find something that you enjoy.”