Toolara Trees Safe With Leisa
Leisa Overs of HQPlantations disproves the image of foresters needing to be burly lumberjacks!
The days of a forester being the stereotypical lumberjack are over, as proves nursery manager Leisa Overs – a woman working at the forefront of sustainable forest management with Queensland’s largest plantation forest grower, HQPlantations (HQP).
Leisa is responsible for the health and growth of 10 million Southern Pine and Araucaria seedlings a year at HQP’s Toolara accredited nursery to support HQP’s annual planting program and is leading a $20 million facility improvement program.
When Leisa finished high school, she was considering nursing or accounting and it was only a last-minute decision to switch to a Bachelor of Applied Science in Forestry at Southern Cross University, one she’s glad she made.
‘I was interested in geography but didn’t think back then I’d be working with beneficial bacteria to help pine trees grow better,’ said Leisa.
‘The trees that get their start here as seedlings supply almost all the structural timber to Queensland, building sustainable local homes and communities, so it is important they grow to be healthy and strong,’ she said.
Did you know that more than 25,000 houses a year are built using timber from HQP’s Southern Pine plantations instead of extractive resources? That’s a lot of wood!
