Did you know that billions of board feet of potential lumber in the United States ends up going to waste each year? Timber, a precious natural resource, finds its way to landfills instead of workshops and lumberyards simply because of where it grows.

A chance encounter with a fallen cherry tree in his hometown changed the way college professor and woodworking enthusiast Samuel Sherrill looked at lumber, and led to a philosophy that continues to spread across the country--Harvesting Urban Timber.

Sherrill explains the importance of urban trees, and how best to make use of them. Using case studies, he illustrates how to reduce waste by using wood from fallen trees that might otherwise be dragged off to a landfill or left to slowly decompose.

In his easygoing and accessible style, Sherrill covers all aspects of harvesting urban timber, including:

• Safely felling urban trees
• Hiring the right sawyer
• Season the wood
• The types of trees worth harvesting
• Different uses for different timbers
• Examples of projects made with urban timber