Alternative building blocks from alien trees

An innovative collaboration between the Cape Town-based company nonCrete, the Institute of Technology in Architecture at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, and the South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has created a potentially game-changing design and construction methodology for housing alternatives.

The journey to modern silviculture systems 

The second day of the Silviculture 4.0: Smart Technology from Nursery to Field conference moved from focusing on nurseries to

The journey to smart propagation systems

Advances in manual, semi-mechanised, automated and robot-assisted silvicultural technologies were discussed at the modern silviculture symposium, and it seems the

Thinking “buite die blikkie”

Clinton Fielies was born in the Garcia forestry village 39 years ago. He grew up in one of the classic wooden bosbou (forestry) houses around the corner from where he lives today with his wife and children. After working for MTO as a chainsaw operator in the Western Cape for many years, he says he decided to think “buite die blikkie” (outside the box).

South Africa's forestry industry advances the UN’s SDGs

By Dr Ronald Heath, Forestry South Africa's Director of Research and Protection COP16 is underway in Colombia, with land use

Husqvarna exclusive 5-year extended warranty

Husqvarna South Africa is thrilled to announce a game-changer for the industry: an exclusive 5-year extended warranty on select products.

Fire Symposium Field Day

The field day included many live demos on a sugar farm hosted by the uMshwathi Fire Protection Association (FPA) and

Fire Symposium revisits the “great woodchip fire” of 2023

By Chris Chapman NCT has never had a fire on their woodchip piles since the establishment of its operations in

Zero+: Net Zero Today, Climate Positive Tomorrow

By Joy Crane A host of prominent speakers, including former Eskom CEO and author André de Ruyter, venture capitalist Michael

Fire symposium: Burning issues on the agenda

By Chris Chapman The 14th Fire Management Symposium, held in Karkloof in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Midlands, was well attended by

SA pine mass timber used to build four storey Zanzibar building

The superstructure for the four-storey CheiChei Living building, which is Africa's first CLT hybrid structure with more than two levels has been completed and fit-out is well underway. The first residents are scheduled to move-in early in the second quarter of 2025.

Safcol Notice

Back to basics focus for KZN wattle growers

NCT Forestry organised an informative field day in October for its members and farmers in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Midlands region. Terry Wolhuter of Elands Spruit Farm in New Hanover hosted the event.

Wattle: Champion trees, when properly managed

In the right hands, wattle trees are true champion trees, giving commercial and small-scale growers multiple product options. Unmanaged, these prolific seeders can spread far and wide across the hills and valleys, negatively impacting biodiversity and using up scarce water resources.

The SA forestry and forest products sector marks 15 years of transformation

The Forest Sector Charter Council (FSCC) marks a decade and a half of overseeing and reporting the forestry and forest products sector's progress in achieving its Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) codes of good practice targets.

The Shire Eco Lodge and nursery focuses on sustainability

Rob Scott, owner of Shire Eco Lodge near Stutterheim, says the curved shape of the chalets is unlike standard timber buildings and posed so many problems that it took over a year to complete the shell of the first lodge.

AI system for harvesters in forestry operation

Södra and its subsidiary Nordic Forestry Automation AB (NFA) are implementing driver assistance technology for thinning operations and collecting data

Weston Agricultural College wins the Forest Rehabilitation Challenge

Husqvarna recently teamed up with a conservation NGO and two prominent KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) schools to host a Forest Rehabilitation Challenge in the Ferncliffe natural forest on the edge of Pietermaritzburg.

Husqvarna's locally crafted chainsaw pants redefine safety and performance

A chainsaw operator's lightning-fast reflexes aren't enough to prevent chainsaw injuries, making personal protective equipment (PPE) an unwavering necessity.

Profit pointers for wattle growers

A recent wattle field day organised by NCT Forestry provided an ideal opportunity for local tree farmers to pick up some pointers from the wattle “experts” who have been working with wattle for decades.

On a mission to protect and conserve South Africa’s medicinal plants

Indigenous trees, their stems partially or entirely stripped of their bark and left to die in Cape Town's Newlands Forest and areas like the upper reaches of the iconic Kirstenbosch Garden, is a sad sight that greets walkers and hikers all too often.

Eastern Cape tree farmers cash in on wattle bark sales

NCT members in the Eastern Cape have seized the opportunity created by the current demand for wattle bark to utilise their timber resources more effectively.

Scovia Akello wins the She Is Forestry Postgrad Award

Stellenbosch University's Department of Forestry and Wood Science's Scovia Akello, a PhD student supervised by Prof Brand Wessels since 2021, won the 2024 She is Forestry Postgraduate Award.

Nwabisa Mpompo bags another silviculture contract

MTO Forestry has awarded Nwabisa Mpompo, owner and director of Bamanye Construction Services, the silviculture contract for its Southern Cape Knysna plantation.