The Urban Wood Network: Future Visioning Webinar Series

The Urban Wood Network announces the third webinar of its 2020 webinar series, “Urban Lumber Business”. The Urban Wood Network invites municipalities, arborists, sawyers, woodworkers, advocates and all others interested in advancing the urban wood movement to participate in this or any of the webinars.

Webinar #1: The Urban Wood Network: Future Visioning

The Urban Wood Network will present its vision to bring together urban wood industry members to inform, collaborate and connect to build community, business, and consumer confidence in the industry. Don Peterson, Executive Director of the Urban Wood Network will share recently established local, regional and national partnerships, membership benefits, and upcoming educational opportunities for both members and non-members. Jennifer Alger will provide a brief update on the new partnership between the Urban Wood Network and Urban Salvaged and Reclaimed Woods. Paul Morrison will share how the urban wood industry has evolved over the past 20 years; staring with the slow growth of scattered individuals to the current and rapidly growing trajectory that we are now witnessing. Paul believes that these individual businesses must each define what makes them unique while also recognizing that the partnerships and potential of networking within an organization of like-minded businesses benefits each individual business and further insures our collective future.

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SPEAKERS:

Don Peterson – Urban Wood Network

Don currently serves as the executive director of the Urban Wood Network and Wisconsin Urban Wood and has been involved with promoting the utilization of urban wood in various capacities since 1997. Don also leads Wood Innovations Teams in Michigan and Wisconsin, which assist forest industry in sustainable forest management and production of wood products.

Jennifer Alger – Urban Salvaged and Reclaimed Woods

Jennifer is a founding member and director of Urban Salvaged and Reclaimed Woods, a new UWN chapter member, and CEO of Far West Forest Products which specializes in urban, salvaged, and reclaimed lumber near Sacramento California. She is very passionate about the urban wood movement and is leading a team of industry professionals and experts to develop the first ever Standards for Certification and Chain-of-Custody for Urban, Salvaged and Reclaimed Woods.

Paul Morrison – Wisconsin Urban Wood

Paul is owner of The Wood Cycle and a founding member of Wisconsin Urban Wood, UWN Chapter member. Paul is an engineer by training, but has been milling and working wood since his youth. He formed the Wood Cycle in 2001 with an intentional focus on locally sourced Wisconsin hardwoods and always with an urban wood emphasis. The Wood Cycle produces its own urban lumber, supplying two Habitat for Humanity ReStore locations, and produces and sells live edge slabs and has a custom woodworking shop that produces furniture, cabinetry and a variety of other urban wood products. Paul also authored “Tree to Table; Emergence of the Urban Wood Movement.”

Webinar #2: Urban Lumber Standards

One of the things that keeps coming to light in order to take our industry to the next level and rescue more trees is to get urban woods specified by more architects and designers, and therefore sell more product, is the need for industry Standards and Chain-of-Custody. These standards and chain-of-custody certification will build confidence in architects and designers to spec locally grown urban wood products. After a peer review process and input from coast to coast and into Canada from urban wood stakeholders from various different backgrounds and experiences, we now have Urban Wood Industry Standards and chain of custody certification. We will be discussing this new pathway for urban woods to be certified.

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SPEAKERS:

Dwayne Sperber – Wudeward Urban Forest Products

Dwayne Sperber, founder and owner of Wudeward Urban Forest Products, has been passionate about architecture, wood products and the environment for much of his life. Over 20 years ago he saw his passions intersect in a meaningful way when he was introduced to urban wood. Since his discovery, Dwayne has worked tirelessly to build awareness and advocate for the use of urban wood in applications large and small in Wisconsin and across the country. Dwayne is a founding member of Wisconsin Urban Wood, an appointed member of the Wisconsin Urban Forestry Council, and serves with the national organization the Urban Wood Network. When Dwayne isn’t advancing the use of urban wood, he can be found working on his own woodworking projects, spending time with his family and enjoying the rural (and urban) Wisconsin wilderness.

