Building on the success of their first virtual conference last November, the Canadian Wood Council’s Wood WORKS! program is hosting an inaugural Wood Wellness Summit this March. The event, which takes place on March 10th and 11th, is dedicated to showcasing innovative research and advancements in health-centered living using wood. “Materials and designs of our structures clearly affect our physical, mental and emotional well-being, whether we are aware of it or not,” says Peter Moonen, National Sustainability Manager at the Canadian Wood Council. “Wood is well positioned to provide many benefits to enable us to work, heal, learn and perform better. And if we realize the positive and negative impacts of our choices for our spaces, and the importance of exposed materials, why would we not make sure to use our knowledge whenever we can?” …the Summit is designed for professionals in the construction and design community
MONTREAL
This event will take you on an exciting journey to discover what’s possible with structural mass timber in design and building. Three distinguished designers will present three remarkable projects, each unprecedented and unique. Challenge your design sense and advance your wood proficiency and knowledge as you learn about these ingenious projects: a complex hybrid structure utilizing logs, steel, light wood-frame and dowel laminated timber walls; the world’s tallest timber vertical extension using cross-laminated timber; and a 300-foot-long span timber gridshell using doubly curved glulam.
The inaugural Wood Wellness Summit is dedicated to showcasing innovative research, advancements, and applications in designing for health-centered living using wood. Join us for thought-provoking perspectives and project examples at the forefront of innovation that have the potential to transform the built environment into healthier low-carbon communities where people thrive. If you are an architect, engineer, contractor, builder, developer or project team member, this event is for you!
Kalesnikoff is honoured to have been named the province’s lead exporter of manufactured products in 
Vancouver residents don’t normally see logging trucks rumbling down Howe Street, so they can be forgiven for thinking forestry is a rural B.C. pursuit that doesn’t really affect them. In fact, forestry accounts for 15% of B.C.’s economic activity, and roughly 40% of the jobs the industry supports are in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, according to… the Council of Forest Industries. In total, the industry contributes $13 billion annually to B.C.’s GDP. …Lisa Dominato, a Vancouver city councillor, said the forest industry spends close to $1 billion in Vancouver annually through 500 suppliers. …She added that local governments see the value of supporting B.C.’s forestry sector, while also addressing housing shortages and climate change by supporting businesses like the construction of tall wood buildings, which uses mass timber products instead of steel and concrete. …foresters invariably meet resistance on environmental and social-licence grounds. The increasing involvement of First Nations in the sector helps address some of those issues.
HIGH POINT — Rising costs from both overseas and domestic suppliers and manufacturers have pushed U.S. case goods resources to pass some of those increases along to retailers for finished goods. …On one hand, there are rising costs of wood materials such as lumber, MDF and plywood in the U.S. and abroad, sources note. So, too, have labor costs risen in both domestic and overseas factories as manufacturers scramble to find and keep a stable work force. Such challenges are not new. They have arisen from time to time, forcing many importers and manufactures to share the burden with suppliers and source factories and pass some of that along to their own customers. What complicates things further this time around — and makes the increases nearly non-negotiable — are rising freight rates. …The container rates are also factoring into the prices of shipping finished raw materials … from China to Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Beyond windmills, solar panels and a constant stream of innovation to mitigate carbon emissions in the built environment, many now believe timberland holds the key to a more sustainable world as it shifts towards a circular ‘bio’ economy. …An increasing range of products manufactured from sustainably-cultivated forests is contributing to climate-change mitigation. …They range from cross-laminated timber used in construction of high-rise structures as a replacement for concrete and steel, to the wood fibre and pulp used in production of fabrics and baby nappies, replacing synthetics. …“There is a recognition that we need to make some significant changes,” says David Brand, chief executive of New Forests. …Brian Kernohan, chief sustainability officer at Hancock Natural Resource Group, says: “We share the view that forest and farmland have a big role to play in helping us meet the Paris Agreement targets.”
The crucial role that timber plays as an alternative material to concrete, steel and plastics is becoming evident. Beyond windmills, solar panels and a constant stream of innovation to mitigate carbon emissions in the built environment, many now believe timberland holds the key to a more sustainable world as it shifts towards a circular ‘bio’ economy. Using forests for carbon sequestration is a known path to reducing carbon dioxide, but the crucial role of timber products in helping limit global warming to 1.5°C by 2030 is only now becoming more evident. An increasing range of products manufactured from sustainably-cultivated forests is contributing to climate-change mitigation. These compete with a wide spectrum of products relying on high-energy inputs in the manufacturing process. They range from cross-laminated timber used in construction of high-rise structures as a replacement for concrete and steel, to the wood fibre and pulp replacing synthetics.