Jason Dain, Director of Product - Forest Operations at Remsoft, joins The Digital Forester podcast to share his incredible journey from Ottawa’s outdoors to leading forestry tech innovation. Jason reflects on 25+ years in forestry and technology, from boots-on-the-ground operations to global digital transformation. We explore how forestry practices have evolved, the three seismic tech shifts that changed the industry, and why bridging the gap between people and technology is critical for success. Jason also dives into AI’s role in forestry, future visions of remote harvesting, and the puzzle he’s determined to solve before retirement.
Tune in for insights on sustainability, climate adaptation, and advice for the next generation of foresters.
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Levi Farrand, CEO of Deep Forestry, joins The Digital Forester podcast to share his incredible journey from adventure guide and naval diver in Australia to leading a cutting-edge forest tech company in Sweden.
Deep Forestry is pioneering fully autonomous LiDAR-equipped drones that can fly beneath the forest canopy, creating highly detailed digital twins of forests for inventory, planning, and carbon projects.
Levi takes us through the early startup days—bootstrapping with his co-founder, recruiting his first engineer from a rock-climbing gym, and proving that their system could map every tree in a stand with accuracy rivaling or surpassing traditional field methods. We dive into the challenges of scaling AI-driven forest mapping, the future of sub-canopy drones in commercial and conservation forestry, and why Levi believes democratizing access to this technology will transform decision-making in forests around the world.
If you care about data-driven forestry, carbon transparency, and the future of forest management, this episode is a must-listen.
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Alex Deslauriers, Co-Founder & CEO of FireSwarm Solutions, joins The Digital Forester podcast to share how his personal loss to wildfire sparked a mission to transform how we fight fires. With a background in aerospace engineering and search and rescue, Alex and his team at FireSwarm Solutions are developing heavy-lift drones, swarm intelligence, and AI-driven systems to deliver water and suppression agents faster, safer, and more effectively.
We explore Alex’s journey, the challenges of wildfire management in a changing climate, and how technology and partnerships are redefining what’s possible on the fire line.
If you care about innovation, resilience, and the future of wildfire response, this episode is a must-listen.
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Domenico Iannidinardo, CEO, and Aaron Fujikawa, Director of Remote Sensing & Geomatics at Strategic Natural Resource Group (SNRgroup), join us on The Digital Forester podcast to share how they're navigating the future of forestry and resource management in British Columbia.
Domenico brings decades of leadership experience from the forest industry, while Aaron shares how Strategic’s tech-forward mindset is driving innovation with GIS, remote sensing, and operational analytics. Together, they break down how a boots-on-the-ground culture and Indigenous majority ownership are helping the company respond to today’s biggest forestry challenges — from wildfires to shifting tenure models.
If you’re curious about where digital forestry meets field operations, this is the episode for you.
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Lorne Carson, President of Carson Integrated, joins us on The Digital Forester podcast to share his journey from the East Coast to building a diverse group of companies rooted in Western Canada. Lorne walks us through the ups and downs of entrepreneurship in forestry, energy, and environmental services. We talk about the state of forestry in Western Canada, challenges with wildfire and regulation, and where real innovation is happening today — including AI, exoskeletons for field crews, and even augmented reality.
Tune in to hear how Lorne's boots-on-the-ground approach, willingness to pivot, and passion for people have shaped a resilient, tech-savvy forestry business built to last.
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In this episode of The Digital Forester, Howard Butler, President of Hobu Inc., shares his journey from agricultural roots to leading innovation in open-source geospatial software. We explore the evolution of tools like GDAL, PDAL, and Entwine, and how they're transforming forestry, especially in handling and visualizing massive point cloud datasets.
Howard explains how technologies like SilviMetric are modernizing forestry analytics and data management. He also shares thoughts on the future of lidar, cloud-optimized formats, AI, and what’s next for scalable, open geospatial systems. A must-listen for digital foresters and GIS professionals.
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Dr. Nicholas Coops, Canada Research Chair in Remote Sensing at UBC, joins The Digital Forester podcast to talk about his journey through forestry, research, and innovation. We explore how remote sensing has evolved, its impact on forest management, and what’s next for the field. From global monitoring to cutting-edge projects, Nicholas shares insights from decades at the forefront of forest science.
Topics Covered:
- Dr. Coops’ career path and early influences in remote sensing
- The role of remote sensing in modern forestry
- Building the Integrated Remote Sensing Studio at UBC
- Shifts in satellite data, LiDAR, and forest inventory methods
- Translating academic research into operational tools
- Upcoming SilviLaser 2025 conference in Quebec City, Canada
- Challenges and opportunities in global forest monitoring
- Mentorship, leadership, and collaboration in science
- Dr. Coops’ perspective on what’s next for digital forestry
Andrea Feunekes, co-founder and former CEO of Remsoft, helps us kick off Season 5 of The Digital Forester. Andrea reflects on 30+ years of leading Remsoft, building a global business from the ground up with her husband Ugo, and shares lessons learned along the way. We dive into the evolution of forestry tech, the importance of change management, data readiness, and Remsoft’s exciting future with the recent acquisition of Lim Geomatics and platform growth. Tune in to hear why Andrea believes we’re on the edge of a connected, intelligent forestry future.
