Plymouth Helps To Give Second Life to Downed Trees
The roar of chainsaws has been increasingly common due to more downed trees. That has led to a tree dilemma: what to do with all the logs and limbs?
The city of Plymouth may have an answer to that question. It’s leading an effort to educate tree companies and others to give downed trees a second life.
The city recently hosted a woodworking class led by University of Minnesota Extension experts at Plymouth’s Yard Waste Site.
Some of the roughly 40 attendees were from tree service companies, others from local governments.
But all cared about making sure that fallen trees don’t go to waste.
“Right now most of it ends up getting ground, turned into mulch, or ground up and brought to the District Energy, run through the Xcel Energy plant plant to make energy,” said Brent Cooper with Rainbow Treecare.
The class was designed to help students like Cooper to determine if a downed tree could be sellable as lumber or usable in another way.
Students gather for tree class at Plymouth’s Yard Waste Site.
Those who attended the event also received exposure to different lumber tools.
“I’ve learned a lot from the different techniques and tools to use,” said Cooper.
Plymouth City Forester Paul Buck said the class is especially timely now because there’s an abundance of trees being taken down due to disease.
“With the introduction of EAB, emerald ash borer, into the metro area, and a lot of ash trees in the metro area, the market just became flooded, I mean we are just overwhelmed, our Yard Waste Site is over whelmed,” said Buck.
Buck hopes that instead of trees being turned to mulch or burned, attendees will have knowledge for their best future use.
“We are never going to get rid of all of it, but can we pull some of the best wood out and actually have some higher value uses for it,” said Buck.
The University of Minnesota Extension offered the woodworking program. Buck said he hopes other cities will also host the program.
