Ian Smyth introduced Greg Adams from JDI Woodlands Division as our October 23, 2017 speaker.
Greg is a registered professional forester in New Brunswick and obtained his Bachelor of Science in Forestry from Lakehead University and a Masters of Science in Forestry from the University of New Brunswick, specializing in forest genetics.
Greg manages/advises research and development programs for JDI Woodlands Division and has even seen trees from the Sussex Nursery chosen for NASA experimentation to determine the effects of gravity on tree growth...
During his career, Greg has overseen the development of the tree improvement programs and managed company-wide silviculture and tree nursery production.
Greg provided a history of the Irving Tree Nursery that started in 1973. By the end of next year, it is anticipated that Irving will have planted one billion trees as part of its silviculture program. In 2015 a new laboratory was completed, and research is ongoing to produce the best tree that is most resistant to disease and fungus. This is done by picking trees with strong characteristics and grafting branches on other trees, so there is a genetic identity to the good tree.
Irving operates a large orchard in Parkingdale, where trees are cross-pollinated. Seedlings are grown in the Sussex Nursery and then planted in various locations throughout the province.
Rotarian Shelley Vail thanked Greg.