As of: March 6, 2024, 5:18 p.m
By: Lilli Schaule
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An “exciting” thing: master forester Dirk Hecht (r.) instructs a course participant in cutting on the forest farming school’s tension simulator.
© Peter Hummel
Almost half of all private forests are owned by women.
Forest owners are very interested in forestry work.
Courses for women only teach about forest care – and are very popular.
Kelheim – How do you actually sharpen a chainsaw chain and what can go wrong when felling trees?
The chainsaw basic course at the Kelheim Forest Farming School answers questions about forest care - and more and more women are interested in the answers.
That's why for several years there have been special courses just for female forest owners.
A look at the statistics on private forest ownership explains the great demand.
Around 40 percent of the 700,000 forest owners are female, according to the Bavarian Forestry Administration.
Most of them are between 40 and 70 years old and tend to live in rural areas.
“Regularly fully booked”: Women’s forest management courses are very popular
Peter Hummel knows this too.
He heads the Kelheim Forest Farmers' School, a central forestry education and training center for private and communal forests in Bavaria.
Both further training for forest owners and the training of young talent are on the school's program.
The chainsaw basics course has been around for 20 years.
There the participants learn everything about the chainsaw.
The course usually takes place in mixed groups.
However, on two dates it is only open to women.
“It’s regularly fully booked.
There are always between 8 and 16 participants per course,” explains Hummel to the editorial team.
The education center initiated the women's course at the request of female forest owners.
It offers a relaxed setting in which the participants can ask any questions and learn everything in peace.
“It depends on your personality which course you prefer,” says Hummel in an interview.
Peter Hummel is headmaster of the Bavarian Forest Farmers' School in Kehlheim.
© Peter Hummel
“The traditional role model is breaking down”: For a long time, forest work was purely a male domain
The headmaster has an explanation for the great interest shown by women in the forest care courses: “The traditional role model is breaking down”.
For a long time, forestry work was purely a male domain.
Today, many women would also inherit forests and thus become forest owners.
In addition, private forests are often family-owned, which is why female family members are also interested in learning how to properly care for the forest.
“In times of forest cultivation and climate change, it is important that everyone pitches in,” emphasizes Hummel in an interview.
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Women's power for the forest
To support women on their path to forest care, the Forest Farmers' School offers another program - the
Women's Power for the Forest
course.
“We want to encourage women to take up volunteer positions in forestry or forest care,” explains the headmaster.
During the course, women can get to know the club's work and establish contact with other women who also hold voluntary forestry positions.
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The Forest Farmers School’s efforts appear to be bearing fruit.
This year there are again two basic chainsaw courses just for women and a
women's power for the forest
course.
The future of forest management is likely to become increasingly female.
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