Mouse in the forest

Mouse, a nick name that has stuck since primary school, is well known in the Tasman Forest as an experienced bushman as well as a keen pig and deer hunter.

Mouse, Matthew McCarthy, has spent decades in various forestry roles such as breaking out, manual felling and trimming.  He had,13 years as a waratah operator, four years conducting specialised Waratah audits, and quality control education and support to crews in Australia and nationwide in New Zealand.

However, a few years ago Mouse stepped into a Log Production Coordinators role, otherwise known as a harvesting supervisor, without a backwards glance.

“I used to kick around down the sounds and was lucky enough to know someone who had a loader and logging crew,” says Mouse.

, “I spent school holidays cutting up firewood to get some funds for a dirt bike and realised I liked the work.  I was offered a stint breaking out for a hauler crew in Marahau and the work just fitted with me;, I liked being outdoors so stayed on and that was the start.”

“If you had told me, even seven years ago, that I would be working inside Onefortyone I would have laughed and said ‘I don’t think so, I’m not able to do that job’.” Mouse says.

The opportunity for the position came up while Covid lock downs were impacting the travel required in Mouses previous job.

“My workload had been cut in half due to the lockdowns and when the role came up, I thought 'I have those skills’ so applied,.” says Mouse.

Another draw card was gaining access to a hunting playground, spanning more than 45,000 hectares – which is just over half over of Onefortyone’s estate size.

A Log Production Coordinator (LPC) is responsible for all the technical work which precedes a forest harvest. They coordinate the harvesting activities and environmental requirements.

Health and Safety’s a big part of the role and Mouse puts an emphasis on ensuring crews have everything that is required to operate safely – this includes heat maps to identify hazards and risks, running through risks regularly and putting practical steps in place to eliminate, or mitigate, those risks.  An LPC also monitors the supply of log grades working with crews to meet required grades for customers.

Mouse uses GIS-based forest mapping and works with road engineers to maintain harvest infrastructure such as roads and forest landings as well as post-harvest engineering after harvest is finished. He is the communication hub regarding product harvest and constantly keeps everyone in the communication loop of what's happening with harvest. Mouse’s role is split with around 25 percent of the work being office- based and the rest out on site.

“When I started the job, it was a bit nerve-wracking,” Mouse admits,“It’s hard when you push yourself outside your comfort zone. I had in the back of my mind that I could always go back to the bush work if needed.”

However, it wasn’t needed, with his hands- on experience and genuine like for paperwork and numbers after only six months in the job, Mouse had relaxed and was learning lots. Thirty months on and he’s still going strong.

“I have my challenges, as you do in all jobs. Wet weather is a big one and requires all involved to be more mindful of the environment, we’ve we had two wet summers, but the flip side of that is that we have had no fire risk during this time which is great.,”

He says another challenge is working with crews that need to get their production up; it takes a bit of time and planning, “but we usually get there.”

“I like being outside and interacting with guys,” he says.  “I really enjoy being involved in something that’s not working right, problem solving, working it through and seeing the result,” Mouse says.

He says forestry has many different career options, and more companies are looking to employ people with hands- on experience to fill roles like his.

” Something else Mouse enjoys is interacting with local farmers who have land on the forest’s boundary.

“I like working together with neighbours, they are an important part of our operation,” he says, “I enjoy having a chat and seeing their way of life.”

Mouse says that over time he has learnt how important and amazing trees are.

“They clean our water and air, help manage erosion and act as an important buffer against climate change. Our forests sustain many different species of animals and if we look after them, they will look after us.”

“The thing I most like about this job is that you get to see the full cycle from standing trees, log making and production to the log truck leaving. It’s neat and I wouldn’t fully appreciate it without knowing firsthand the work involved in each step from everyone involved,” says Mouse.

“I don’t know what’s on the horizon but I hope to be in the forest, one way or another, until I retire.”