Harvesting Trees Manually Workshop

Participants comprised of Police officers and community representatives have completed a two week Basic - Harvesting Trees Manually Workshop facilitated by the Ministry of Forestry, Fiji at the Police Special Response Unit.

The 63 participants underwent training in the Basics of the handling and maintenance of a chainsaw as well as safety protocols.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Seresio Vereivalu in thanking the Ministry of Forestry’s support in facilitating the workshop, said as first responders, police officers had to be multi-skilled when time was not a luxury.

ASP Vereivalu said Police officers were expected to be able to respond in a timely manner especially during natural disasters, and the additional skills of knowing how to clear fallen trees will mean greater response times as reliance on other Departments will be lessened.

He added with community representation during the two weeks, it meant more assistance would be available on the ground.

Ministry of Forestry’s Arieta Rakarawa said they were happy to assist with expanding not only the capabilities of front-line officers, but to be able to enhance safety awareness on the handling of machinery used in felling operations.