Mainebiz

V O L . X X I V N O. X X V I I N OV E M B E R 2 6 , 2 0 1 8 16 It ended at Friends School of Portland, on U.S. Route 1 in Cumberland. Wood cleared from the building's four- acre lot was used in its construction. Kerchner says the effort is wide- ranging — stretching from the woodlot to the sawmill to new uses and innova- tion, like at the Friends School. Besides the Kennebec Land Trust, other organizations that make up Local Wood Works are the Coastal Enterprises Inc., Maine Forest Service, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, Grow Smart Maine, the Nature Conservancy and the Northern Forest Center. "ere's a tremendous value in partnering with this variety of organiza- tions," Kerchner says. e diversity of those groups involved helps maintain the wide-ranging focus. e effort is funded by the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation, which stresses the link between a healthy environment and healthy communities, Kerchner says. e effort goes beyond theory and tours — Local Wood Works website includes a Maine Wood Guide, with categories ranging from products, to millwork, to balusters and furniture parts, with lists of local producers. ere's also an interactive map that shows producers across Maine. "We're trying to organize how people buy wood," says Lee Burnett, project director for Local Wood Works. "We're trying to make those local mills apparent to people who buy wood and may only know where Home Depot and Lowe's are … We're trying to make it easier." Another feature of the website is full-length spec sheets for commercial and residential construction. Burnett says the group's sessions with builders and architects made it clear it's something they would use. "It's informational, but it's more than informational," Burnett says. "It takes an effort, every time someone wants to source locally they have to remember [how to write the specs]." Keep the forests forests e big picture is, "How do we make the connection with the professional world, the architects and builders, and also, how do we make the connection with the people in the world?" Kerchner says local wood is not dif- ficult to use — it's abundant, people are familiar with it. With the decline of the pulp and paper industry, there's a need for the state's forests to con- tinue to be economically viable. e professional building world in Maine was thinking about the issue before Local Wood Works was formed. "When we started to meet three years ago, they were already on this track," she says. "Highest Customer Satisfaction with Retail Banking in New England, 3 out of 4 Years in a Row." Having our efforts recognized by our customers makes us incredibly proud and inspires us to do even more. Bangor Savings Bank received the highest score in New England in the J.D. Power 2015, 2016 and 2018 U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Studies of customers' satisfaction with their own retail bank. Visit jdpower.com. Member FDIC | Equal Housing Lender 1.877.226.4671 | www.bangor.com » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E Steve Chandler, second from right, discusses the New Gloucester woodlot that's been in his family for generations.

• Cover