A Growing Industry
Urban Wood Utilization Increases Along With Georgia’s Urban Population
Winter 2024
Special to the Georgia Forestry Commission
By Karin Pendley Koser
Georgia is proudly known as the number one forestry state in the nation for a lot of reasons.
The abundant resources and benefits derived from its privately owned pine forests produce billions of dollars in
revenue from the products made from those forests. From treetops to trunks and even their residue, all parts of a tree are utilized. And now, felled trees from the urban landscape that might not otherwise have been used are being reconsidered for their unique value.
One focus that is gaining important and increased attention from the Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC) is the growth and protection of our urban and community forests. GFC’s Urban & Community Forestry Program works to conserve our urban tree canopy and also to cultivate use of urban wood from those trees that are no longer viable due to age, storm damage, disease or construction.
“Obviously we want to keep every urban and community tree standing, doing its job,” said Seth Hawkins, GFC’s coordinator for the Urban & Community Forestry Program. “Unfortunately, there are times when the tree has outlived its useful life or new development has resulted in its removal. Urban wood utilization closes that loop by providing a holistic approach to managing our community forests as a working forest system.”
Dru Preston, marketing and utilization forester for GFC, said, “Urban wood utilization came on our radar probably
about 10 years ago or so. This is a newer industry, but a growing industry. There’s a lot of interest in this and it’s exciting to realize the carbon sequestration benefits of urban wood utilization, too.”
Growing Appreciation and Collaboration
Engaging the public and regional stakeholders as well as those in the tree care industry is becoming increasingly important as our state’s populations surge. To that end, GFC joined forces with the Georgia Arborist Association to
host two events this year with the support of Eutree Forest Free Wood Products, a specialty mill in Villa Rica, GA.
At one of those events, held at the UGA Griffin Campus, GFC Chief of Forest Management Troy Clymer said, “It’s
a great opportunity for GFC foresters to work with local communities in an urban setting, serving as an educational
resource to help manage the urban forests in a healthy and sustainable way.”
The benefits of urban and community trees include clean water, clean air, green spaces and wildlife habitats. Parks are
often surrounded by large trees that support community well-being and provide opportunities for recreation
and gatherings. Additionally, having enough of those trees close to homes and buildings reduces energy use and
customer bills.
“Urban and community forests provide a plethora of benefits to the community, and to the residents who live in that community,” Hawkins said. “As an urban forester, obviously I want to see every tree in a community forest live its full life, providing all those ecosystem services far beyond my lifespan,” he said. And when those trees do come down, it’s
essential to sustainably harvest the wood from them. Latest figures estimate the acres of urban and community forests to be 141 million nationwide, and, annually, more is removed from these urban areas than from our national forests.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the largest component of municipal solid waste in our landfills comes from construction and other wood debris. The annual statistic is that 3 to 4 billion board feet of urban wood is landfilled every single year.
“Oftentimes, communities are paying to dispose of the wood in the landfill,” said GFC regional colleague and meeting
presenter Ashley Kite-Rowland, Urban & Community Forestry Program coordinator for the Tennessee Division of Forestry.
“So it becomes a financial benefit not to take urban wood to the landfill, with communities also buying resources like
mulch for their parks and schools.”
“Instead of these trees being put into a landfill or just left on sites to decompose, which releases carbon back into the atmosphere, a finished product made from that wood can keep that carbon stored in that piece of wood for possibly decades and decades to come,” said Preston.
Taking on the Roadblocks
The positive growth of urban wood utilization doesn’t come without challenges and obstacles. Forestry professionals, tree care companies and nonprofits across the South are hard at work helping to address these issues.
“It’s energizing to see the urban wood utilization movement gathering momentum,” said Hawkins. “We’re partnering
with colleagues from all over the nation, and especially the South, to share victories and challenges. By learning from each other, we can work out the obstacles.”
And there are a few. “First of all, there is a lack of awareness of urban wood utilization, and we have a lack of workforce that is needed to do the work,” said Kite-Roland.
“I think about distances, fuel costs and all of those sorts of things on a daily basis,” said Jonathan Potts, owner/operator
of Marietta, GA-based Potts Grapple Services. “And that’s why I love bringing everybody together as was done the day
we were on UGA’s Griffin Campus in July of this year.”
“It’s also a challenge to find enough end-users for urban wood,” said Sims Acuff, founder and owner of Eutree. “We
need to be creative about the products, and then we really need to find the big buyers, get them involved and figure out
how we can work together. It’s not your typical hardwood lumber that you might specify. So it’s important to understand what the potential is for different looks and different types of tree species.”
The abundant resources and benefits derived from its privately owned pine forests produce billions of dollars in
revenue from the products made from those forests. From treetops to trunks and even their residue, all parts of a tree are utilized. And now, felled trees from the urban landscape that might not otherwise have been used are being reconsidered for their unique value.
