Forestry Corporation has finished planting nearly 3,000 hectares of pine plantations in the South West Slopes region to provide timber for homes of the future.

Forestry Corporation of NSW’s Silviculture manager, Roger Davies, said each winter around 8,500 hectares of pine plantations across NSW are planted as a future timber resource.

“The seedlings will be harvested as timber in around 35 years – it’s exciting to think the work we are doing today will provide the building blocks for the homes of our children and grandchildren,” Mr Davies said.

“This year we have planted over 3.2 million seedlings around Moss Vale, Tumut and Tumbarumba, which were predominantly grown in Forestry Corporation’s Tumut production nursery.

“These seedlings have restocked plantations that have been harvested for timber in recent years. On some sites this is the third or fourth crop of trees.

The harvesting operation provides significant regional employment, with around 70 contract staff engaged during the planting season.

“Each seedling is planted by hand and an experienced planter can plant around 2,000 seedlings a day.

“We plant in winter when pine seedlings are dormant, which makes them hardier and more resilient to the stress of being planted to give it the best chance of survival.

Forestry Corporation has around 230,000 hectares of pine plantations in NSW and produces enough timber to construct a quarter of the homes built in Australia each year.

Media contact: Rod Campbell 0428058549