January 2012 – The Lumber Log –
The popular California Forest Center at Sacramento Cal Expo is getting a facelift and new redwood decking in this off-season. Each year an estimated 50,000 fairgoers visit the forest center, which is managed by the Forest Foundation. The forest center is a one-acre educational forest exhibit, with the first trees planted in 1971. Today, the center has more than 40 native California species.
The central gazebo at the exhibit finally needed new decking and walkways and the Forest Foundation approved the project in early 2011. The donations of lumber for the project came from:
- Mendocino Forest Products Company
- Humboldt Redwood Company
- California Redwood Company
- Big Creek Lumber
The trucking of the lumber from Davenport and Woodland to Cal Expo was donated by California Cascade Industries. An additional donation of $12,000 from Les Schwab Tire Center made the project affordable for the center.
Contractor Jeff Imwalle Construction is performing the work. The Forest Center is an opportunity to educate and inform the public on the multiple benefits of healthy and managed forests, as well as the use of wood in construction. In addition to the State Fair visitors, the center is open for school field trips in the spring and fall.
All of the firms donating lumber and transportation for the project are LACN members.
Additionally, many LACN members volunteer their time manning the Forest Center during State Fair each summer.
The Forest Foundation is a non-profit educational organization with the goal of providing balanced, science-based information on environmental, economic and societal uses of forest resources. The foundation conducts educational programs in schools throughout California, as well as providing free materials for educators and the general public.