The more I read about the Maleny Wood Expo (MWE) the more I like.
The town of Maleny is in south east Queensland up in the hills behind the Sunshine Coast.
The MWE has been going for 22 years and is clearly a major community event!
The MWE comes from a landcare background. This seems to be what makes the difference with other “festivals”.
One of the great initiatives of the MWE is their Sustainable Timber Policy:
http://www.malenywoodexpo.com/maleny-wood-expo-sustainable-timber-policy/
The fact that the MWE cares about where the timber comes from is a unique initiative.
Sustainable Timber Policy
The Maleny Wood Expo has a strong focus on ecological sustainability and sustainable use of local timbers. The first Maleny Wood Expo in 1996 was born from Barung Landcare’s recognition of the need to raise awareness about sustainable use of native hardwood and rainforest cabinet timbers. If our beautiful native timbers are to be available in the future, we must protect our resources.
[we must protect our resources…..and promote and support private tree growers].
The Expo aims to promote the whole ‘timber’ story – from seed collection through planting forests, harvesting and milling to the end product, the furniture.
[I like this sentence very much. The one thing missing from the “whole timber story” is the “Who”. Who grows the wood? Who manages the forest? Who collects and plants the seeds? If this was a dairy expo the dairy farmer would be the centre of attention. The same needs to happen with timber. Where is the Grower? Timber needs to be humanised].
The main point of difference between the Maleny Wood Expo and other wood shows is that our wood artisans are required to work in sustainably harvested native, weed or recycled timbers.
[MWE are keen to deliberately differentiate themselves from other “Festivals”. As I wrote in a previous blog, most wood festivals don’t care at all where the wood comes from. MWE care very much! This is the 21st century. This is a great positive initiative].
https://blackwoodgrowers.com.au/2018/02/13/all-about-the-wood-nothing-about-the-growers/
To achieve this we require all exhibitors to respect our ethic. All timber must be sourced from:
- Primarily from SE Queensland or northern NSW region (minimum 80%);
- Hardwood or softwood timber from managed plantations on private or public land;
- Exotic (non native) hardwood and softwood timbers (e.g. Slash Pine, Camphor Laurel and Privet) that can be removed with minimal disturbance to native bushland. Many species have weed potential and their removal will benefit the environment;
- Salvage timber from native forest logging operations i.e. timber that isn’t the primary target of the operation but rather a by-product that would otherwise be bulldozed or burnt (e.g. Blackwood Acacia melanoxylon);
- Timber collected where it presents a danger to people e.g. trees that have fallen or are likely to fall across roads, powerlines, houses (recognise that timber left to rot on the ground provides important nutrients and wildlife habitat);
- Dead standing trees from partially-cleared farmland – of less than 20cm diameter at waste height;
- Recycled timbers from demolition of buildings and other constructions, and waste transfer stations; or
- Other – if timber is not from the above sources, exhibitors must indicate where it came from prior to exhibiting at Expo.
Products made from timber burls cut from live trees (from Regional Ecosystem Guidelines, Qld Dept of Environment and Heritage Protection) are not permitted at Maleny Wood Expo.
Abiding by these guidelines will assist our community in sustainably managing our local timber resources.
It’s a pretty good policy.
What I would like to see is the policy actual focus more on promoting and supporting profitable private tree growers; actually build and grow the future supply of quality timber for both commercial and environmental objectives. There could be a range of initiatives to support this.
Why not use the power and momentum of the MWE to get more trees in the ground; grow the future!
Private Tree Growers
Besides the Sustainable Timber Policy the only other reference on the MWE website to tree growers is this statement:
Tree Farming for The Planet
We must more and more use timber from privately-owned forests as our appreciation of old growth forests leads to cessation of logging. Private forests provide not only timber – they’re an important farm asset and income stream. They repair and protect our land and provide biodiversity and habitat, shelter and support for agricultural and grazing enterprises, landscape aesthetics, bushfoods and much more. The Barung Nursery supplies quality tree stock for boutique and larger plantations.
The Barung Landcare Group hosts the MWE which is clearly a very good thing.
http://www.barunglandcare.org.au/
It’s curious that their website doesn’t have much of a focus on growing timber.
Is there a local specialty timber growers group that the Barung Landcare Group supports?
There are significant opportunities still to be realised in this Barung Landcare/MWE team.
