Longest-serving UHI Inverness lecturer retires after four decades
THE longest-serving staff member at UHI Inverness has set down his campus chainsaw for the last time after dedicating more than four decades to educating generations of foresters.
Forestry lecturer Neil Stewart, who joined the staff nearly 41 years ago, retires from his role at the Scottish School of Forestry (SSF) today (Friday). He will be given a fond farewell from his Balloch campus colleagues during an evening out in a local restaurant, with a retirement party planned for the spring.
Neil said: “I will miss the team at SSF and all the staff from the main campus who support us, as well as passing on my knowledge to others and seeing students develop and progress. I will also miss the site itself and the woodland, I have seen it develop over the years with its changing habitats.
“It’s been a great place to work, with fantastic colleagues both past and present. It has been challenging at times, but I like a challenge. All the lecturers that are no longer with us were a great inspiration and support to me, and of course those that are still on the go but have retired, they all passed on their knowledge to me and I, in turn, passed that onto the students. The colleagues I am about to leave have kept me going, and I’ll miss all the laughs and shenanigans.”
Over the years, Neil has taught countless students, estimating the number to be in the ‘high hundreds’.
“Seeing students complete their course and progress into the industry, even those who chose a different career path, has been a highlight. I’ve enjoyed watching students graduate after coming through various further education courses to achieve an HND and then a degree,” he said.
These students now work in the forestry industry around the world, and he keeps up with them via social media and still bumps into former local students who came through the school many years ago.
Neil, who lives in Ardersier, entered the forestry industry as an eighteen-year-old school leaver, working with the Forestry Commission at Kirkhill Forest near his home city of Aberdeen, before moving to a private estate in Aberdeenshire. He took up his post as forestry technician at the then Forestry Industry Centre – Inverness Technical College in April 1984, having enjoyed a short six-week course in Harvesting at the college two years earlier.
He has celebrated several academic successes of his own, achieving chainsaw instructor and assessor status, gaining a HNC in Forestry and the Teaching Qualification in Further Education through Stirling University.
Other proud moments include being the mace-bearer at last year’s graduation ceremony and winning the Most Inspiring Mentor Award at Lantra Scotland’s Awards for Land-based and Aquaculture Skills in 2022.
“When they announced the winner, I was busy looking round the room for another Neil Stewart, then I was told in was me and I could see my photo on the monitors. I never in a million years imagined I would be nominated for an award like this, I was totally shocked and humbled,” said Neil.
Over such a long career, Neil has seen the forestry industry transform, with the introduction of simulators, drones, thermal imagining, digital mapping and more powerful and efficient machinery.
“Back then there were large numbers of forest workers in squads in the public and private sectors, and mechanised harvesting was just beginning to advance. Computers in forestry was kind of a distant thought,” said Neil.
“I remember the first computer that came up to Balloch, it was massive with a 5.25-inch floppy disc and a massive screen; look at what we use daily now!”
In retirement Neil will continue to volunteer as a rider/driver and events manager with Highlands and Islands Blood Bikes. The voluntary group provides a free service to NHS Highland and last year it clocked up 117,000 miles delivering urgent medical supplies and blood samples for lab testing.
Depute Curriculum Leader for Forestry, Neil Cleland, said: “Neil has been a stalwart here for the last 41 years and his name is synonymous with the Scottish School of Forestry, not just with staff and students, but across the industry. He always has a smile and a good story, and when I was a student here, he organised the extracurricular activities, making sure students and staff had a good connection. He is a character who will be sorely missed by all of us.”
Professor Chris O’Neil, Principal and Chief Executive at UHI Inverness, said: “I am full of admiration for Neil; for his dedication to our students over such a lengthy period and his commitment to the wider community through his involvement with the blood bikes group. He leaves us with our warmest wishes for a well-deserved happy retirement.”