Urban and community forests provide a
multitude of environmental and cultural benefits, including heat reduction,
improved air quality, ecosystem support and carbon capturing. Urban and
community wood utilization is the processing of wood materials from
urban trees that would otherwise be discarded, expanding the potential impact
of every tree.
According to the EPA, wood materials,
especially from urban forests, are the largest component of municipal waste.
Urban and Community Wood Utilization makes use of every tree's potential,
including continuing the carbon capture process even after the tree’s natural
life.
+ Material Processing
Urban and community wood utilization
encompasses a process of three distinct stages and stakeholders:
- Wood Suppliers
- Wood
suppliers are urban forest managers or professionals who remove or contract the removal of
publicly owned trees. Due to the acquisition of these trees at later stages in
the utilization process, wood suppliers benefit from reduced transportation and
disposal costs
- Primary Producers
- Primary producers
consist of sawyers and millers who use the trees, provided by the wood
suppliers, to create logs, planks, chips and other lumber products. Primary
suppliers benefit from a lower cost of raw materials and transportation.
- Secondary Producers
- Secondary producers
consist of furniture makers, artists and wood makers, who create valuable
retail end products from materials provided by primary producers.
+ Final Product Results
The final products of urban and
community trees have increased monetary and cultural value, which is reinvested
into the community. The final products of urban trees can include furniture, art and lumber.
+ Economic Impact
Urban and community wood utilization
help stimulate and provide economic benefits to the community by lowering the
cost of tree removal, providing beneficial wood products back to the community
and creating jobs.