Jennifer Alger – Urban Wood Network West

Jennifer is a founding member and director of Urban Salvaged and Reclaimed Woods which is now the Urban Wood Network – Western Chapter and CEO of Far West Forest Products which specializes in urban, salvaged, and reclaimed lumber near Sacramento California. She is very passionate about the urban wood movement and has led a team of industry professionals and experts to develop the first ever Standards for Certification and Chain-of-Custody for Urban, Salvaged and Reclaimed Woods.Jennifer is a founding member and director of Urban Salvaged and Reclaimed Woods, a new UWN chapter member, and CEO of Far West Forest Products which specializes in urban, salvaged, and reclaimed lumber near Sacramento California. She is very passionate about the urban wood movement and is leading a team of industry professionals and experts to develop the first ever Standards for Certification and Chain-of-Custody for Urban, Salvaged and Reclaimed Woods.

Katie Fernholz – Dovetail Partners

Kathryn (Katie) Fernholz is President/CEO of Dovetail Partners, a non-profit environmental think-tank based in Minneapolis, MN. She is a forester by training with over 22 years of experience with environmental auditing, standard setting, and certification programs. She is a past member of External Review Panel for the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and serves as Dovetail’s representative for membership with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC, Environmental- North Chamber). Katie currently serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees for the American Forest Foundation (AFF), which manages the American Tree Farm System (ATFS). Katie is also currently serving on the international Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) Working Group for the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). Kathryn is an experienced lead auditor for forest certification assessments having served on audit teams for industrial, tribal, public, and family forest lands. Kathryn has a B.S. in Forest Resources from the University of Minnesota and also studied at the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, MN and Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka, Alaska.

This webinar has been approved for 1.25 CEUs through ISA: BCMA Management 1.25 CEUs, Certified Arborist 1.25 CEUs, and Municipal Specialist 1.25 CEUs.

Webinar #3: Urban Lumber Business

Join us as we share proven strategies for scaling up and marketing an urban wood business. Now that we have a new national industry Standard and chain-of-custody certification, we’ll explain how to use them to simplify your business processes, and also walk through some of the bottlenecks that exist in our processes and how to overcome them.

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SPEAKERS:

Jennifer Alger – Urban Wood Network West

Steve Larosiliere – Acres of Timber

Steve is the founder of Acres of Timber and host of the Woodpreneur Podcast Acres of Timber, a media platform and advertising agency that helps wood businesses tell their story and grow their profits by leveraging social media and paid advertising platforms. Acres of Timber has worked with brands such as Granberg, Logosol, Wood-Mizer, and others. Steve founded the #woodpreneur and #sawmillbusiness hashtags which is the go-to community for wood entrepreneurs to network, grow, and gain exposure for their businesses. In Steve’s other life, he’s an accomplished non-profit executive that’s impacted the lives of over 5,000 young people nationally. Steve has his BA from Stony Brook University and earned his MPA from the School of Public Affairs at Baruch College.

This webinar has been approved for 1.25 CEUs through ISA: BCMA Management 1.25 CEUs, Certified Arborist 1.25 CEUs, and Municipal Specialist 1.25 CEUs.

Webinar #4: What to Do with the Rest of the Tree

Taking an urban log and producing some sort of lumber, boards or live edge slabs to create a value-added product is the glamorous side of urban wood utilization, but what do you do with the vast majority of wood that comes from urban trees that will not produce a sawn product? Chipping is a common means of reducing urban wood to a product that is easily transported and has a wide variety of uses from boiler fuel, to a compost additive, to mulch. However, there are other possibilities as well such as pulpwood and firewood. There are also niche products that can be made such as tree cookies, walking sticks, spoons and a host of other craft items. This webinar will give a broad spectrum of examples of products that have been produced from “non-log” trees and portions of trees throughout the country. Scott and Don will be conducting the webinar showing the uses for this wood that UWN members have implemented. During the Q&A portion many of these members will be available to answer these questions directly.

