Australian Sustainable Timbers

Australian Sustainable Timbers produces high quality timber products sourced from a group of sustainably managed privately owned native forests in the Hunter Valley and the mid-north coast of New South Wales. We also provide training and consulting services in sustainable forest management throughout the region. We personally manage a sustainable forestry operation at the colourfully named ‘Terrible Billy’ in the foothills of Barrington Tops, a region renowned for its productive and diverse forests.

Australian Sustainable Timbers (AST) is about turning passion into practice, demonstrating the vital alternative of small-scale, ecologically based sustainable forestry. We are currently working towards Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification scheme to verify our operations.

Native forests on private land in this region are an increasingly important resource for both production and conservation, however the historical patterns of timber harvesting in many of these forests have been opportunistic and sporadic, resulting in the gradual degradation in their structure and condition over many generations.

Australian Sustainable Timbers is currently establishing a group of landholders to apply for Forest Stewardship Council certification under the ‘small or low intensity managed forests’ scheme. Through this group certification scheme, AST will be encouraging landholders to take a pro-active approach to managing their farm forests in the long-term, focusing on rehabilitating their forests to a healthy, productive and diverse state.

We develop detailed forest management plans with forest owners, presenting unique solutions for individual forest areas while remaining flexible in recognition of the need for adaptive management in these dynamic natural systems. AST utilises innovative silvicultural systems that work within the boundaries of the biological system and engages in ‘rehabilitative forestry’ on properties where the forests have been degraded through a history of inappropriate logging.

By demonstrating small-scale sustainable forestry systems we wish to ultimately rebuild the credibility and trust in private forest owners to carefully manage this significant and valuable community resource for a range of forest values for future generations.

Our harvesting processes will be subject to stringent FSC guidelines in addition to Australian legislative requirements. Under the FSC certification program, independent accredited auditors ensure that we comply with FSC principles and criteria which cover all facets of social, environmental and economic sustainability. It is a comprehensive system that is recognized globally for its integrity and commitment to manage forests in perpetuity.

By offering collective marketing of high quality timber products, AST is able to reward landholders with financial returns that reflect the true value of their timber resource, as well as the added costs and commitment invested in best practice sustainable management. This gives landholders the means to re-invest in proper forest silviculture.

Australian Sustainable Timbers has the capacity to produce a consistent supply of high-quality sustainable timber products from our diverse group membership and our own native forest. Our hands-on involvement with forest management and localized small-scale timber processing guarantees that our timber products are responsibly sourced and processed.

The histories of our diverse range of timbers will be captured through the FSC “Chain of Custody” system which means it is possible to know the exact origin of the timber that you are buying.
We are focused on establishing Australian Sustainable Timbers as a premium source of high quality east Australian native hardwoods and we encourage you to become involved in this quiet revolution in forestry.

The Principals

Annabel Kater (BSc.Agr, M.Forestry, MIFA): Annabel’s interest in sustainable forest management grew out of her work with Greening Australia, Landcare, and other natural resource management organisations in farm forestry, native forest management and rural revegetation. After completing a Masters of Forestry at ANU which focused on native forest silviculture and eucalypt ecology she has worked as a forestry consultant providing advice and training in native forest management to landholders.

She has had a longstanding involvement with farm forestry on her family’s cattle property in the lower Hunter Valley where regrowth forest are being managed to produce high-quality sawlogs. She has delivered several plantation-focused Master Tree Grower (MTG) courses in the Hunter and lower north coast and she is currently writing the course notes for a MTG course focused on Native Forest Management.

James Felton-Taylor (BEnv.Sci): James has worked with timber in construction projects in Bermagui, Sydney and Newcastle. He completed his Bachelor of Environmental Science in 1996 from the University of Newcastle. His passion for sailing led to the long term restoration of Shalimar a 1950’s 25 foot wooden sloop which is now at home on the waters of Lake Macquarie.

James has worked for Green Corps and Greening Australia proving an excellent manager of small teams in the field. He has expanded his knowledge of forestry through direct involvement with planning, design and implementation of farm forestry systems and now works as a forestry consultant.

