This is wood work

It would be rare for a child to grow up without hearing their parents say, “money doesn’t grow on trees.” And yet, in the Southeast, trees are a primary industry. Many of our parents and grandparents have worked in this industry, which has been alive and growing for almost 150 years. We understand this region works—in part—because wood works. Of course we have myriad other industries, but none that shape our landscape and our identity quite so clearly as the shock of plantation trees marching against the clear, blue horizon.

The Green Triangle spans the border area of SA and Victoria and is Australia’s premier plantation forest and wood products region, with Mount Gambier’s wood work helping to build the nation.

And it’s not just lumber. Wood from here, goes everywhere and into everything.

Wood from here is found in house frames and bench tops, sure. But wood from here is also found in your office desk and the double-ply tissue you’ll find in quality cubicles. It’s the versatility, the sustainability, and the affordability that makes wood, work.

 

From seedlings to structural products, South Australia’s forest industries continues to grow a culture of innovation and introspection when it comes to development. Not only are we growing high quality fibre for pulp products such as printer paper, but our trees will be the key to new biofuels to decarbonise our economy. South Australia’s plantation forests are future-focused and environmentally friendly. But with greater innovation and growing demand for wood comes the need for workers.

The forest industries require skilled, technologically-savvy and environmentally driven professionals. The South Australian Forest Products Association (SAFPA) is fully aware that people are at the centre of our industry and so we’ve launched This is Wood Work to showcase how stable, team-oriented, and innovative wood work can be.

 

When our region’s kids are window-shopping for careers, they’re doing this online and browsing what the entire world has to offer. We’ve all seen kids (and been guilty ourselves) of having our heads down, buried in our phones while the world around us shrinks. This is Wood Work is tackling the impact of technology by embracing it and showing up in our school-leavers feeds and sharing how our industry is very much updated and future-focused. This industry employs lawyers, mill workers, environmental scientists, right through to hedge fund managers to name but a few.

With both State and Federal Governments investing more in the forest and timber-related businesses, there’s never been a clearer signal of our industry’s strategic importance to South Australia and the nation’s future. Whether it’s contributing to the bottom line and building prosperity through economic growth or whether it’s making headlines by helping Australia achieve its international commitments to net-zero emissions, it’s clear that wood, works.

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