Keep up the great work!
Now why can’t other wood festivals be more like the MWE?
Tasmanian Blackwood Growers Cooperative 
Heartwood: The art and science of growing trees for conservation and profit
http://www.agroforestry.net.au/main.asp?_=heartwood%20book
Fellow forester Rowan Reid recently wrote this book which has been getting a lot of media coverage. I thought I’d write a review.
Rowan is passionate about trees and farm forestry. And like me he’s pretty critical of the policies and practices of State and Federal Governments and the forest industry. As such Heartwood says very little about past and current industry and Government policies and practices to thwart or encourage farm forestry.
In one respect I can see why he has avoided discussing the current Government, industry and market context. Rowan obviously wants to keep the book positive. The problem is when it comes time to sell your cherished sawlogs you have to deal with that context, and it’s often not a positive experience.
One of the first things I do with a new book is look at the contents page to get an overview of the books structure.
Here’s the Contents page from Heartwood:
With Heartwood that didn’t work. I quickly discovered there was content not shown in the Contents page. So I’ve made a list of the other Contents:
Heartwood contains a wealth of information and knowledge about trees and farm forestry written in a personal and engaging style. Rowan’s view of farm forestry extends beyond commercial wood production (although that is clearly his main focus, as you can see from the other Contents page). His vision is to reintegrate trees back into the rural landscape to achieve multiple benefits.
If you want a head start in how to grow these trees this is a good place to begin.
The question remains – what are the commercial risks associated with planting these species? After all, the book’s title does include the word PROFIT!
And here’s where I start to have problems with the book.
How do we start a conversation in Australia about profitable tree growing?
Certainly Governments and the forest industry take great efforts in avoiding discussing profitable tree growing. To them it is anathema. Such discussion would inevitably put the spotlight on the failings of public native forestry, and they are at pains to avoid that.
Heartwood avoids any serious discussion about end uses, markets, costs and prices, so it’s hard to see where the profits come from. There’s also no discussion about laws and regulations pertaining to farm forestry. Rowan’s desire to avoid the current “context” and remain positive starts to feel awkward.
Some of the species in the book are quality appearance-grade timber species. In theory they are high value. Appearance grade timbers in Australia have historically either been imported or have come from public native forests. With public native forestry in Australia traditionally run as a community service rather than a business, proper commercial markets for quality timber have never developed.
One example of weak/non-existent markets is the steady stream of phone calls I get from people who have stashes of Australian Red Cedar timber hidden in back sheds for decades. They now want to sell, but can’t find buyers. At the time these sheds full of Red Cedar were seen as a guaranteed investment. But after 100 years the market for Red Cedar has moved on leaving these “stranded assets”.
And yet there are people today planting and growing Red Cedar hoping to revive this long dormant market. Will they succeed?
Heartwood is full of optimism and hope. The forest industry has a long history of unrealised optimism.
Most of the appearance grade species in Heartwood would be destined for the furniture, flooring and cabinetry markets (office and shop fit-outs, etc.); or for the export market. The Australian furniture industry is well aware that it faces a looming timber supply crisis as evident in this recent media article:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-16/victoria-ash-timber-facing-fresh-crisis-supply-issues/9424290?smid=Page:%20ABC%20News-Facebook_Organic&WT.tsrc=Facebook_Organic&sf182264054=1
But the furniture industry has no plans to address this crisis besides appeals to Governments. The furniture industry could be supporting and encouraging private tree growers, but so far there is no evidence of this.
Rowan has been working hard for decades promoting farm forestry in Australia but governments, industry, markets and farmer groups have pretty much ignored his efforts.
Heartwood will fundamentally change the way people think about the future of forestry and in doing so it will encourage more landholders to grow more trees for the benefit of their land and all that depend on it.
I’m not sure that statement is true because most of the change/reform that is needed has to happen in the marketplace and with Government policy as much as with landowners.
I see no indication that the marketplace or Governments understand what reform is needed to realise Rowan’s dream; his Third Wave!
By all means get yourself a copy of Heartwood. It is an enjoyable read.
The book is as relevant to furniture and cabinet makers as it is to farmers/landowners. Maybe a few policy makers and forest industry leaders could learn a thing or two.
Thanks Rowan!
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Posted in Commentary, Plantations, Politics
Tagged Heartwood