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Henry Ines is Co-Founder and CEO of Chainparency and joins us from Houston, Texas, USA. Chainparency is a supply chain software and data solutions company that develops turnkey and modular blockchain-based applications and digital tools that help its customers to ensure transparency, traceability and auditability in global supply chains. For the last Digital Forester podcast of 2024, come have a listen on how Chainparency’s flagship product GoTrace, the first-of-a-kind 100% turnkey SaaS blockchain-based platform that enables any enterprise or organization regardless of size to engage in end-to-end data collection and digital track & trace at scale, is being used in forestry today.
Frank Mastrobuono is VP Sales, North America at Global Surface Intelligence (GSI) and describes himself as an inspired business development, management, and science professional with a passion for applying technological advances to management of our natural resources. GSI is a forestry and land classification analytics company with offices in both the UK and US. The company has deep roots in environmental sciences, harnessing next generation artificial intelligence to transform satellite, LiDAR and ground survey data into commercially valuable analytics. Come learn about GSI’s new cutting-edge product ForINT.
Eli Jensen is the Owner of Ironwood Forestry and joins us from Flagstaff, Arizona. Ironwood Forestry is comprised of a dedicated team of professionals with a passion for forest management and innovation with the aim of revolutionizing the forestry industry. Come have a listen on what the concept of forest architecture means to Eli and his innovation projects dealing with the development of the Mark series of sprayers and his efforts to map thousands of acres using mobile lidar.
Kevin Shorthouse is the Director of Northwest Solutions Inc. and joins us from Thunder Bay, ON. Since 2014, this Northern Ontario family-owned business has been dedicated to providing forestry, mining, and environmental services, along with expert training and communications consulting. Come learn how the company’s client-focused, results-oriented team leverages technology to provide innovative solutions to the natural resources sector.
Rod Poirier is the Owner of JRP Solutions Ltd. and joins us from Courtenay, BC. As a Canadian owned and operated company that has been in business since 1992 and managed by forest professionals and software engineers, JRP Solutions currently serves customers across North America and Australia with its Plant Wizard, Forest OPS and SNAP! software solutions. Come have a listen about Rod’s career in forestry and what it took to develop these industry-leading software solutions.
Alex van Gelder is the CEO and Founder of Clear Timber Analytics and joins us from the The Netherlands. Clear Timber Analytics provides accurate tools to help foresters with their daily duties by translating modern technology, such as high-resolution drone imagery and advanced data analytics, into reports that allow foresters to precisely target resources. Come have a listen to learn more about Clear Timber Analytics’ bark beetle detection, growing stock analysis, forest disturbance analysis, and harvest data visualization solutions.
Dave Ginther is the Owner of Voice Directed Tally Systems Inc. (VDTS) and joins us from Belleville, Ontario, Canada. Dave’s background is in the IT sector where for over 25 years he worked as both a general manager and consultant. Dave founded VDTS after discovering Voice Recognition as an effective tool for hands free data gathering and over the years has gained clients in forestry, lumber manufacturing, and agriculture. Come have a listen and learn about VDTS voice directed solutions for forestry.
Marko Gasic is the Vice President and Chief Development Officer at Mosaic Forest Management and joins us from Vancouver, BC. At the time of recording, Marko was the Vice President of Information Technology and Planning at Mosaic and successfully led several major digital transformation projects for the company. Come have a listen to Marko’s thoughts from an executive level on the forest technology landscape and his leadership approach to realizing success.
Andrew Davis is the Product Manager for Visual Forester and joins us from Bend, Oregon, USA. In his role, he helps natural resource professionals connect with stakeholders through digital twins of forests and the creation of immersive visualizations from their existing data. Come have a listen to learn how Stand Designer and Visual Forester Pro save people time and headaches by ensuring everyone sees the same picture beyond the data and charts.
Mark Books is the Geospatial Services Manager at LandMark Spatial Solutions. Mark is a Certified Forester of the geospatial variety and has applied these skills for over 25 years to research and forest management, including prescribed burning. He brings his experience to assist fellow foresters and natural resource managers in using geospatial technology to enhance their work. Further desiring to set up forestry and foresters for success, Mark has also been an executive volunteer in his role as President and Co-founder of the Esri Forestry Group since 2008.
George M. Banzhaf is the CEO and co-founder of TreeTracker. His career in the forest industry has been wide ranging, from marketing timber, managing corporate inventory programs, field data gathering, R&D, reforestation and seedling genetics, drone and imagery, silvicultural operations, and GIS mapping. Envisioning a better way for technology to be used to improve information, communication, and collaboration, TreeTracker was developed as a platform (online and in-the-field app) that everyone – no matter their sector of industry or size – could use to organize, develop, and share their data for increased functionality, efficiency, and success. Come learn more about TreeTracker’s mission to provide the highest quality information management system available to every sector of the forest community.
Andre Cheung is the Founder and CEO of Robotics Cats and joins us from Hong Kong with Mike Ross and Rob Vernon, Founder and CTO, and CEO, respectively, of Indicium Dynamics from Tasmania. Robotics Cats is a machine vision startup comprised of a team of talented engineers with diverse cultures focused on computer vision, AI, and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. Indicium Dynamics is a full-service IoT and data integration solutions provider. Their low-code and affordable IoT solutions provide control over the collection, analysis, and display of data, optimising processes across a wide range of industries and organisations. Come have a listen about how Robotics Cats and Indicium Dynamics are collaborating on the XPRIZE Wildfire challenge.