Reclaim. Reuse. Reshape. Making reclaimed timber more accessible for the good of people and the planet.
Construction and demolition account for an enormous share of wood waste that ends up in landfill. In fact, a total of 2.3 million tons of wood waste is produced in Australia every year. We think most of it shouldn't be waste at all.
At Among The Trees our mission is simple: stop usable timber from ending up in landfill. Doing so reduces waste, cuts unnecessary carbon emissions, and takes pressure off the native forests we have left.
The more accessible we can make the material for reuse, the more we can save — so we have a multipronged approach to solving the problem:
Timber Sourcing and Supply
We collect timber from construction and demolition sites, it’s meticulously de-nailed by hand, screened with metal detectors, and inspected thoroughly before hitting our shop floor as weathered stock, ready for sale.
Machining
We can take that weathered timber and refine it further. Our machining department produces DAR (Dressed All Round) timber — pieces cleaned up to reveal the virgin timber beneath, with straightened-and-squared faces and edges, in standardised dimensions based on what we can reliably recover from common demolition waste. This lets you design projects around our sizes with confidence.
We also offer custom machining: we can dimension any of our reclaimed timber to your specific requirements. The idea being that we can do the heavy lifting and leave the more accessible, enjoyable work (joinery, finishing) to you.
Workshops and Rent-A-Bench
If you’re not sure where to start, we run a large program of hands-on workshops to help you learn the skills to start working with this material yourself. From hand-tool woodworking to an introduction to power tools workshops, furniture repair and restoration to our popular mid-century modern Douglas Snelling-inspired chair making workshop — the goal is to build skills, confidence and a genuine appreciation for the material. In a world dominated by screens, our workshops are also a chance to unplug, focus on the here-and-now, and express the very human desire to make something.
For those who want to continue their woodworking, repair, or crafting journey — but may not have the space or equipment — our Rent-a-Bench program offers access to a bench, tools, and an experienced facilitator to offer guidance as you go. Learning a craft takes time. The joy and the lessons come largely from the doing. That it happens in the service of keeping usable timber out of landfill makes it a win-win.
Build and Fabrication
Last but not least, our build department focuses on kitchen benchtops, shelves, stair treads, and increasingly more complex furniture pieces for new builds and renovations. The output from this department demonstrates the potential of reclaimed timber for use in high-end finished products. The approach is deliberately circular. Material often comes out of a demolition and goes straight back into the same building as a feature, carrying its history with it. Every piece is also built with its end of life in mind: can it be repaired? Can it be reused? These questions are important to support a circular economy and shape how we do things.
Together these aren’t just services, they’re a coordinated attempt to reduce the barriers to using reclaimed timber — the more accessible we can make it, the more timber stays out of landfill and the more people understand why that matters.
