Officer locals out and about for a stroll can now see a new park bench made out of a Spotted Gum not able to be retained as part of the Brunt Road level crossing removal, thanks to a partnership with not-for-profit social enterprise CERES Fair Wood.
CERES Fair Wood buys and sells farm-forested, agroforestry and salvaged timber, with 100 per cent of profits reinvested back into the community including the CERES environmental education programs.
The Level Crossing Removal Project team donated seven large Spotted Gum and Southern Mahogony logs to CERES Fair Wood, one of which has been made into a park bench, purchased by the project and donated back to Cardinia Council to be installed in Dodson Reserve – where the tree originally grew.
The other logs donated to CERES Fair Wood will be made into furniture and timber products and sold through its social enterprise business, with Brunt Road being the first level crossing removal project to have its donated logs to the social enterprise.
Level Crossing Removal Project sustainability co-ordinator Ashleigh Smith said it is positive to see trees which could not be retained being salvaged and repurposed.
“We’re always looking for ways to make our projects more sustainable, so repurposing these logs into something useable for the community, like park benches, stools and mulch, is a great outcome,“ she said.
CERES Fair Wood urban forestry services manager Kate Sutton said the social enterprise is running a pilot program which repurposes trees removed from major road and rail projects into high value timber.
“The pilot has succeeded in embedding the best trees into future project planning and tendering processes and has demonstrated the return of sawn timber back to the community for playgrounds, landscaping and public buildings such as new train stations,“ she said.
As well as donating logs to CERES, the project also donated logs and mulch to many local businesses around the area, including an early learning centre, retirement village and secondary college for use in gardens, playgrounds and as kids’ stools.
As part of the Brunt Road level crossing project, more than 50,000 plants, shrubs and grasses have been planted in the area.
