Instructor finds his place among the trees

Steve Wilent, MHCC natural resources technology instructor, is the recipient of the 2006 Part-Time Faculty Excellence award.

By Evan Bowman

As a young boy, Steve Wilent, part-time natural resources technology instructor, knew what he wanted to do when he grew up.

Wilent loved the idea of being in a forested area, surrounded by the green of the trees, and away from the busy city. “It’s more of a peaceful setting,” Wilent said with a calm grin.

Born in San Jose, Calif., Wilent moved to Sierra, Calif., after graduating from high school to pursue his dream of working in the forest. Wilent worked as a forester in El Dorado National Forest, while working towards earning his A.S degree in forest technology from Sierra College, near Sacramento.

Wilent worked in the national forest for five years, earning his A.S. degree and a journalism degree, then moved to Oregon in 1993 to pursue work as a freelance writer, and enjoy Oregon’s rainy weather.

“California was getting too crowded, and it was too hot. There was not enough rain, and I love the rain,” he said.

While in Oregon, Wilent wrote and edited articles for the Journal of Forestry and Western Forestry.

However, writing was not the only forestry input that Wilent could produce. Wilent also teaches a wildfire management class here at MHCC, and recently won the 2006 Part-Time Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award for “his availability to his students and his teaching strategies,” according to an article from Campus View.

“I thought [teaching] would be fun and a challenge. It turned out to be both,” Wilent said. “Having to do a great deal of study and research in my field, you learn something new everyday. It’s what I enjoy.”

There are about 30 students enrolled in Wilents’ wildfire management class. “Students like this class because we get to go outside, and take field trips on and off campus.” One of the spots on campus that Wilent takes his wildfire management to is the “Back 40” on the eastside of the campus by Troutdale Road. “The ‘Back 40’ is slang for 40 acres, but it applies to any large property,” said Wilent.

Wilent also takes his students on an off-campus adventure to the east side of the Cascades, where they demonstrate a “prescribed fire.” The students are allowed to create a wildfire, under controlled conditions, and observe what a wildfire does in the wilderness and how to control it. Burning these areas also helps the re-growth of new grass in the area for the cattle to graze. Wilent calls this process “maintaining green land.” The students will also cut down certain trees to help thin out overpopulation of certain areas.

Going on these field trips on and off-campus allows students to get some hands-on experience in the field, and is something that both the students and Wilent enjoy.

“Students in this field are different than other students who may just be getting their general studies, because they are here for a specific reason. They share my interests and come with an enthusiasm for this class,” he said.

Along with teaching natural resource technology to students here at MHCC, he spends part of his free time to reach a larger audience, as a feature writer for The Forestry Source, a “paper for the society of foresters” as Wilent calls it. He writes four feature articles a month, his most recent on the carbon in trees. Wilent also enjoys sharing his hobbies and love for the outdoors with his wife and his two children, taking them on hikes, fishing, and camping.

As a teacher, a writer, father and husband, and a student of his own interests, Wilent continually builds his reputation as a man of natural resources. His excellence in teaching and passion for the outdoors motivates him to do what he enjoys.

“[I hope] to instill in students a love and appreciation for forestry and a conviction that forestry is good for forests, wildlife, fish, water quality, and society as a whole,” he said.