Urban trees' afterlife

American Forests, Summer-Autumn, 2004 by Will Clattenburg

Every time a tree falls or is cut in the city two things typically happen: part of the tree is ground up into woodchips and part is saved for firewood. Quite often, trees end up in city landfills after being severed into manageable pieces, which precludes their use as lumber.

The California Department of Forestry (CDF) offers another alternative: It is facilitating the active recovery of wood waste. These days, some of the most unique novelty items produced in the state may come from recovered wood waste. Urban trees are transformed into guitars, cabinets, and rocking chairs, distilling the natural beauty of the urban forest into stylish art.

The urban forests of California are not customarily thought of as a renewable resource. Thanks to CDF, that view could change. Urban forests in California and elsewhere provide a host of services to the community from shading city sidewalks to filtering harmful pollutants. At the end of their lives, however, trees can become a commodity, a product people can use for a long time.

When the trees are sold, part of the proceeds goes toward planting more urban trees, which perpetuates the cycle of growth and benefits both city residents and consumers. The market for novelty items, or what are called "niche 'figure-wood'" products, is extensive in California.

Local government, tree maintenance professionals, milling and manufacturing companies, and (when the trees are on private property) home-owners all have a stake in a tree's journey to living-room coffee table. Aware of these many interests, CDF created the Urban Forestry Ecosystems Institute (UFEI) with a website kept up by the College of Agriculture at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo (www.ufei.org). This website makes it easy for buyers, sellers, and other interested parties to access relevant information.

In addition, CDF matches local businesses and organizations with the tools necessary to harvest trees through its "loaner program." In July 2000, it presented Palomar College in San Marcos, San Diego County, with a "Woodmizer" portable sawmill and a portable kiln for drying recovered wood.

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CDF's loaner program allows students at Palomar to experience "exotic hardwoods" and prime themselves on "urban wood utilization," according to Eric Oldar, a regional field specialist at CDF. Cerritos Community College also asked CDF to consider loaning them a mill and kiln. CDF lends equipment to established woodworking organizations as well.