Thursday Afternoon -- Georgia-Pacific Tour
On Thursday Afternoon we visited the Langford/Every Family Tree Farm and then Georgia-Pacific's Plywood Mill in Hawthorne. BBQ Dinner at 1000 Oaks followed.
Family Tree Farm
Covering 600 acres, the
Langford/Every Family Tree Farm is owned by Gerald Langford, Sue
Every and their children. The farm is part of the American
Tree Farm System, a program that promotes sustainable forestry on privately
owned forestland. Here teachers learned about forest stewardship and the
Cooperative Forestry Assistance (CFA) program.
Jay Tucker, Union County Forester was our guide for this portion of the tour. Teachers were introduced to Sue, Christi, and Lang Every owners of the property. As part of the CFA program Division of Forestry Stewardship Program, the Langford/Everys receive assistance from a Florida Department of Forestry forester to help set up multiple use management plans that address not only timber but also wildlife, recreation, soil and water conservation, and cattle grazing. Foresters help suggest ways to improve resources.
Sue Every talked a little about Estate planning/taxes (for the state of Florida.)
Plywood Mill
At
Georgia-Pacific's mill in Hawthorne, Florida, tour participants learned about
the production of the engineered wood product, plywood.
The mill produces 370,000 square feet of industrial grade (structural) plywood annually from pine trees. The trees are peeled into sheets of veneer which are then dried and assembled with adhesive into panels used in construction and other applications. The mill employs 450 employees.
Teachers were broken into groups that toured the various stations throughout the breakdown process
Click here for our page on how plywood is made.
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