THE early morning mist the scent of pine needles, the shrill call of a hawk in the trees . . . John Le Gear breathes in the fresh air and knows he is a lucky forester.

He works outdoors all through the year in "a more spectacular part of the country" than others.

It's beautiful, especially in the summertime. There's no job that can come near to that," he says. "All the different wildlife . . . no other job could pay you enough to compensate for that."

As a forestry manager with Coillte Teoranta, Le Gear does spend an occasional day working indoors doing financial, accounting and other office-bound work but three or more days each week he is outside among the conifers and the broadleafs. He manages the Ennis Forest which stretches across 70 miles of Co Clare from a few miles outside Kilkee in the west to Tulla in the east.

His job involves managing forestry workers as well as part-time and contract or seasonal workers who harvest, plant, fence and maintain the forest. "It's one of the natural resources that is renewable once it's managed and sustained correctly. It provides huge possibilities for employment," he explains.

Le Gear's love of trees started when he was a young boy growing up in Limerick. "My interest started in horticulture and landscaping. I worked part-time after school and weekends and summer holidays. I worked for different people and I got more involved in it. I worked with contractors, planting trees. That gave me an idea about what was involved."

Trees have been his passion since. "It's just the sense of achievement, creating something and seeing it grow. It's always been a love of mine - to plant something and watch it grow, to have something that you can look upon and know that you were involved in its creation. That, coupled with the fact that you're working outdoors, appealed to me."

He went to St Patrick's Primary School and then on to the Crescent College Comprehensive in Limerick. After the Leaving Cert, he decided to go to England to study for a diploma in forestry (woodland management) at Sparsholt College in Hampshire. He bemoans the fact that so few courses are available in Ireland.

"What England offered me was a chance to study the diversity of work in forest management," he says. He choose this particular course because of the practical aspect of the course, rather than an academic perspective.

"People think of trees but there are so many different aspects to the profession. There's more to it than meets the eye. It's not a nine-to-five job. You can't plan your day."

When Le Gear applied to the college in Hampshire, he had "quite a bit of experience. I knew what was involved." He had worked with forestry contractors in and around( Limerick, planting and harvesting trees.

"The course gave you the opportunity to get first-hand knowledge from the ground up. Fifty per cent of the work in first year was practical. It was great - it gave you a real idea of what forestry was about." After first year, through his contacts at home he was able to come back and spend second year working on placement in Ireland. He started off with Kerry Tree Technology in Ballyferriter. He also worked for Coillte, doing inventory, mensuration, mapping and updating work. He also worked in Limerick Port on the monthly export of pulp timber to Finland.

During this year there were continual assessments, as well as work reports, projects and a thesis. He also spent some time in Mountrath Training Centre in Co Laois. He looks back with great appreciation on all the employers who took him on during this year, allowing him to gain invaluable experience. His last year in Sparsholt College was "an academic year where we built on the skills of first and second year." On completion of the course he was awarded an overall merit.

After this he returned to Ireland and started doing contract work for Coillte. "After a while I was taken on by Coillte as a forestry worker." Some months later Le Gear applied to Coillte for a job as forestry manager. He was appointed to this post last July. Today he is one of the youngest forestry managers in the country.

"I have a fantastic opportunity to create a landscape on a big scale," he says enthusiastically. "I can make a positive contribution in a couple of years.

Rubbish-dumping and fire hazards are the main bugbears of the forester. "The forest is there for enjoyment. But what upsets me mostly about the job is being out and about and seeing the neglect that people have for plantations. It really frustrates me."