Designing The Forest, the University of Tasmania’s flagship Hobart campus.

This stunning project in the centre of Hobart's CBD, includes a glass forest dome, with over 3,500 plants including mature trees and a disappearing tarn.
Through the reuse of original materials and the use of low-carbon construction methods, including timber and carbon-negative Hempcrete, the Forest is Australia’s first carbon-neutral university campus.

"The university targeted a minimum carbon reduction of 30%, measured against a typical 'business as usual' benchmark building. For this project, The Forest, they achieved a bit more than 40%, and that was a driving factor behind almost all of the key decisions we made when designing."

When Daniel Hodge measures a tree, he’s not just collecting data; he’s part of a decades-long commitment to protecting some of the largest living organisms on the planet. As Senior Stewardship Advisor at Sustainable Timber Tasmania (STT) and manager of Tasmania’s Giant Tree Program, Daniel oversees the identification and protection of giant trees within the state’s production forests.

"People love big trees, and in Tasmania, we are very special in that we’ve got some of the largest trees in the world. So STT recognised that and has had a policy in place to protect these trees and make sure they stay within the Tasmanian forest. And we’ve had that policy for over 20 years now."

originalthinkers.com.au/daniel-hodge


Links & Show Notes:

• Sustainable Timber Tasmania (STT)
• Forest Management
• STT’s Giant Tree Policy
• PTPZ – Permanent Timber Production Zone
• Regeneration Burns
• IPCC – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
• Forest Practices System
• EPA - Environmental Protection Agency

Episode Sponsor:

• Tasmanian Timber

When Dr Marie Yee arrived in Tasmania over two decades ago, she came with an ambition to contribute to biodiversity conservation through applied science, to make a positive impact from within the industry instead of hurling stones from the outside.

“I realised they were very progressive, the people who put those practices in place were scientists who worked within the industry, within the regulator, like the Forest Practices Board and Authority at the time. And I thought, this is a really progressive place to work, and that's why I sought to get a job with Forestry Tasmania [now STT], after I finished my PhD.”

Today, as Senior Conservation Planner for Sustainable Timber Tasmania (STT) and ecologist, Marie's story offers a compelling scientific perspective on one of Tasmania's most debated industries, one that architects and timber specifiers need to understand when making material choices.

"In our forest, we do have a lot of threatened species in our managed landscape, and that's because biodiversity has come back into those areas."

originalthinkers.com.au/marie-yee


Links & Show Notes:

• STT – Sustainable Timber Tasmania
• Sustainable Forest Management
• Forest Succession
• Forest Practices System
• FPA – Forest Practices Authority
• IPCC – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
• EPA - Environmental Protection Agency
• Acoustic Monitoring Project
• Tasmanian Threatened Species List

Episode Sponsor:

• Tasmanian Timber