Montgomery Parks will hold its third annual “Urban Wood Sale” on Saturday-Sunday, Dec. 9-10, at the Montgomery Parks Green Farm Maintenance Facility in Gaithersburg. The sale will offer woodworkers and craftspeople the chance to purchase wood salvaged from Montgomery Parks trees. Wood will be available from the historic Linden Oak Tree that had to be taken down earlier this year.
The Montgomery Parks Urban Wood Sale will be held 8 a.m.-noon on each day, while supplies last. The Green Farm Maintenance Facility is located at 8301 Turkey Thicket Drive in Gaithersburg.
Shoppers will find wood from several species of trees including walnut, cherry, poplar, oak, mulberry, cypress and ash. The wood is kiln-dried, planed or air-dried. Slabs are available in different lengths and thicknesses ranging from three-quarters of an inch to three inches.
The Urban Wood Sale is offered through the Horticulture, Forestry and Environmental Education Division of Montgomery Parks. Each year, hundreds of dead or dying trees are removed from Montgomery Parks land. Wood from those trees goes to the Urban Wood Sale or is recycled into wood chips, mulch and firewood through its Green Waste Recycling Program.
One of the trees removed this year was the estimated 300-year-old Linden Oak Tree. The former champion tree in Bethesda was taken down due to failing health. Wood salvaged from the tree will be available during the Urban Wood Sale.
“We like to think these trees benefited our parks and the people of Montgomery County while they were alive, and they continue to enhance our lives after they are gone,” said Montgomery Parks Urban Forester Patrick Harwood.
The wood in the sale is priced from $5-$400, depending on the size, quality and species of wood. Payment is accepted via credit card only. There are no advance sales. All proceeds from the Urban Wood Sale benefit Montgomery Parks Urban Wood Waste Recycling Program and Green Waste Recycling Program.
Montgomery Parks manages more than 37,000 acres of parkland, consisting of 419 parks. Montgomery Parks is a department of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), a bi-county agency established in 1927 to steward public land. M-NCPPC has been nationally recognized for its high-quality parks and recreation services and is regarded as a national model by other parks systems.
