Big wood just like big oil and big pharma is a big problem. We are rapidly destroying the very thing that purifies our air and creates oxygen while wondering why our air quality is getting worse and worse by the year. There is more conventional building going on in Bucks County PA than I have ever seen in my lifetime and the price of wood has risen 250% in the past year. It is alarming how much wood we are using and wasting on a daily basis. I observe when I drive by new construction jobsites and dumpsters how much wood is thrown away. It is mind boggling, we are witnessing our most basic necessities including shelter, water, food and air becoming expensive commodities.

Earth has lost 81 million hectares (1 hectare = 10,000 square meters) of primary forest between 1990 and 2020, at this rate by 2030 may very well only be 10% of the rainforests left on the planet!

What can I do about this problem? The only thing I can ever do... change my personal behaviors and habits to become part of the solution as opposed to part of the problem. I personally no longer want to participate in big wood and deforestation. So I challenged myself this year to only use reclaimed and, of course, untreated lumber for my Peace Gardens project. I have been on the wood hunt for the past couple of months, asking friends, calling contractors, dumpster diving, and guess what… I did it! With a lot of time, hard work and determination I have managed to manifest about 150 ft. of perfectly usable reclaimed lumber and it is so damn satisfying.

I have managed to manifest about 150 ft. of perfectly usable reclaimed lumber and it is so damn satisfying.

By nature I am scrappy, always have been, always will be. I’ve always been good enough at all the things but the reason I excel at anything is because I’m a hustler. I was never the fastest or strongest on the team but I out worked everyone. I was never the most talented in art class but I desired more time in the studio. It’s been an interesting combination living as an artist and an athlete, it’s made me a competitive problem solver who has never been scared to take risks, fail or work hard.

It is my hope you too will think twice before you go to that big box store or lumber yard to get new materials because there are so many other viable materials all around us.

Some other options to consider before purchasing new lumber:

Old fencing
Non-pressure treated pallets
Scraps from the lumber yard
Off-cuts from job sites
Stuff lying around in friends garages and basements
Old furniture
Tree stumps

Shout Out

I gotta take a moment to give a shout out to my dear old friends, Jim McDonough of McDonough Construction and Dan Ventresca of Ettore Ventresca & Sons. These relationships are a great example of reciprocity. They have what I need, I clean up what they do not want, prevent it from going into landfill and make you something magnificent like a raised bed to grow organic food for your beloved family. Win, win, win, win. Thank you for helping me make this year’s Peace Gardens even more peaceful.

Peace Gardens

For those of you who do not know about Peace Gardens, they are 4x4 raised bed organic vegetable gardens that I install for members of my community to jumpstart them into growing their own food. They come fully equipped with local soil/compost, organic seedlings from Kind Earth Growers, a custom eco-fence made from locally sourced bamboo & burlap, a vermiculture composting tower and a hand painted Peace Garden flag.

The Big Problem with Big Wood