Coastal Pines Trains Future Forestry Operators

Have you tried to find building materials lately? Have you visited a well-maintained park during the pandemic? Forestry operators are another facet of heavy equipment that are in short supply. Coastal Pines Technical College (CPTC) is training a workforce to operate forestry machines. 

Georgia Forestry, along with students from CPTC and Pierce and Charlton High Schools, have been hard at work installing a Ford (a low water stream crossing) using Geo Fabric which will assist with tract access. The same group will be hard at work this summer attending the In-Woods Logging class at CPTC. 

The summer logging class runs Monday May 24th through Friday June 11^th. Students will learn operations and train using Cat® Simulators Track Feller Buncher and FM Log Loader. Students can learn in the safety of the virtual environment using genuine Cat controls, before moving to the actual machines.  

“The simulators have helped the students adjust to the machine controls and the hand/eye coordination required when operating the logging equipment. Time on the Simulator requires less instruction for students in the woods, thus more productivity when the actual logging begins”, says Tommy Peagler, Forestry and Timber Harvesting Instructor, CPTC.