34 | Sector Focus: British Timber
SUMMARY
■ The FC’s Delamere visitor centre is clad in GiB-certified larch
■ The Home Grown House partnership looks at under-utilised species
■ The Forestry Conference takes place on October 13
LOOK, THINK AND SUPPORT LOCAL
Grown in Britain continues to explore new and innovative ways to add value to home-grown timber
launched at last year’s Forestry Conference (TTJ January/February 2021), is a pre-requisite for funding from the Forest Canopy Foundation (FCF), which links investors to woodland creation projects across the country.
The first project joins the combined aspirations of the Morgan Sindall Group and Blenheim Estate to create a productive, diverse and community-focused raft of woodlands with multiple benefits for water quality and air pollution too.
Above: GiB larch on the new Forestry England Visitor Centre at Delamere
After a summer of staycations, the country is more focused on looking local, thinking local and supporting local than ever before. Indeed, Grown in Britain (GiB) has never been busier than it is now, as businesses, landowners and society engage with a stronger mindset around sustainable low carbon supply chains.
Examples of this can be seen in the recent opening of the Forestry Commission’s new visitor centre at Delamere, which is clad in wonderful GiB-certified larch, and in the foresight of Axminster Tools in developing GiB timber handles for its woodworking planes, highlighting the range of interest in this agenda. However, at the same time, our changing world sees shortages of supply in the most commonly used timber species and delays in logistics, meaning that there is yet a balance to find between this increase in demand and the ability to supply. No doubt the market will find an equilibrium soon but we must strive to ensure that it is one that is sustainable and
keep our eye on the long term amidst these immediate, day-to-day pressures. At GiB, we will continue to explore new and innovative ways to add value to home- grown timber through our R&D programme; the Home Grown House partnership with the London Metropolitan University is an example of this and looks to develop and test under-utilised timbers sourced from sustainable local GiB woodlands, with a view to finding novel solutions to the housing crisis in the south-east England region and increasing woodland management (see p35). Our other projects drive demand for home- grown timber. Whether it is for construction panels, window frames or tool handles, the more that we make here, the less we have to bring from around the world.
Grown in Britain is determined to ensure that future timber supplies are grown in fantastic woodlands designed to suit the landscape and deliver wide-ranging benefits from cleaner air, to carbon and timber. Our certification for new woods, which was
TTJ | September/October 2021 |
www.ttjonline.com
The projects are delivered by GiB Expert Providers; passionate, experienced specialists in forestry and land management, who are the only organisations able to deliver FCF projects. If you are interested in becoming a GiB Expert Provider then do get in touch. Speaking of the Forestry Conference, it is looking more and more likely that we will be able to have our first in person conference since 2019 and this year’s line-up promises to be as inspiring and informative as ever. Lord Deben, chairman of the Committee on Climate Change will be opening this year’s event at Newbury Racecourse, and the conference will focus on understanding possibilities and enhancing the prospects of those involved in forestry.
Grown in Britain certificate holders get their tickets at a discount, so don’t miss out. For a full agenda and to book a place, visit the CLA website at
https://members.cla.org. uk/MY-CLA/Events. If you would like to get involved in Grown in Britain certification, be part of our research and development programme or find out more about our woodland design metrics for natural capital benefits please do get in touch with us at
enquiries@growninbritain.org and follow us on social media. ■
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