AAPS is recovering wood from trees that have to be removed for construction of new schools and transforming it into part of the new buildings.
Losing trees is always hard. Whether a tree has died, is dying, or must be removed to make space for a school building improvement project, it’s sad to see a tree come down. Ann Arbor Public Schools is making sure that lost trees find new purpose through the urban wood recovery initiative led by Urban Ashes.
Paul Hickman, founder and CEO of Urban Ashes, is a national leader in repurposing wood from lost trees. Hickman co-founded the original Urban Wood Project to repurpose wood from dead trees during the Emerald Ash Borer crisis, which began in Southeast Michigan, in the early 2000s. The organization connected local sawyers (small mobile lumber mill operators) with infected ash and other dead and dying hardwood trees that could be salvaged and repurposed, in lieu of being turned into wood chips or burned for fuel, or sent to the landfill. Today, Urban Ashes collaborates with municipalities across the country, creating similar networks and helping them divert their fallen trees from the chipper, burn pile, or landfill and making them available to local mills and manufacturers.
5 Key Takeaways on Urban Wood Recovery at AAPS:
- Urban Wood Recovery is a proven process for sequestering carbon and sustainably sourcing local lumber for use in construction, furniture, or architectural finishes.
- AAPS has identified a partner, Urban Ashes, with experience, expertise, and a strong local network of lumber mills and manufacturers to sustainably repurpose trees from AAPS’ school building improvement project sites, to be introduced back into AAPS school buildings
- AAPS is carefully planning necessary tree removal to minimize ecosystem impacts and maximize the amount of carbon sequestered in recovered wood.
- The district is following the Environmental Sustainability Framework adopted in 2022 as a roadmap for climate resilience and reducing environmental impact district-wide.
- AAPS is building new schools to meet the criteria of the US Collaborative for High Performance Schools (US-CHPS), which includes best practice guidelines for environmental sustainability through design, carbon reduction, and educational excellence.
What is Urban Wood Recovery?
“Urban wood,” Hickman explained, “is any wood that comes from any tree that comes down for any reason other than its wood value.” Even though the name suggests the focus is on trees located in cities, Urban Wood Recovery applies to trees located in urban, suburban and rural areas, ensuring felled trees do not end up as waste. “My background,” Hickman shared, “is in identifying viable trees that would potentially have millable logs within them, connecting that wood to local mills to have them processed into lumber, kiln dried, and then post-processed depending on the end use.”
When Jason Bing, AAPS director of Capital Programs, went searching for expertise in urban wood recovery, he recognized that Urban Ashes, as both a local firm and a qualified service provider, would be well aligned with the district’s Environmental Sustainability Framework and the sustainability criteria of the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) to lead the reclaimed wood initiative for a pilot project. Hickman and Bing collaborated on urban wood reclamation during the Emerald Ash Borer crisis, while Bing was leading Recycle Ann Arbor’s Environmental House. While other vendors were reviewed for the project, the quality of work performed by Urban Ashes, their truly unique experience and services, and their local network of lumber mills made this an ideal partnership.
Protecting Trees Comes First
AAPS prioritizes maintaining healthy, native trees on school properties. Trees play a crucial role in the environment both locally and globally. In addition to improving air quality and oxygen generation, trees also create biodiversity, protecting other plants and animals that live in the ecosystem. Trees are critical to mitigating carbon emissions, with each individual tree absorbing approximately 48 pounds of carbon every year. Felling trees is a tough decision that the district does not take lightly—even dying trees still sequester carbon and still contribute to the ecosystem.
The district carefully evaluates the need to remove trees, focusing on trees when they are dead, dying, or if they pose a safety risk. Construction projects can also necessitate tree felling, but sustainability remains a key consideration. In the case of AAPS’ new school buildings, the properties have been carefully evaluated for the impact on mature trees and plans are put in place early in the decision-making process to keep tree loss to a minimum.
Planning for Maximum Repurposing
Trees that must be removed are carefully assessed to determine how they can be reused. Many varieties of trees, both native and non-native/invasive, can be milled into lumber for construction and furniture-making purposes. “There are a lot of species of wood that most people, including pretty knowledgeable designers and architects, are unaware of their character and viability as furniture or other building material,” Hickman explained. “There is a whole lot more wood to source out there that gets skipped over and, unfortunately, is typically destroyed.”
Many tree species, including basswood and catalpa, have potential uses in building, such as use in architectural detail and finishes. Even invasive species like the black locust have uses. “Black locust is one of the most rot-resistant hardwoods in North America, and it’s also one of the hardest,” Hickman explained. “It’s one of the only woods you can use for fence posts in direct contact with the ground, and it will last for decades.”
Planning is essential because there are many factors to consider when a tree has to be removed. The district has planned carefully to remove trees during specific seasonal windows to decrease the environmental impact and potential habitat disruption caused by tree loss. With guidance from Urban Ashes, plans have also been made for logs to be transported to local mills for processing because logs begin to decay immediately after felling. Without prompt transportation to a lumber mill for processing, the quality of the wood can quickly be reduced.
However, a little planning can go a long way. Hickman shared that if Urban Ashes or another experienced urban wood recovery organization is included in planning for tree felling from the beginning it makes it much easier to get the viable logs to the local lumber mills. “It’s just identifying and planning, so that the wood can get to its highest and best use.”
Transforming Removed Trees into Usable Wood
AAPS hired the experts from Urban Ashes to identify trees suitable for milling among the trees that must be removed, with a focus on selecting trees that can be used in construction and furniture-making.
