Imagination and Commitment to the Environment Reflected in Horigan Urban Forest Products

Submitted by Sue Crothers, River Forest

Horigan Urban Forest Products takes fallen trees in local Chicagland area and kilns them, so that one can purchase lumber for anything from floors to furniture.  Many trees come down around town due to storms or construction and it's a great way for environmentally conscious people to use slow growing woods such as walnut or maple without having to feel guilty about cutting down a precious slow growth tree.

I have two items in my home which I purchased the wood from Bruce Horigan.  I have a lovely walnut table from a locally felled tree (I would NEVER otherwise even consider walnut) And an even better item in my home is my bed.  Made from an oak tree that came down on my property during one of our big storms.  I had Bruce come and collect, cut and kiln it and then a carpenter made it into my bed.  It is wonderful way to recycle.  See below information from their web site and an invitation below to see their April Newsletter.

Excerpt from Horigan Urban Forest website:  Horigan Urban Forest Products recycles the urban forest to the highest possible uses. We use the same trees that go to firewood or mulch, and turn them into usable hardwood lumber.  We are committed to the environment by reducing the number of trees removed from the forest, the amount of fuel consumed for transportation, and the amount of carbon that is released into the atmosphere by sequestering it as hardwood lumber.

When trees need to be removed, we will mill and kiln dry them. This beautiful wood is produced without a single tree being removed for lumber. We work with many artists, cabinet makers, and builders who can use this lumber to create unique projects. By using Horigan Urban Forest Products you are guaranteed that the origin of the lumber is from the Chicago area urban forest. In many instances the address and history of the lumber is known.

Greetings Horigan Urban Forest Products Customers,

Attached is our April news letter.  We have lots of great lumber in our warehouse plus quite a few events going on starting with the Historic Chicago Bungalow show this Saturday the 9th, at the Merchandise Mart.  We will also be at the Green Metropolis Fair next weekend and at the Urban (wood) Encounter in Milwaukee next weekend.  Details with links on our events section.  We hope to see you there.

http://www.horiganufp.com/documents/Aprilpdf.pdf

If you have trouble down loading try this link:

http://www.horiganufp.com/April2011swf.swf

Help the OPRF Enviro / Bio Club Get a Little Green($$)er!

Especially for those of you that do not have recycling pick up at your home, please consider dropping off your paper recyclables at the Paper Retriever recycling bin on the East Avenue Mall side of the school near the OPRF Tennis Courts. We’re trying to increase our monthly recycling from about 2.8 tons to over 4 tons. That increase will nearly triple the monthly donation to our Enviro/Bio Club. For more details about this fundraising arrangement and what allowable materials are, please visit… http://paperretriever.com.