To celebrate his 50e anniversary, the Valley Resource Exploitation Company (SERV) opened the doors of the Forestville Silvicultural Center, which it has owned since 1996.
Around a hundred people discovered the underside of this nursery which has existed for 38 years and which employs 50 employees. On the afternoon of June 26, the site visit allowed us to learn more about the production of forest plants.
SERV’s general manager, Simon Pronovost, recalled the history of the cooperative which was born in the Matapédia Valley.
“We are a forestry group located in Lac-au-Saumon on the south shore. We harvest wood mainly in private forests, we also do development, planting, clearing, but we sought to diversify,” he said.
Among the diversifications carried out, we notably find the acquisition of a maple grove with 62,000 taps in 2018 in Saint-Cléophas.
“We also own a block of 4,400 hectares where we operate a moose hunting outfitter as well as two nurseries, which makes us the largest producer of forest plants in Quebec. It is a source of pride for us, as is the quality of the plants we produce,” underlined the general director.
Invited to celebrate the 50th anniversary of SERV, the mayor of Forestville, Micheline Anctil, described the Forestry Center as a “flagship for the Haute-Côte-Nord”. “Don’t be humble. There was a place to be taken and you took it and it is worthy of mention thanks to your employees and to all those who put their shoulder to the wheel season after season not without difficulty,” she said. testified.
Several stages have marked the history of the Forestville nursery. “It has always evolved and expanded over the years,” recalled operations director Pierre Canuel.
Today, the Forestry Center has the wind in its sails. Several projects are on the work table, including the addition of tunnels. “We want to be ready to respond to demand, if necessary,” said Mr. Pronovost, confident about the future of the cooperative.
