Forests for Humanity

Forests for Humanity (FFH) was created by the Society of American Foresters (SAF) to reflect the mission of the 109-year-old organization, which is the largest professional society of foresters in the world.

Forests for Humanity works in close cooperation with Habitat for Humanity and other partner organizations. The mission of the program’s primary partner, Habitat for Humanity (HFH), is to provide simple, decent, affordable housing for low-income families. Volunteer labor, donated materials and contributed funds are used to build and renovate homes. These homes are then sold at no profit to low-income buyers, with long-term, no-interest mortgage financing provided by HFH. Payments made by homeowners go to build more Habitat homes.

In Minnesota, FFH also contributes to Log-a-Load for Kids, a program created by loggers that donates funds to the Children’s Miracle Network to support specialized medical treatment for children through Gillette Children’s Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota.

FFH emphasizes the fact that every home contains wood, and that this renewable resource is critical to keeping houses affordable. “The construction of a Habitat home,” explained Dahlman, “is just one link that showcases the direct connection between forests and homes.”

“If there’s one thing we hear again and again,” agreed Dahlman, “it’s that people really value making a direct and meaningful donation—preferably a product or service that comes directly from them—rather than just writing a check.”

The SAF-Habitat for Humanity connection began in 1997, at SAF’s annual national conference held in Memphis, Tennessee. SAF decided to commemorate its 100th anniversary in 2000 by setting a goal of helping Habitat for Humanity build 100 homes by the end of 2000. On the return trip from Memphis, several Minnesota SAF members talked about the idea of expanding the message.

According to Dahlman, “Several members of Minnesota SAF figured, ‘Why limit our efforts to just contributing the labor to help build homes?’ There’s a direct connection between building houses and our renewable forest resources that we should be reinforcing. Instead of limiting our SAF contribution to helping pound nails, why not have SAF encourage landowners, loggers and processors to make donations of actual wood products to these Habitat homes? We can do more good for the Habitat for Humanity program, we can help ‘make the connection’ between sustainable forests and meeting people’s basic needs, and we can highlight responsible forest industry efforts to manage this renewable —but often misunderstood—resource.”

This idea of incorporating direct donations from landowners, loggers and processors became the SAF Forests for Humanity program. In 1998, the new FFH-Habitat for Humanity collaboration created its first partner Habitat home in Little Falls. The new initiative received an enthusiastic response, and the national SAF reached its goal of helping build 100 Habitat homes by the end of 2000—with Minnesota SAF members’ “sweat equity” and donations of cash and materials responsible for more than 60 of those homes.

The Minnesota SAF is regarded as a pioneer in spearheading the work of the expanding FFH program.

In 2000, the Minnesota SAF received a commendation from the national SAF Council for its work related to creating the national FFH program. This citation represents the one and only time that the national SAF Council has issued a commendation.

“From a national perspective,” said Fred Ebel, former national president of the Society of American Foresters, “the Minnesota SAF organization is the undisputed leader in working with Habitat for Humanity and developing the concept of Forests for Humanity.”

The goal of Forests for Humanity is to involve all aspects of forestry management and the forest industry that represent links in the chain of ensuring a sustainable supply of wood products for affordable housing. According to Dahlman, it starts with the landowner: “Landowners work with forestry professionals to prepare an environmentally sound forest management plan for their land. If timber harvesting is part of the plan, landowners have the option of donating a portion of the sale to FFH. If they agree, we take it from there and sort out the details.”

A landowner donation starts the ball rolling. Additional donations can be made by the logger (for harvesting the timber); the trucker (or logger) for hauling it to the mill; and the mill (for processing the timber into 2 x 4s or OSB or millwork for cabinets). “Every donated product or service increases the total end-value of the contribution to Habitat for Humanity,” explained Dahlman. “The multiplying effect can mean that a landowner donation of one truckload of logs worth $500 (about 10 cords) might supply enough 2 x 4s or OSB for two homes—with an end-value of up to $2,500.