One focus that is gaining important and increased attention from the Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC) is the growth and protection of our urban and community forests. GFC’s Urban & Community Forestry Program works to conserve our urban tree canopy and also to cultivate use of urban wood from those trees that are no longer viable due to age, storm damage, disease or construction.
“Obviously we want to keep every urban and community tree standing, doing its job,” said Seth Hawkins, GFC’s coordinator for the Urban & Community Forestry Program. “Unfortunately, there are times when the tree has outlived its useful life or new development has resulted in its removal. Urban wood utilization closes that loop by providing a holistic approach to managing our community forests as a working forest system.”
Dru Preston, marketing and utilization forester for GFC, said, “Urban wood utilization came on our radar probably
about 10 years ago or so. This is a newer industry, but a growing industry. There’s a lot of interest in this and it’s exciting to realize the carbon sequestration benefits of urban wood utilization, too.”
Growing Appreciation and Collaboration
Engaging the public and regional stakeholders as well as those in the tree care industry is becoming increasingly important as our state’s populations surge. To that end, GFC joined forces with the Georgia Arborist Association to
host two events this year with the support of Eutree Forest Free Wood Products, a specialty mill in Villa Rica, GA.
At one of those events, held at the UGA Griffin Campus, GFC Chief of Forest Management Troy Clymer said, “It’s
a great opportunity for GFC foresters to work with local communities in an urban setting, serving as an educational
resource to help manage the urban forests in a healthy and sustainable way.”
The benefits of urban and community trees include clean water, clean air, green spaces and wildlife habitats. Parks are
often surrounded by large trees that support community well-being and provide opportunities for recreation
and gatherings. Additionally, having enough of those trees close to homes and buildings reduces energy use and
customer bills.
“Urban and community forests provide a plethora of benefits to the community, and to the residents who live in that community,” Hawkins said. “As an urban forester, obviously I want to see every tree in a community forest live its full life, providing all those ecosystem services far beyond my lifespan,” he said. And when those trees do come down, it’s
essential to sustainably harvest the wood from them. Latest figures estimate the acres of urban and community forests to be 141 million nationwide, and, annually, more is removed from these urban areas than from our national forests.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the largest component of municipal solid waste in our landfills comes from construction and other wood debris. The annual statistic is that 3 to 4 billion board feet of urban wood is landfilled every single year.
“Oftentimes, communities are paying to dispose of the wood in the landfill,” said GFC regional colleague and meeting
presenter Ashley Kite-Rowland, Urban & Community Forestry Program coordinator for the Tennessee Division of Forestry.
“So it becomes a financial benefit not to take urban wood to the landfill, with communities also buying resources like
mulch for their parks and schools.”
“Instead of these trees being put into a landfill or just left on sites to decompose, which releases carbon back into the atmosphere, a finished product made from that wood can keep that carbon stored in that piece of wood for possibly decades and decades to come,” said Preston.
Taking on the Roadblocks
The positive growth of urban wood utilization doesn’t come without challenges and obstacles. Forestry professionals, tree care companies and nonprofits across the South are hard at work helping to address these issues.
“It’s energizing to see the urban wood utilization movement gathering momentum,” said Hawkins. “We’re partnering
with colleagues from all over the nation, and especially the South, to share victories and challenges. By learning from each other, we can work out the obstacles.”
And there are a few. “First of all, there is a lack of awareness of urban wood utilization, and we have a lack of workforce that is needed to do the work,” said Kite-Roland.
“I think about distances, fuel costs and all of those sorts of things on a daily basis,” said Jonathan Potts, owner/operator
of Marietta, GA-based Potts Grapple Services. “And that’s why I love bringing everybody together as was done the day
we were on UGA’s Griffin Campus in July of this year.”
“It’s also a challenge to find enough end-users for urban wood,” said Sims Acuff, founder and owner of Eutree. “We
need to be creative about the products, and then we really need to find the big buyers, get them involved and figure out
how we can work together. It’s not your typical hardwood lumber that you might specify. So it’s important to understand what the potential is for different looks and different types of tree species.”
“It’s energizing to see the urban wood utilization movement gathering momentum. We’re partnering with colleagues from all over the nation, and especially the South, to share victories and challenges. By learning from each other, we can work out the obstacles.” — Seth Hawkins, Coordinator, Urban & Community Forestry Program, GFC
Trees’ Timeless Beauty
“We’ve definitely noticed a trend over the last few years as designers and architects are starting to spec more and more urban wood, and reclaimed wood that happens to be a specialty here at Lamon Luther,” said Gordon Cortez, owner/operator of the furniture and paneling manufacturer. “And of course, we’re happy to cater to that need.”
