In late May the Lumbery hosted all six of the 4th grade classes from Pond Cove elementary school in Cape Elizabeth over the span of four days to teach them about…what?
There is so much that could be discussed. Sustainable forestry, product life cycles, embodied carbon, job creation, forest maintenance, clear cutting and so much more.
But to be honest, this all sounds a bit boring. So I decided to talk about…Donuts and community.
I told them about Donna who owns the Cookie Jar. And that when you go in to buy a donut Donna gets rewarded for her hard work. Then she takes her profits and comes to the Lumbery to buy some cedar planters for her store. Then I take that money and I bid on a painting from Cape Elizabeth Land Trust painted by local artist Cooper Dragonette. Then he takes that money and uses some of it to buy a burrito at Tostones Cafe, some ice cream at Kettle Cove Creamery and some seedlings from Greer at his farm stand.
I informed them that there is a big difference between local and local. Dunkin’ Donuts is local but the owners are not…therefore there is a greater chance that their profits get scattered somewhere else.
This same thing happens with the local, family owned wood mills from whom we buy our wood from. The money we give them goes to local loggers, truckers, foresters, land owners, small businesses and more.
Another benefit of local, I told them, is that it reduces driving distances which in turn reduces carbon emissions. In fact, transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the US.
Is it better for the planet to bring wood from Idaho to Maine or from Maine to Maine? I asked.
Maine to Maine they shouted.
Can you make a toilet out of wood? One clever young lad asked.
Absolutely, I said. You just have to be careful of splinters.
How many splinters a day do you get? They asked.
Five. I said.
Why don’t you wear gloves? They asked.
I do, I said. I just can never remember where I put them down.
All in all I thought things went very well. Maybe next year I will introduce the concept of carbon sequestration.
Other things to note:
Be on the lookout for our upcoming newsletter about Father’s Day specials plus this Saturday we are pleased to host Kelly Withers from Luna Bee Honey!
Hope to see you all at the store soon.
This here is Duane Dewey bringing us some of his wood. His name is on the truck. He owns Dewey’s Lumber. And he works really hard.
Mike Friedland and the entire Lumbery crew.
mainewood@lumbery-me.com
www.lumbery-me.com
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