Between the two of them have experienced the highs and lows of plantation establishment (particularly through the last drought), and know the effort required to ensure seedlings survive and grow into trees with commercial potential. Having worked for a season thinning out thick, regrowth that had re-established itself on the family’s grazing property, the merits of managing robust natural systems for timber and conservation became an obvious alternative to trying to re-create them.

Annabel through her passion for native trees and studies of forest systems and James through a combined passion for the environment and working with timber, share a vision for developing a sustainable forestry industry on private land.

History

The vision for Australian Sustainable Timbers (AST) grew out of past work with Greening Australia and Landcare over the last decade, raising awareness within the community of the opportunities of sustainable management of ‘farm forests’.

Our work in education and training began with a focus on the design of small-scale farm forestry plantations which could maximise multiple natural resource management benefits whilst also improving farm productivity and profitability. From here our focus shifted to the management of native forests as systems which inherently incorporate both economic and biodiversity values.

Our experience working with landholders also exposed us to the lack of ‘forestry culture’ and silvicultural knowledge within the farming community, as well as the generally poor condition of native forests on private land. We therefore focused our efforts on education and awareness and training in native forest management and on practical demonstrations of appropriate silvicultural systems.

The formation of AST was a natural progression from this work as it provided a pathway to deliver better forest management coupled with increased returns to private forest owners to allow small-scale, sustainable, intergenerational forestry operations.

Australian Sustainable Timbers is grateful for ‘seed’ funding it has received from State and Regional Development for both the initial FSC assessment and a contribution towards the costs of establishing a group certification scheme. Australian Sustainable Timbers has engaged Soil Association Woodmark, an FSC accredited certification body as their auditing body.

Our business is multifaceted; we understand the science of producing high quality timber, the logistics of harvesting, the importance of biodiversity conservation, the potential of the timber market and the community in the Hunter. We established the company in April 2006 to provide a mechanism for collective marketing of timber products while ensuring quality and sustainability through FSC certification. Our direct relationship with growers allows us a flexibility and continuity of timber supply and means that we are better placed to pass on the benefits to our members and clients.

About Us

Timber is the most ecologically sustainable building product available and Australian hardwoods are uniquely adapted to endure in our climate. Australian Sustainable Timbers is a new company committed to developing timber supplies in close proximity to the Sydney and Newcastle markets while demonstrating the possibilities of forest management which mimics ecological processes. As a client you can be assured that using our product offers an opportunity to build without compromising either your ethics or the integrity of your project.

Australian Sustainable Timbers is establishing a group of ‘small or low intensity managed forests’ which aims to be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council by December 2007. We encourage active training of our membership on native forest silviculture through courses such as the Master Tree Growers program. In this way, landholders learn to assess and manage their own forests and apply site-specific management regimes which suit their forest condition and their own objectives. Members are also encouraged to value-add where possible and to work collectively to avoid the issues facing small-scale growers.

AST has a long-term vision to achieve better forest management in the Hunter Valley and Mid-North Coast by rewarding landholders with financial returns that reflect the true value of their timber resource, as well as the added costs and commitment invested in certification and sustainable management.

Our commitment to sustainable forestry is reinforced by our longstanding voluntary involvement with the Hunter Farm Forestry Network, a community group which aims to encourage ecologically sustainable forestry through education and training.

To understand more about these organisations we encourage you to follow these links:

Links: HFFN and MTG

Web Launch

Welcome to Australian Sustainable Timbers [dot com].

We sustainably manage a forest in the upper reaches of the Hunter Valley on the mid-north coast of New South Wales Australia. We produce FSC certified speciality timber products for commercial enterprises and private clients. We pride ourselves on producing highest quality products and services to the strictest codes and certification of sustainable forest management.

Today is the online launch of the Australian Sustainable Timbers online launch and we are looking forward to hearing from you if you are interested in our services, products or just like the sound of ethically produced timber products.