MaderaArts in Austell, GA, has been utilizing urban and reclaimed wood for client furniture, cabinetry and art projects for over five years now. “We love using it, not only for its beauty and choices of wood colors, but because we can tell a story about the origins of the wood and our clients really enjoy that,” said Operations Manager Thad Staples.
“Each time, we appreciate the character that urban wood adds to our projects.”
“Ashley [Kite-Rowland] and I both work for state agencies and also serve on a subcommittee of the Southern Group of State Foresters,” said Texas A&M Urban & Community Forestry Leader Mac Martin. “This year, through their survey, we discovered how to use information to hopefully develop a network here in the southern region that will increase awareness of urban wood utilization with all stakeholders.”
“A database is in the making to help those who want more information about urban wood in order to understand more about it and its many benefits and uses,” said Hawkins. The database will be housed on GFC’s website (gatrees.org).
Workshops can be found around the South for those in the industry who are new to all the ways urban wood can be good for their states and their environments.
An Urban Wood Academy was held recently in Memphis, and in 2024, one is tentatively planned in Georgia.
“Being on the manufacturing side of the finished wood products, it was great for us to connect with our tree care company and arborist partners at both events sponsored by the Georgia Forestry Commission and Georgia Arborist Association this year,” said Carmen Rodriguez, Eutree marketing director and partner. “It’s really important to maintain those relationships and keep these amazing logs out of the landfill and out of the waste stream.”
“It was great to be able to network for changes, to think of urban wood as a product, not just a waste item for Georgia,” said Potts. “Our state and our region offer plenty of networking opportunities for those interested in learning as much or more than they learned at the Villa Rica Day at Eutree this past May and at UGA’s Griffin campus in July,” said Brittany Hope-Bhamla, executive director of the Georgia Arborist Association. “We were pleased to collaborate with the Georgia Forestry Commission to organize the July event, which had a great turnout and many pleased participants.” ■
Karin Pendley Koser has an MFA in Creative Writing and has partnered with the GFC and GFA for numerous forestry videos and other projects. She has written for major Southeast publications and says as a child she gained inspiration from north Georgia’s colorful fall foliage.
“We’ve definitely noticed a trend over the last few years as designers and architects are starting to spec more and more urban wood, and reclaimed wood that happens to be a specialty here at Lamon Luther,” said Gordon Cortez, owner/operator of the furniture and paneling manufacturer. “And of course, we’re happy to cater to that need.”
MaderaArts in Austell, GA, has been utilizing urban and reclaimed wood for client furniture, cabinetry and art projects for over five years now. “We love using it, not only for its beauty and choices of wood colors, but because we can tell a story about the origins of the wood and our clients really enjoy that,” said Operations Manager Thad Staples.
“Each time, we appreciate the character that urban wood adds to our projects.”
“Ashley [Kite-Rowland] and I both work for state agencies and also serve on a subcommittee of the Southern Group of State Foresters,” said Texas A&M Urban & Community Forestry Leader Mac Martin. “This year, through their survey, we discovered how to use information to hopefully develop a network here in the southern region that will increase awareness of urban wood utilization with all stakeholders.”
“A database is in the making to help those who want more information about urban wood in order to understand more about it and its many benefits and uses,” said Hawkins. The database will be housed on GFC’s website (gatrees.org).
Workshops can be found around the South for those in the industry who are new to all the ways urban wood can be good for their states and their environments.
An Urban Wood Academy was held recently in Memphis, and in 2024, one is tentatively planned in Georgia.
“Being on the manufacturing side of the finished wood products, it was great for us to connect with our tree care company and arborist partners at both events sponsored by the Georgia Forestry Commission and Georgia Arborist Association this year,” said Carmen Rodriguez, Eutree marketing director and partner. “It’s really important to maintain those relationships and keep these amazing logs out of the landfill and out of the waste stream.”
“It was great to be able to network for changes, to think of urban wood as a product, not just a waste item for Georgia,” said Potts. “Our state and our region offer plenty of networking opportunities for those interested in learning as much or more than they learned at the Villa Rica Day at Eutree this past May and at UGA’s Griffin campus in July,” said Brittany Hope-Bhamla, executive director of the Georgia Arborist Association. “We were pleased to collaborate with the Georgia Forestry Commission to organize the July event, which had a great turnout and many pleased participants.” ■
Karin Pendley Koser has an MFA in Creative Writing and has partnered with the GFC and GFA for numerous forestry videos and other projects. She has written for major Southeast publications and says as a child she gained inspiration from north Georgia’s colorful fall foliage.
|
Georgia Forestry Magazine is published by HL Strategy, an integrated marketing and communications firm focused on our nation's biggest challenges and opportunities. Learn more at hlstrategy.com
|
|
|