Our protagonist knows almost everything about forest. He played here as a child, watched his grandfather and father (both foresters)at work, and learned to hunt. Today, Vladimir Gutkovsky is the Chief Forester of the Slutsk Forestry, a member of the Rural Council, and a delegate to the 7th Belarusian People's Congress. What does he think about his daily work and the great trust placed in him?
Towards tomorrow
We are walking with Vladimir Gutkovsky through one of the greenhouses at the Slutsk Forestry nursery, located in the Vorobyevskoye forestry. On both sides of the path stretch tender green coniferous seedlings. Today, they are planting material, barely taller than the lawn grass. However, in a few decades, these tiny trees will grow into mighty giants, among which our children and grandchildren will walk.
“Here, we grow Norway spruce, pine, and oak. Recently, we've started experimenting with larch," Vladimir Gutkovsky said, proudly pointing to the growing trees. “We are fully self-sufficient in planting material. We primarily use it for reforestation efforts, restoring about 200 hectares annually.”
Outwardly, our interviewee appears very calm and kind-hearted. That seems fitting for a representative of a dynasty whose entire life is intertwined with the forest.
“My grandfather worked as a forester in the Zhilin-Brodsky forestry,” Vladimir Gutkovsky noted. “My father followed in his footsteps and became a forester in the Amgovichsky forestry. My older brother enrolled in Belarusian State Technological University (BSTU) and now works as a forester in the Golchitsky forestry. After graduating from university, I started working as a technician under my father. Now my son has enrolled at BSTU and the dynasty continues. It turns out that our family have a knack for the same career choice.”
Yet the question of why the Gutkovsky family has chosen professions related to the forest for four generations genuinely surprises Vladimir Gutkovsky. How does one explain why one loves a particular calling? After all, you don't love something for a specific reason. You just do.
“I was born in the village of Omgovichi in Slutsk District. My brother and I spent our entire lives close to the forest,” he said. “When the neighbors' grandchildren came to visit during the holidays, we would go deep into the woods together and play there. My whole life is connected to the forest, so there wasn't really any special 'choice' to make. I never considered other professions and never even imagined that my path could have been any different.”
