b'TRAININGFWDVI CHAINSAW COURSEBY: SHARYN MCGREGORmay have been the only female but I was immediately accepted as one of the team. Yes, I was certainly nervous knowing I was rocking up to a hall in the middle of nowhere to camp and participate in a chainsaw course with an all male attendance including instructors. Arriving early to set up my swag behind the hall, I was greeted by the smiles of other participants also setting up camp and it wasnt long before everyone had arrived, and we were all seated in the hall for the start of our evening of theory. Workbooks in hand, we were guided through the slideshow by our very competent instructors.The evening went smoothly, and my confidence improved throughout the course, realising that each of us were there for the same reason, regardless of the prior experience we had operating a chainsaw, we all wanted to learn correct procedures and safety. After a good night sleep and breakfast, we all donned our PPE and gathered up our chainsaws for a morning of chainsaw maintenance. Leaning to pull apart and identify all the important parts of our chainsaw, learning the basics or cleaning, maintaining, refuelling and then the most important part, how to put it all back together again. Moments later we were all in our vehicles, heading off to the local property that we would be putting the practical side of this course into actionof a paddock past the curious eyes of the resident at. The recent storms had left a trail of destructioncows, where we parked up and unpacked all our in the district and there were certainly plenty ofgear onto tarps on the ground ready for a day of fallen trees on the large cattle farm we arrived at.cutting and trimming felled trees. Following the leader, we were guided out the back 26 TRACKWATCH|June 2024'