The Riding Mountain Woodchucks

You are likely familiar with the tongue-twister, “How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?” But have you ever wondered how much wood a group of hard working women could process in a day? The answer is approximately eight cords of split wood per day. If you didn’t respond to this with, WOW! You clearly have no clue how much wood is in a cord. Even though these Parks Canada employees are relatively new at this operation, they are running a well-oiled machine.

Megan Wiebe, Dawne Robinson and Shanda Wruth (pictured above) are the powerhouses behind this project. They take turns operating the wood processor, skid steer, and delivering wood in a one-ton truck from the wood processing site to the wood yard. Robinson says, “We work really well together.”

The garage mechanics have praised their work and the fact that they have minimal equipment breakdowns. When asked where their enthusiasm comes from, Wruth replied, “We saw that there was a need for this project to be completed and I thought, why not? I would like to give it a try.”

Some training was necessary to get them all up to speed and working proficiently with the equipment, “I was asked about giving this a try, so I was trained on how to drive the skid steer and I really like it,” said Wiebe, pictured below.

Their supervisor, Clarence Popowich, is very proud of the work they are doing, and says that as a result of their efforts, the park’s split wood production has been maximized. “It’s so refreshing to see workers who are happy and leave at the end of the day feeling a sense of accomplishment,” said Popowich.

Please take a moment to acknowledge these three women and the valuable work they are doing for the park. Kudos to Shanda, Dawne and Megan!