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SPEAKERS:

Don Peterson – Urban Wood Network

Since 2001, Don has been president of his own company, Renewable Resource Solutions, LLC, whose client base ranges from the federal government to private landowners. Projects include non-profit organization management, business plans, feasibility studies, resource analysis, grant writing, wood energy assessments, and a variety of other projects. Don graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry, from Michigan Technological University in 1979. Don has served as executive director of the Urban Wood Network and Wisconsin Urban Wood for the past two years. In various capacities he has been involved with promoting the utilization of urban wood since 1997. Don is also a partner with the USFS Forest Products Marketing Unit, filling the role of Forest Products Specialist on technical assistance projects throughout the country.

Scott Lyon – Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources

Scott Lyon is a forest products specialist with the Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources and has been in his position since 2014. He provides assistance to support and grow Wisconsin’s forest products industry by offering marketing and technical support; manufacturing efficiency studies; and wood utilization and marketing plans to lessen the impacts of invasive species within communities. Scott has sales and production experience related to forest products, both domestically and internationally. He earned a bachelor’s degree in wood products from Penn State and a master’s degree from Virginia Tech, where he studied international marketing of forest products. Scott was recognized by Woodworking Network as a member of the “Wood Industry 40 Under 40” Class of 2018.

This webinar has been approved for 1.25 CEUs through ISA: BCMA Management 1.25 CEUs, Certified Arborist 1.25 CEUs, and Municipal Specialist 1.25 CEUs.

Webinar #5: Forming a State Organization: Nebraska Urban Wood

The Urban Wood Network was founded in 2017 by individuals and entities dedicated to building the urban wood industry. We’ve learned that the only way to have a substantial impact on full-circle urban forestry management is to work cooperatively from arborist to value-added manufacturer at a local level. In 2018, the Urban Wood Network presented the webinar “Starting a State Urban Wood Network,” which featured Wisconsin Urban Wood, a fully functioning state network. To give additional perspective on the formative stages of creating a state-wide urban wood network, this webinar will highlight efforts underway to form Nebraska Urban Wood. Those leading these efforts will share their collective experiences in the hopes of assisting businesses and others to join the urban wood movement. The Nebraska Urban Wood webinar will give an overview of Nebraska’s existing urban wood using industry, municipalities and tree service involvement, potential funding sources, organizational structures, and recent organizational efforts. From advocacy to exploration of an urban wood nonprofit, several entities have contributed to building the urban wood movement across Nebraska. Community engagement and education events have included a milling demonstration, a craft and artisan urban wood showcase, a community meeting for members of the urban wood supply chain, youth education and more. Join us for the discussion about what we have learned and where we are going.

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SPEAKERS:

Heather Nobert – Nebraska Forest Service

Heather Nobert is a Forest Products Specialist at the Nebraska Forest Service. Her work with urban wood includes many aspects along the supply chain from mechanized urban logging to product development and promotion. She is especially interested in how urban wood utilization can be tied to community development. Aside from her work with urban wood, her professional interests include biochar and agricultural based solutions for wood products development. She received her BA in Biology from Albion College and MS in Forestry from West Virginia University.

Jamie Carson – Carson+Co Global

Jamie Carson founded Carson+Co Global (CCG) in Washington, DC, in 2010. Carson leads CCG’s vision, strategy, management team, and business operations and development. CCG is a federally-certified Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB) and social enterprise business with a mission to advance the science, sustainability and social equity landscapes. The business is currently headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska. Carson has advised associations, companies, government offices, nonprofits, and universities on their communication, brand and creative, event, knowledge management, media and public relations, and outreach efforts for more than a decade. Carson’s educational background includes degrees in mass communications with an environmental emphasis and Spanish, and continued studies under the Climate Change Officer (CCO) certification program.

Lorri Grueber – City of Lincoln Parks and Recreation

Lorri Grueber is a Community Operations Forester with the City of Lincoln, Nebraska. She also has worked with the cities of Frankfort, Kentucky, and Lake Saint Louis, Missouri, and in the private sector. Grueber is an ISA certified arborist, municipal specialist, and TRAQ qualified. She serves on the Midwest ISA Board of Directors. Grueber enjoys helping people learn about trees, whether it is staff, family, or friends. When she’s not in her arborist shoes, Grueber enjoys being in her walking shoes, spending time with her horse, bike riding, and exploring her current home of Nebraska.