Sustainable urban timber

SCOPE:

Since 2016, we’ve been working with Lantern Environmental to help developers, councils, and communities rethink what urban forestry can be and what happens to urban trees when they come down.

Too often, felled city trees are chipped, burned, or landfilled. Our work explores a better alternative; one that honours the life of the tree, makes practical use of the timber, and connects people to place. Our approach begins with retention wherever possible: keeping trees standing and integrating them into future designs. When removal is unavoidable, we apply our own urban tree inventory system to identify timber potential, recover usable material, and guide its journey from felling to reuse.

This collaboration has taken us from major regeneration sites such as Lendlease’s Elephant Park and Silvertown, to projects with Network Rail, Cardiff City Council, and Lesnes Abbey Woods — all sharing the belief that our urban forests hold real, local value.

DELIVERY:

We combine forestry expertise, design thinking, and community engagement to create meaningful outcomes from urban trees:

Tree retention & integration:
Work with architects and developers to design around existing trees, incorporating mature canopies into new urban landscapes.

Urban timber recovery:
When trees must be removed, we assess their timber potential using our in-house inventory method and provide guidance to arborists on felling, stacking, and preparing logs for milling.

Local processing & reuse:
Timber is milled and dried locally, then transformed into bespoke products that reflect the site’s story and serve its community; from benches, picnic tables, and signage to sculptural pieces and school furniture.

Community collaboration:
Facilitate creative reuse through craft workshops, school projects, and community carving sessions, ensuring that even offcuts and branch wood find a valuable second life.

Knowledge & impact:
Share findings through talks and publications, demonstrating that urban timber can be both technically viable and socially powerful.

Through this work, we’ve learned that urban forestry isn’t just necessary; it’s creative, restorative, and deeply human. Each project strengthens the connection between trees, people, and place, turning urban forests into living resources that continue to give back long after the last leaf has fallen.

COLLABORATORS:

Lantern Environmental, Network Rail, Cardiff City Council