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PLT Canada’s Green Mentor Program matches over 100 people in Canada’s forest and conservation sector

November 09, 2021

Screenshot of a Zoom screenshot

On Oct. 13, 2021, PLT Canada launched the October 2021 National Cohort of their Green Mentor Program.

The six-month mentorship program supports 51 mentor-mentee pairs, and includes mentors from the Sustainable Forestry Initiative’s (SFI) network and mentees interested in breaking into the forest and conservation sector.

At the kickoff webinar, a past green mentee, Kianna Bear-Hetherington, shared her experience in the program and gave advice to the new mentees.

“This experience has definitely helped shape me into a greater agent of change and given me more accountability in my life. I would like to express my gratitude to my mentor and everyone who is involved with this mentorship program.”
Kianna Bear-Hetherington
PLT Canada green mentee

“This experience has definitely helped shape me into a greater agent of change and given me more accountability in my life. I would like to express my gratitude to my mentor and everyone who is involved with this mentorship program.”
Kianna Bear-Hetherington
PLT Canada green mentee

 

Why is mentorship important?

Mentorship is an important way to foster and inspire the next generation of forest and conservation leaders and build a diverse and resilient Green Jobs workforce. It can also help reduce barriers to landing a green job by providing access to insider tips, helping participants grow professional networks, and by increasing the confidence of mentees and mentors alike.

“Young people are our future. PLT Canada is committed to supporting them along their green career pathways and mentorship is an important way we can serve the next generation of forest and conservation leaders. We are proud to be helping youth overcome barriers and find employment success.”
Kathy Abusow
President and CEO
PLT Canada

“Young people are our future. PLT Canada is committed to supporting them along their green career pathways and mentorship is an important way we can serve the next generation of forest and conservation leaders. We are proud to be helping youth overcome barriers and find employment success.”
Kathy Abusow
President and CEO
PLT Canada

 

Why choose PLT Canada’s Green Mentor program?

Mentorship is a mutually beneficial relationship, where both mentees and mentors can grow their careers, gain new perspectives, and access a bigger and more diverse network. PLT Canada’s Green Mentor program connects youth (ages 18–30) directly to Green Jobs professionals with an industry-leading algorithm that matches people based on personalities, learning styles, goals, locations, interests, and existing skills.

Over 250 people have participated in PLT Canada’s Green Mentor programs since 2020, and over 90% rated the program a 7 or higher out of 10.

Past green mentees said that the top three skills they gained or improved during the program were the following:

  1. Confidence
  2. Networking
  3. Communication
 Green mentors said their top three skills gained or improved were the following:

  1. Communication
  2. Coaching
  3. Empathy

“The Green Mentor program is one of the things that gives me hope about how the forest sector will grow in the future. We need more young people like [my mentee] to help move things forward. We also need young people to see what modern, sustainable forestry is all about so they can see themselves in a green career.”
Ken Price
Member of the K’ómoks First Nation, Green mentor
Partnerships Coordinator for Mosaic Forest Management
SFI-CERTIFIED ORGANIZATION

“The Green Mentor program is one of the things that gives me hope about how the forest sector will grow in the future. We need more young people like [my mentee] to help move things forward. We also need young people to see what modern, sustainable forestry is all about so they can see themselves in a green career.”
Ken Price
Member of the K’ómoks First Nation, Green mentor
Partnerships Coordinator for Mosaic Forest Management
SFI-CERTIFIED ORGANIZATION

 

October 2021 National Cohort mentees

  • 2 francophones
  • 5 newcomers to Canada
  • 14 participants who self-identify as a visible minority
  • 3 participants who self-identify as First Nation, Inuit, Non-Status, or Métis
  • 12 participants who come from rural communities
  • 10 participants who self-identify as living with visible or non-visible disabilities

Mentor Organizations

Our green mentors work in diverse organizations across the forest and conservation sector. Here are a few places our new mentors work:

Learn more about PLT Canada’s Green Mentor program

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