Local Wood: Grow, Build, Live
The New England Forestry Foundation (NEFF), the Franklin Land Trust’s Massachusetts Woodlands Institute (MWI), and Northern Woodlands present the Local Wood: Grow, Build, Live webinar series.
Join us via Zoom as we explore examples of how to grow, build, and live with beautiful and sustainable local wood products at different scales—from furniture to homes to institutional buildings. We will hear from presenters about their experiences working with local and regional wood, what role the material and forestry can play in a sustainable economy, and new technologies and applications for wood products that can help mitigate global climate change and spur innovation.
Four 90-minute webinars explore these themes through conversations between the presenters and staff leaders at Massachusetts Woodlands Institute and New England Forestry Foundation. We hope you will join us in these engaging discussions on the beauty and benefits of this local resource for communities across the Northeast.
Woods to People
May 12, 2021 | 2:00 - 3:30 pm
Join us for a creative look at how people connect with and make a living from the forest. This webinar will focus on art, the forest-based rural economy, and how climate change is impacting timber harvesters and loggers.
Timber harvesting is a critical part of a strong forest economy that creates local jobs, allows us to carry out good forest management, and provides a steady supply of renewable wood products for our region. Painter Kathleen Kolb and poet Verandah Porche will talk about Shedding Light on a Working Forest, a book and traveling exhibition of paintings and narrative verse that celebrates the forested landscape and those who have honed their skills to make a living there. Learn about their creative process, hear stories about their work, and the people they met along the way. NEFF Climate-Forest specialist Jennifer Shakun will explore how altered or unpredictable weather patterns are affecting timber harvesting operations and the viability of logging businesses in southern New England. This will include highlights from a 2020 survey of timber harvesters in Massachusetts, which revealed interesting insights into the resourcefulness and adaptability of the logging community in the face of changing economic, social, and environmental factors.
Watch the Recording Here
Forest to Cities
March 17, 2021 | 2:00 - 3:30 pm
Learn how engineered wood products allow us to build bigger with wood, and how this new technology is an effective alternative to carbon-intensive concrete and steel construction.
Learn how engineered wood products, also known as mass timber, allow us to build bigger with wood, as an alternative to carbon-intensive concrete and steel construction. This webinar will highlight a flagship mass timber building in Massachusetts—the John W. Olver Design Building at UMass Amherst. With Dr. Peggi Clouston, Professor of Wood Mechanics and Timber Engineering in the Building and Construction Technology program, as our featured speaker, we will hear about the innovative design and construction of the building, how it functions as a space of education and inspiration for the next generation of builders, and new research on the types of local tree species that can be used for mass timber.
Together with New England Forestry Foundation Chief Operating Officer Frank Lowenstein, we will then turn to where the raw material for mass timber is typically sourced and the potential for big climate change mitigation benefits when it is generated from Exemplary Forestry practices that are designed to store more carbon in the woods, while continuing to produce renewable wood products.
Watch the Recording Here
Tree to Table
January 20, 2021 | 2:00 - 3:30 pm
Explore the connections between sustainable forestry and craft woodworking using NEFF’s new conference tables as an example.
Webinar participants will get an in-depth account of the design processes and sustainability considerations that went into creating a set of custom tables from local, sustainably harvested wood. Mitch Ryerson, a designer/builder and Professor of Sustainable Furniture Design at Mass College of Art and Design, will tell the story of how his students developed a set of conference tables for New England Forestry Foundation, from wood sourced from local forests managed according to the organization’s Exemplary Forestry standards.
The discussion will explore the connections between sustainable forestry and craft woodworking, giving insight into how local wood can be used to create beautiful and sustainable goods to meet the challenges we face from global climate change. Participants will hear from Mitch and two of his students, Marc Guerrero and Nicole Garcia, about the features and details of the tables, as well as the creative and prototyping processes the class engaged in to design them. Together with Massachusetts Woodlands Institute Executive Director Emily Boss, we will then talk about the growth and harvesting practices used for hardwoods in New England, and the positive climate benefits of forests, forestry, and furniture making. Click here to learn more about Mitch Ryerson's work.
Watch the Recording Here
Woods to Home
February 24, 2021 | 2:00 - 3:30 pm
Learn about the process of building a home with locally harvested lumber and the benefits of using local wood products.
Join us for a session on building a home with locally sourced wood products, featuring discussions with Massachusetts Woodlands Institute (MWI) Board Chair Brian Donahue, MWI Board Member David Bowman, and Nicole St. Clair Knobloch, Principal at Oliphant, a firm focused on mitigating climate change and protecting biodiversity, in part by encouraging the use of climate-friendly, renewable building materials.
Wood is a strong, durable, carbon-sequestering product that comes from our local forested lands. Producing this abundant, renewable resource can benefit woodland landowners, wildlife, and our local economy. Participants will hear about the process and journey of building a timber-framed home with locally harvested lumber, the benefits of using local wood products, and then how new technology in cross-laminated timber construction is changing and expanding the way we think of building with wood. The discussion will also explore the ripple effect of good forest management and how we can create resilient forests, a strong forest-based economy, and long-lasting homes and buildings made from local wood products.