Page 26 - Georgia Forestry - Issue 1 - Winter 2024

“It’s energizing to see the urban wood utilization movement gathering momentum. We’re partnering with colleagues from all over the nation, and especially the South, to share victories and challenges. By learning from each other, we can work out the obstacles.”
— Seth Hawkins, Coordinator, Urban & Community Forestry Program, GFC
need to be creative about the products, and then we really need to find the big buyers, get them involved and figure out how we can work together. It’s not your typical hardwood lumber that you might specify. So it’s important to understand what the potential is for different looks and different types of tree species.”
Trees’ Timeless
Beauty
“We’ve definitely noticed a trend over the last few years as designers and architects are starting to spec more and more urban wood, and reclaimed wood that happens to be a specialty here at Lamon Luther,” said Gordon Cortez, owner/operator of the furniture and paneling manufacturer. “And of course, we’re happy to cater to that need.”
MaderaArts in Austell, GA, has been utilizing urban and reclaimed wood for client furniture, cabinetry and art projects for over five years now. “We love using it, not only for its beauty and choices of wood colors, but because we
frc.us.com | 877.832.2441
FOREST RESOURCE CONSULTANTS
Growing Your Future
Creating personalized solutions that help
landowners succeed
“It’s energizing to see the urban wood utilization movement gathering momen- tum,” said Hawkins. “We’re partnering with colleagues from all over the nation, and especially the South, to share victo- ries and challenges. By learning from each other, we can work out the obstacles.”
And there are a few. “First of all, there is a lack of awareness of urban wood utiliza- tion, and we have a lack of workforce that is needed to do the work,” said Kite-Roland.

“I think about distances, fuel costs and all of those sorts of things on a daily basis,” said Jonathan Potts, owner/oper- ator of Marietta, GA-based Potts Grapple Services. “And that’s why I love bringing everybody together as was done the day we were on UGA’s Griffin Campus in July of this year.”
“It’s also a challenge to find enough end-users for urban wood,” said Sims Acuff, founder and owner of Eutree. “We

Georgia Offices
Columbus | Macon | Madison Statesboro | Waycross
SEEDLING SALES
1-800-635-0162 (AL, AR, E. TX ,LA, MS, OK) 1-800-634-8975 (AL, FL, GA, SC, TN)
24 | GEORGIA FORESTRY