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Happy New Year from the team at Pilot Projects Collaborative! We hope your winter break brought some rest, renewal, and reflection. We are stepping into 2025 enthusiastically with a redoubled focus on systemic collaboration—a commitment to meaningful strategic partnerships that result in exponential benefits for forests, cities and people worldwide.
From the thriving community conservation forestry in the Amazon to innovative land conservation strategies in Canada, we are continuing to connect people, places, and ideas in our projects. We're also continuing the progress on the joint declaration with the City of Paris towards COP 30 in Belém, Brazil, with our goal of bringing a new kind of global city-forest partnerships to the forefront of climate conversations.
This newsletter also reviews some highlights and ongoing initiatives from the past year and some new projects for the year ahead. You’ll find updates on the Mass Timber Tipping Point’s reception at the International Mass Timber Conference (IMTC), reflections on 2024, and a recent award!
We invite you to bring our knowledge into your projects, spark new ideas, and collaborate with us as we work toward shared goals. Whether through innovative partnerships or bold new strategies, let’s make 2025 a year of impact and progress together!
Mass Timber Tipping Point Reception: Exclusive Publication Preview at IMTC
What could a year and a half of intensive conversations with a diverse array of ambitious Architecture and Engineering firms tell us about the state of mass timber uptake in North America? After conducting this exploration we are thrilled to share the results and a preview of our final report at the upcoming Mass Timber Tipping Point Reception on March 25th at the International Mass Timber Conference (IMTC) in Portland, Oregon. The event will officially launch the report and showcase key findings from this groundbreaking initiative aimed at accelerating the adoption of mass timber in the building industry. The event will be a great opportunity to connect with the visionaries who are shaping the future of sustainable building and celebrate another milestone for the mass timber movement.
Scott will be one of the panelists in the Fireside Chat at IMTC on Thursday March 27th at 8 a.m. in the Portland Ballroom. Details to come in our February newsletter!
We hope anyone attending the Portland Mass Timber International Conference will join us!
2024 Reflections: A year of collaboration and milestones - made possible by you!
Together with our collaborators in 2024 we advanced innovative solutions in conservation, sustainable wood use, and urban regeneration.
Forest-Positive Collaboration in Paris
The 3ème Édition de la Conférence sur la Préservation des Forêts in Paris brought together an international coalition of leaders. Pilot Projects partnered with the City of Paris to shape the event, culminating in a draft declaration charting a collaborative path toward COP 30 in Belém, Brazil. This progress highlights the ongoing collaboration among global cities to advance forest conservation efforts.
Connecting Galway to Guatemala
Our Galway Partner Forest Program continues to thrive, blending conservation and craftsmanship. Highlights include the installation of student-designed conservation timber furniture at the Galway County Council building, and a knowledge exchange expedition to Guatemalan community forests. Woodworking students from Galway travelled to Uaxactún to explore the community’s highly regarded sustainable forestry practices and exchange design and production ideas with local artisans.
Conservation Timber on the Global Stage
Conservation Timber gained significant momentum this year. At the Carrefour International du Bois in Nantes, France, we hosted a forum on its potential as a tool for addressing deforestation, bringing together diverse stakeholders. In Rotterdam, the Urban Futures conference featured discussions on forest-positive procurement and a tour showcasing how cities like Rotterdam integrate Conservation Timber into civic infrastructure.
Canadian Forests
We continued to champion forest conservation closer to home with a pilot project in Eastern Ontario. In collaboration with Ducks Unlimited Canada, we developed a new conservation easement strategy to protect ecologically sensitive areas, balancing biodiversity, carbon storage, and sustainable timber production.
Global Convenings on Timber and Forests
At FLARE’s Annual Meeting in Rome, we relaunched the Future of Forest Work Community of Practice, and at COFO at FAO we participated in numerous discussions on whether or not a future of building with wood is globally viable, with diverse perspectives on the resources, leadership and systemic changes needed.
2024 highlighted the impact of partnerships in creating sustainable solutions from Paris to Galway, Guatemala to Ontario, and beyond.
Thank you to all our collaborators who made this progress possible. Together, we are shaping a forest-positive future!
Looking Ahead: Collaboration and New Frontiers
As we step into 2025, we are thrilled to find additional support for our conservation timber work in Guyana, a place close to our hearts, central to the global sustainable forest sector, and newly elected to chair the FCLP.
Our growing network of partners in Guyana offer incredible opportunities to demonstrate the power of collaboration to advance forest management, conservation, and community well-being.
Closer to home, our partnership with Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) continues as we develop an innovative approach to forest conservation, management, and carbon storage with funded land securements. By helping DUC secure ecologically sensitive lands in challenging landscapes we have amplified the impact of our partners. We have also positioned ourselves as trusted collaborators for other organizations seeking bold, sustainable solutions.
At Pilot Projects, we believe in the power of collaboration to turn ambitious ideas into transformative outcomes. 2025 promises to be a year of big goals and challenges and we are ready to work with all of you to take these on.
Please let us know how we can help. Let’s achieve greater things together!
Partner News and Updates
Atlantic Technical University (ATU) recognized by Wood Awards Ireland 2024
The Wood Awards Ireland shines a light on the vital role that forests, products, and innovative design play in Ireland's climate action journey. ATU Connemara is one of the Partner Forest Collaborators and most recently several students achieved a Highly Commended in the Rotary Ireland Third Level Environment Award. We are incredibly proud of the ATU students and faculty for their hard work and dedication in achieving this remarkable accomplishment.
The award recognized the students' work under the theme of "Achieving Net Zero with Forests and Wood."
ATU’s students' success in competing against final-year and Master’s students from across Ireland is a testament to their hard work and innovative approach. Connected Communities partnered second-year BSc in Furniture Design and Manufacture program students with Galway County Council and Cities4Forests to create outdoor public furniture for Clifden, Co. Galway using FSC-certified hardwood sourced from the Itacoatiara community in the Amazon rainforest. The full list of Wood Awards Ireland awards is available here.
Upcoming Partner Events
If you have an event or resource you think our audience would appreciate, please send the details to us at info @pilot-projects.org. We look forward to hearing from you!
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