About the event

How will we ensure the long-term ecological and cultural vitality of forests while realizing their critical role in providing materials for next-generation built environments? 

The conversation was rooted in a growing web of understanding that thriving forests are vital to the climate, biosphere, and ethnosphere. We depended on forests for physical, ecological, and socio-cultural necessities. At the same time, demand for timber was increasing as new technologies made it possible to replace high carbon-emitting materials, like steel and concrete, with wood structures in dense urban settings. Whether these concurrent demands competed or complemented each other depended on our approach. The effort to depart from fossil fuel-based and exploitative systems needed to be mirrored by efforts to arrive at equitable, regenerative, and thriving systems. Moving forward with humility and respect for the complex web of interrelationships depended on creating shared understandings based on broad data and experiences. By listening to and learning from many perspectives, including the voices and experiences of Indigenous peoples and communities, we could co-create new shared pathways together.

These gatherings aimed to engage and serve the architectural community, allied professionals, and managers and stewards of forests across Canada and beyond — all who had a role to play in bringing forth a future of thriving forests and sustainable building materials. Through co-creation, we could contribute to a balanced path forward and bring greater insight to the work of shaping places, buildings, and landscapes.