CELEBRATING CANADA’S FORESTS
Bryan Baeumler Knows the Importance of Sustainable Forestry
Anatural-born teacher, Bryan Baeumler has been educating and entertaining viewers across Canada and the U.S. for more than 10 years on the hit shows House of Bryan, Disaster DIY, Leave it to Bryan, and Bryan Inc. He is also the owner of Baeumler Quality Construction, and is a respected builder who has been working with wood all his life. In other words, Baeumler knows a thing or two about lumber — including the importance of using sustainable Canadian wood. And, as always, Baeumler is happy to share his knowledge.
Leave it to Canada
“Canada is blessed with an incredible amount of forest and 95 percent of that forest is owned by the crown. We’re not only at the forefront of forestry technology and science, but also in identifying and quantifying the pressures faced by our forests. Canada is also a world leader in establishing a template of forest health indicators that other countries can use to gauge the sustainability of their own forests.”
House of lumber
“Lumber has always been the first choice for me as a builder. If you build a house properly, lumber will withstand all the elements. It is easier to replace than concrete and has a much smaller carbon footprint than any other building material. However, as the climate is putting more pressure on the forest, we need to reduce
“Lumber has always been the first choice for me as a builder. If you build a house properly, lumber will withstand all the elements.”
pressure from other areas by using sustainable wood. The forest is not only important to us economically — it’s also literally the heart and lungs of our ecosystem. Using sustainable wood means that you can regrow the wood you have used and more within the lifespan of the product. We want to build homes that will last long enough to grow that lumber back 100 times over.”
Sustainability DIY
“When you’re looking at sustainable building and being socially responsible, there are a number of factors that you have to consider, and cost is definitely one of them. But this has to be weighed against the value we place on our forests. We have the option to source wood certified to SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) that is harvested here in Canada and is subject to replanting programs. Purchasing sustainable, domestic lumber makes sense to me, and you can easily absorb that cost by comprising slightly on size and/or interior finishing. I think there needs to be more education for the end user so that they can make decisions that help protect our forests because sustainable Canadian lumber is something that can fit into any project.”