This is a program instituted by NAFI and designed to provide coordination for tertiary education in timber related disciplines. It is funded jointly by the forest industries of Australia and by Forest and Wood Products Research and Development Corporation. Individual character - natural characteristics such as grain, and knots means that each piece of timber is an individual. Environmentally friendly construction material. Most structural timber commercially available in Australia is sourced from plantations that have been planted on land that was previously agricultural land and as such is a renewable construction resource.
Timber actually locks away carbon dioxide in the structure being built.
It is beneficial to the countering of Greenhouse emissions. Whereas manufactured materials consume energy and hence release Greenhouse Gases in their production, timber products do not require much energy in their production and so release less carbon than they lock away. It is easy to work with - It can easily be bent, cut, glued or fastened using mechanical fasteners. It does not corrode, but attention needs to be paid to other forms of degradation to ensure longivity. Timber related units are already included in many architectural courses.