Local Wood: Grow, Build, Live webinar series

Massachusetts Woodlands Institute, a subsidiary of the Franklin Land Trust, partners with Northern Woodlands, and New England Forestry Foundation to present
a 

Local Wood: Grow, Build, Live webinar series. Join us 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.

• January 20^th, 2pm-3:30: Tree to Table

• February 24^th, 2pm-3:30: Woods to Home

• March 17^th, 2pm-3:30:Forests to Cities

On January 20^th from 2:00-3:30 pm, we will hear 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 us insight into how local wood can be used to create beautiful and sustainable goods to meet the challenges
we face from global climate change. We will hear from Mitch about the features and details of the tables; 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.

Click HERE to watch the recording of the first webinar in the series.  

Woods to Home:

Join us on February 24^th from 2pm-3:30 pm for a discussion with Massachusetts Woodlands Institute (MWI) Board Chair Brian Donahue, and MWI Board
Members David Bowman, and Nicole St. Clair Knobloch on building a home with locally sourced wood products. 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. We will hear about the process and journey of building a timber-frame 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.  REGISTER

Forest to Cities:

Join us on March 17^th from 2pm-3:30pm to 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. We 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 COO 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. REGISTER

For more information please visit Massachusetts Woodlands Institute at: http://www.masswoodlands.org/events/