Massachusetts Woodlands Institute, New England Forestry Foundation and Northern Woodlands are holding a series of 90 minute webinars this winter on Local Wood: Grow, Build, Live . The series will 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.
Participants 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.
The first webinar in the series, Tree to Table will be held on January 20th from 2 to 3:30 p.m. This webinar will explore the connections between sustainable forestry and craft woodworking using NEFF’s new conference table 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 master carpenter and Professor of Sustainable Furniture Design at MassArt, 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 about the features and details of the tables, as well as the creative and prototyping processes the MassArt 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.
The webinars are free, but pre-registration is required. For more information or to register, go to https://newenglandforestry.org/connect/events/