ON A MISSION BACKGROUND
Felixia made the switch from photography.
David Wylie speaks to Forestry worker, nature technician and Stihl Ambassador Felixia Banck about her new-found career as a lumberjack and Arborist working around Denmark’s capital city, Copenhagen IMAGES FELIXIA BANCK (@FEMALELUMBERJACK)
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AUTUMN 2021 FORESTRY MACHINERY
David Wylie: Felixia, tell us about yourself and your early career. Felixia Banck: My previous job was really quite different, as I had a successful photography business. However, I lost both my parents to cancer within four years and decided to give up my business to look after my mother two years after my dad passed away. During her illness, I experienced therapy gardens and woodlands. That is when I also started looking around for something else to do and found an educational course on forestry and nature. Here in Denmark, the course is split into specialist areas. Since I’m quite outdoorsy, I thought I’d like to do guided woodland walks as part of the course, which I started in 2017. However, I didn’t read the brief thoroughly and did not realise that being a lumberjack made up a large part of this course! But as soon as I had some experience with chainsaws – after learning how to start them – I fell in love with it straight away. My three-year university course involved a practical apprenticeship, as well as academic studies and work experience. So, I guess my life changed without any real planning involved. DW: Your course sounds interesting. Tell us more about it. FB: As part of my course, I chose the forest worker speciality and later on I managed to get an apprenticeship with a local arborist company, and since this work involved tree climbing, I finished my education as an
