Photo of Colorado landscape, taken by Spencer Starosta (brother).
Hello, readers! I am so excited to be a Green Dream intern and share my experiences with you all for the summer, and I would like to thank the FPAC for this opportunity! This first post will introduce who I am, how I got here, and what I care about in the forestry industry.
My name is Aidan, and I was born and raised in the Denver Metro Area of Colorado, USA. Although I lived in suburbia, I could see the Rocky Mountains from my bedroom window and got to spend a lot of time out in nature. Most people do not realize that Colorado is not mountains covered in snow, but actually, it is a high desert. My top three nature-related activities in Colorado continue to be rafting, hiking, and backpacking.
I graduated high school back in 2019, where I walked the outdoor stage at the Red Rocks Amphitheater surrounded by huge sandstone formations. Between high school and university, I took a gap year when I interned in the Colorado Attorney General’s office. I worked on a mix of communications and legal-related activities. This was something I really enjoyed because the programs that I supported directly affected my local community and provided an outlet to improve the world.
When I arrived at McGill University, I had no idea what I wanted to study. After taking several Political Science courses, I found the field really intrigued me, enough to declare it as my major. I enjoy being able to understand “Why?” and Political Science examines that on a global scale. Additionally, over the summer of 2021, I was exposed to the world of small and medium-sized businesses while interning for the World Trade Center Denver, researching global markets for various companies.
This past school year, I took some research methods and statistics classes to learn more about how to perform different kinds of analyses, along with starting coursework in my Management minor. These classes led me to apply for the internship in Resolute Forest Products’ Business Optimization section. I began my work in the Logistics department (Montreal office) in May and have been there all summer. This is my first time in a corporate job and my first time being exposed to the forest as an industry, but it has been interesting to see forestry from a business perspective.
When applying for internships this summer, I prioritized working for a company that was eco-conscious and actively sought to raise the bar on sustainability. From what I have seen so far at Resolute, our ESGs are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely), helping Resolute have a definitive and transparent vision of what their environmental obligations should be. The forestry industry in Canada has really done its part to make the industry more environmentally friendly. Resolute’s participation in FPAC ensures that we are on the same page as other Canadian forestry leaders. I am excited to be a part of a company in an industry doing its part to help my generation have a more secure environmental future.
Politicians and corporations always talk about the environment as if it is an issue with the physical Earth, but the reality is environmental protection is about keeping humans on the planet. Ultimately, that is what saving the environment really is about. Therefore, it is great to be working for a company where Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions have been reduced by 86% of their levels in 2000. I believe it is also worth pointing out that the Canadian forestry industry as a whole has retained more than 90% of its original forest cover and has reduced its GHG emissions by close to 70% (FPAC).
On that note, I hope you enjoyed my first blogpost! Thank you for reading!
