DECEMBER, 2020
NC URBAN WOOD GROUP BULLETIN
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Welcome to our Bulletin!
Welcome back to our periodical series of email bulletins to keep you informed about current topics and events in the North Carolina urban wood industry. We hope to facilitate networking among municipalities, arborists, sawmills, suppliers, manufacturers, design professionals, and others interested in increasing the amount of wood that can be reclaimed, processed, and sold in NC and beyond. Be on the lookout for future bulletin issues in 2021 as we develop a more comprehensive network for the communication of information regarding developments within the urban wood utilization industry. The NC Urban Wood Bulletin will be produced quarterly in 2021, and we welcome your ideas for future topics.
Past issues of the NC Urban Wood Bulletin can be found on our web page HERE. |
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YOU CAN HELP!
Last chance to take the NC Urban Wood Survey! Please help us guide the future activities and goals of the Urban Wood Group by completing our 3 minute survey. (Thank you to all who have already assisted with this!)
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The MASONIC HOME
for CHILDREN
Oxford, NC
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MEMORY TABLES TO PRESERVE A TREE LEGACY |
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Of the 232 trees on the Masonic Home’s upper campus, majestic oaks make up a large percentage. A 2015 urban forest management plan, prepared by the then NC State University graduate student Travis Black, identified 22% of the campus trees to be removed due to poor health and risk related to age and previous damage. But what to do with the trees that have graced the campus since its very beginning, 148 years ago? Many of them are no longer in good condition and must be taken down. The idea to preserve their “memory” in the form of usable wood products soon came up, according to Home Administrator Kevin Otis. It was decided that many of the removed trees could be milled and made into “Memory Tables”, thereby preserving the memory of the campus’s significant heritage as North Carolina’s first children’s home, as well as the oldest children’s home in the United States still operating out of its original location.
Further, those Memory Tables could give back to the Home in a financially significant way. Several “live edge” tables will be created from the wood by local miller and woodworker Avery Earwood, owner of Wild Edge Woodcraft. He will be donating his time to create a special table, valued at $5,000 - $10,000, to be auctioned to raise funds for the non-profit Masonic Home and benefitting the many children who currently reside there. Additional tables will be made and sold, with 10% of any profits going to the Home.
This all seems like a win-win proposition; however, there is one barrier to be overcome. Many of the oak trees have already been removed and are waiting, piled near the rear of the property, to be transported to Avery’s mill and workshop. A trailer stands ready for transporting logs from Oxford to Rougemont. Unfortunately, though, the logs are massive and need to be lifted from the pile onto the trailer. This step will require the use of a crane truck and its operator. The Masonic Home does not have the funds to rent these, so a donation drive is currently underway to raise the funds. If you are interested in helping to make this endeavor happen for the Home, you can consider making a tax-deductible financial donation through the Masonic Children’s Home website, indicating “Memory Wood” in the comment box. Or, if you know anyone who might be able and willing to provide donated or deeply discounted crane services for half a day in Oxford, please contact Kevin Otis directly through his email at kotis@mhc-oxford.org .
The soon-to-be-created Memory Tables of the Masonic Children’s Home at Oxford will surely prove to be a prime example of North Carolina’s legacy urban wood put to good use to benefit a very worthy and historic cause. If you are interested in more information on purchasing one of the tables once they become available in 2023, you can be added to the Home’s contact list by emailing Administrator Kevin Otis. The legacy of the oak trees and those who spent time in their shade over the course of 150 years will live on.
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The NC Urban Wood Group will host several educational programs and networking opportunities in 2021, including webinars and live workshop events (when possible). Please stay tuned for more detailed announcements in January.
In early December, we hosted our first educational webinar: Vacuum Kiln & Sawmill Technology Demonstration. You can view a recording of the webinar on demand here:
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PARTNER ONLINE WORKSHOP RECORDINGS OF INTEREST:
National Urban Wood Academy
Urban Wood Network
November 20, 2020
Helping Municipalities Develop Urban Wood Management Programs
Virginia Urban Wood Group
December 15, 2020
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ABOUT THE NC URBAN WOOD GROUP |
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The NC Urban Wood Group’s purpose is to develop and promote connections between stakeholders and provide up-to-date information and resources on urban wood utilization in NC. As partners, we work towards developing and improving a market for all participants, which results in products that divert removed urban wood from landfills into the hands of consumers. |
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Stay in touch! Please send us your thoughts and suggestions for future bulletin topics. We welcome your articles and updates!
Contact Mindy Hidenfelter
urbanwoodnc@gmail.com
P: 252.253.3891
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Funding for this project was provided in part through an Urban & Community Forestry Grant from the North Carolina Forest Service, Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service, Southern Region. |
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The NC Urban Wood Group is a proud member of: |
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