Here in Australia, the embodied carbon emissions in the construction sector account for over 23 per cent of all carbon emissions.
To effectively tackle climate change we need to remove CO2 from the atmosphere as well as reduce carbon emissions. Responsibly sourced wood manages to achieve both of these.
This is because wood stores carbon and has a much lower embodied energy than other major building materials, which are non-renewable and require large amounts of fossil fuels to produce.
Make It Wood joined Forest and Wood Products Australia for a series of half-day workshops called 'Resilience, Recovery and Rebuilding' in bushfire-affected locations Bairnsdale, Tumbarumba and Bega. The workshops included presentations by the RFS and CFA on preparing for and handling fire situations, and a psychologist who highlighted the best ways to manage mental health following a bushfire event.
Architect Nigel Bell from EcoDesign discussed the opportunities of building with timber on Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) rated sites, and David Rowlinson from Planet Ark's Make It Wood campaign highlighted the environmental and biophilic benefits of using sustainably sourced wood.
The workshops were hosted by TV personality, author, cook and craftsperson Tonia Todman, who recently lost her Kyneton home and home-based business to fire. Tonia also shared her experience and discussed what she has learned as a result.