Forestry Producers marketing variety of goods: maple syrup, mushrooms, Christmas wreaths

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Driven by a slumping forestry sector and a market flooded with timber, New Brunswick woodlot owners are trying to diversify what they sell off their land.

"We had a long period when there was no market for their timber. Now markets have improved a little bit, but they're still not great," said Nairn Hay, general manager of the Fundy Model Forest Project, a Sussex-based community organization devoted to improving the forestry economy.

Now, says Hay, woodlot owners are selling a diverse range of products to stay afloat. "There are more and more things that people are bringing out of the forest that aren't timber," said Hay.

Last month, the Fundy Model Forest Project announced it was partnering with the Fredericton-based non-profit INFOR Inc. (the name is a combination of the words information and forestry) to create a website and print directory of non-timber forest producers in Atlantic Canada and Maine.

The objective is to bring together a collection of resources for forest producers marketing a variety of goods, ranging from maple syrup to wild mushrooms and Christmas reefs.

Janette Desharnais, executive director of INFOR, says the directory will help to bring together a varied group of woodlot owners so they can learn from each other.

"A lot of these businesses are really small, and we want to find out: 'Who are they? What are they making?'" said Desharnais.

Modelled after a similar initiative in British Columbia, the directory will also be made available free to buyers, offering photos, recipe ideas, and contact information for producers.

"If we can promote the diversity of uses in the industry, that would help," said woodlot owner Gig Kierstead.

Kierstead runs Elmhurst Outdoors, a recreational centre on the Kingston Peninsula that offers winter sports, a sugar bush and canoeing outings.

"The more markets there are, the less chance that all of them are going to be down at the same time," Hay said.

INFOR is funded in part by New Brunswick's department of natural resources. It's backed by ten financial partners, most of them government organizations and universities in the region, and has nearly $300,000 for the project.

But the project's most important partner may well be grocery store chain Sobeys.

The chain has committed to selling local non-timber forest products at its stores in the Atlantic region, likely on a seasonal basis for products like blueberries and Christmas wreaths, and a year-round basis for things like maple syrup.

Hay says the partnership will give independent sellers important access to the mainstream consumer market.

Desharnais points out the partnership will be beneficial to both the sellers and Sobeys, as the grocery chain seeks to improve its relationship with local communities.

There are around 40,000 woodlot owners in the province, and Desharnais hopes the directory and new selling prospects will help lessen their economic troubles.

"Obviously, it's been really difficult for them," said Desharnais. "This is not going to save everybody, but it's going to help."