After felling, logs are transported to a local mill for cutting into lumber and kiln drying. The drying process prevents warping and decay, preserving the lumber for future use in projects. Work at the first pilot school site resulted in 14 trees repurposed for construction-grade lumber and 8 trees for landscaping lumber (used in fencing or raised garden beds). Currently, this lumber is drying in a kiln at a local lumber yard, getting ready to be processed into building materials or furniture in an upcoming building project.
Tree removal for upcoming new school construction projects will also be salvaged by Urban Ashes. Altogether, Hickman expects to have over 10,000 board feet of lumber processed for use in the buildings. “I’ve done the carbon and CO2 conversions,” Hickman stated. “Ten thousand board feet is equivalent to between 16 and 29 metric tons of carbon sequestered or 60 to 108 metric tons of CO2 that is not emitted, depending upon the uses and yields. If you chip that wood, within 2 to 5 years all that carbon would be released into the atmosphere as CO2. Burning it would release it all immediately.”
Using Repurposed Wood in Schools
Urban wood reclamation is an essential part of meeting the goals of the district’s Environmental Sustainability Framework. “Two big pieces are our commitment to environmental sustainability and the value of the carbon stored in our trees on our sites,” Bing stated. “Wherever there are mature trees that could be impacted, we are going through an extra evaluation process so we can utilize the wood.”
In addition to the Environmental Sustainability Framework, Ann Arbor Public Schools is seeking to meet the criteria for the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) verification in all new school buildings. Using repurposed wood from on-site trees is a way to meet several important components of the CHPS criteria. Biophilic design, central educational display, sustainably sourced materials, and community engagement are all elements of the Urban Wood Recovery initiative that align with CHPS.
- Biophilic & Responsive Design
Biophilic design is an architectural approach and design philosophy that integrates natural systems, materials and processes into buildings to increase human health and wellbeing. Using natural materials, including repurposed wood, in the design of interior spaces brings warmth and texture that connects the indoors to the outdoors. According to the concept of biophilic design, natural elements provide a calming effect that reduces stress, improves health, and enhances cognitive and emotional wellbeing. The aesthetic and sensory benefits of natural materials are supporting healthier and more engaging school environments. By incorporating repurposed wood into classrooms, libraries, and common areas, AAPS is fostering biophilic environments where students can thrive. - Educational Displays and Hands-On Learning
Promoting environmental awareness and “eco-literacy” is an important component of the CHPS criteria, and using the school building as a learning tool in and of itself is part of that process. AAPS plans to install repurposed wood as a part of this central education display so that it becomes a teaching tool. Informational plaques and interactive exhibits within the new school buildings will highlight the origins of the salvaged wood, the environmental impact of tree repurposing, and its part in creating a sustainable school.Students can engage with these displays made from salvaged materials, to learn about carbon sequestration and sustainable resource management. By integrating sustainability directly into the building, as well as in the curriculum, AAPS is embracing CHPS criteria of environmental awareness, encouraging students to think critically and creatively. This hands-on approach transforms buildings from a static space to a dynamic demonstration of the benefits of sustainable buildings. - Sustainable Building Practices and Environmental Benefits
CHPS encourages schools to practice sustainable site use and mitigate negative impacts on existing ecosystems. CHPS also focuses on the sustainable sourcing of building materials, particularly wood, with the intent of reducing the environmental impact of extracting and processing wood. The careful study of each potential new school building site and the focus on repurposing trees lost to the construction process are in line with these recommendations.Repurposed wood is a durable, high-quality material that, when properly processed, can last for decades. By using salvaged wood for structural elements such as architectural features, trim, and decorative elements AAPS extends the lifespan of the wood while maintaining its stored carbon. Unlike wood chips or firewood, which quickly release carbon back into the atmosphere, built-in wood features keep carbon sequestered for generations. Additionally, using reclaimed wood reduces the demand for newly harvested lumber, decreasing deforestation pressures. Utilizing local lumber resources also reduces emissions from processing and shipping wood harvested from other states or countries. - Community Engagement
The AAPS tree-repurposing initiative also serves as a model for community involvement in sustainability. Local businesses, woodworkers, and sawmills play a role in processing and repurposing the salvaged wood, strengthening the local economy. School events and community use of school facilities, another of CHPS’s criteria, educate families and community members about the importance of sustainable building materials. By showcasing successful examples of repurposed wood in school projects, AAPS encourages other institutions to adopt similar practices, contributing to broader environmental conservation efforts. The initiative demonstrates that sustainable practices are achievable, scalable, and beneficial for both schools and the larger community.
AAPS’s Broader Environmental Sustainability Plans
Ann Arbor Public Schools’ Environmental Sustainability Framework is the roadmap for sustainability the district is following. This plan is broad and includes many elements of environmentally sustainable and climate resilient actions the district is putting into place in current sites and in the new school buildings, as well as the surrounding school property. All actions taken by the district are being examined through the lens of the framework. Elements such as timing of tree removal to minimize environmental and habitat impacts and planting new native tree species with beneficial properties such as shade and fruit have been taken into account for each site.
As future projects take shape, careful planning will ensure that the district meets its goals of reducing its carbon footprint and improving the local environment. An important component of both CHPS and the Environmental Sustainability Framework is to create healthier environments around our schools, both for people and for the environment. As new native trees and plants are reintroduced to the landscape around the schools, the ecosystem will be healthier for all.