While it’s difficult to accurately assess the value of many different contributions from many different sources, Dahlman offers an educated guess that donations of cash and products generated by Minnesota FFH for Habitat for Humanity have likely exceeded $200,000 since 1997. In addition to that estimate, Minnesota SAF has raised $30,000 for Log-a-Load for Kids, and Minnesota SAF members have contributed significant numbers of volunteer hours of labor toward building Habitat homes. And, according to Dahlman, donations are expected to continue to grow. “There’s something about this program that captures the imagination and the interest of people,” he said.

Another unique aspect of the FFH program is that it demonstrates, in a very real manner, the renewable life cycle of forests. Mature trees are harvested, and the timber is used to build homes. To complete the cycle, Habitat homeowners can use some of the “sweat equity” they must expend to “earn” the keys to their new home (about 200 hours per adult) to plant trees or participate in other forest management activities.

“Forests are similar to any other crop,” explained Dahlman, “only the ‘season’ lasts for decades. We grow trees, we harvest them when they mature, and we plant new seedlings to replace them.” In fact, he added, over 20 million tree seedlings are planted each year in Minnesota, and millions more are grown from natural regeneration. Only 1% of Minnesota’s forests are harvested in typical year, resulting in our state growing 3 times more wood than is harvested every year.

“Harvesting trees is one of the tools of sustainable forest management that allows us to maintain healthy forest ecosystems that provide wildlife habitat, clean air and water, and recreational opportunities while also providing wood products for people,” added Dahlman.

Jan Plimpton, former executive director of Habitat Minnesota, agrees with the need for better understanding: “Habitat staff, homeowners and volunteers are becoming much better informed about the forest products industry through the Forests for Humanity program. Habitat wouldn’t be able to build homes without lumber from trees. I think we sometimes don’t fully understand the direct correlation between Minnesota’s abundant forests and our ability to construct affordable housing.”

Dahlman has observed many instances where Habitat families have benefited from a day spent planting trees. “They enjoy spending the day in a forested area, they feel good about the ‘giving back’ aspect of the activity, and many of them come away with a better understanding of where wood products come from—and the fact that planting trees is an ongoing part of renewing our forest resources.”

There is another side benefit to the FFH program. It provides foresters and landowners with countless “teachable moments” that can help to put a face on important messages related to forest management.

“Besides the opportunity to donate products and services to support good causes,” said Dahlman, “the FFH program gives us the chance to capture the public’s attention, increase public awareness, and even correct some misperceptions about forestry.”

According to Dahlman, “We depend on countless wood products for our everyday lives—and wood products come from harvesting trees. We need to reinforce that concept again and again—that we depend on trees, we harvest trees to fulfill basic needs, and then we plant new trees. With sustainable forest management, the cycle goes on and on.” Furthermore, he added, “If we don’t meet our need for wood products here in the United States, we end up exporting our demand to other countries less able to protect the environment. That’s why FFH emphasizes the need to ‘think globally, act locally.’”

Forests for Humanity is making a difference—for the recipients of its donated products and services, and for those who make meaningful donations, as well. “It’s about working together,” said Dahlman. “It’s about landowners and loggers; truckers and lumber mills; school forests and professional foresters;

Habitat for Humanity and the Society of American Foresters; state SAF chapters throughout the country; and individual Habitat homeowners and Habitat volunteers who ‘complete the circle’ by planting thousands of seedlings that renew our forests.”

According to Dahlman, the mission of Forests for Humanity is, in part, to “put the concept of ‘think globally, act locally’ into realistic, meaningful terms that people can appreciate and participate in directly.” The enthusiastic generosity and growing participation of many individuals and organizations in FFH programs reinforces that vision, while also building stronger public awareness of the value of effectively managing our renewable forest resources to meet the needs of people today—and for many generations to come.

If a landowner is interested in participating in the FFH program, Dahlman makes clear that all he or she needs to do is say the word: “It’s a simple process. SAF will take care of it, once you make the initial contact.”

For more information about the Forests for Humanity program, upcoming FFH events, or how you can make a donation, contact Rick Dahlman, chair, Forests for Humanity program, Minnesota SAF at 763-274-9820 or rdahlman47@gmail.com.