Port Blakely

CONTINUING EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES

Sustainable forestry - real world application for the built environment.

Port Blakely offers accredited learning experiences designed for architects, engineers, and construction professionals who want to better understand responsible forest management, wood sourcing, and material performance.

Choose the format that fits your schedule: a convenient Lunch & Learn for your team or an immersive Working Forest Tour in Washington or Oregon.

1-Hour Lunch & Learn (Virtual or In-Person)

Forests, Wood, and Intentional Sourcing

This accredited course connects forest management practices directly to today’s built environment. Designed for AEC professionals, the session explores how sustainable forestry is practiced across major U.S. timber-producing regions, which products are sourced from each region, and how intentional specification can support responsible forest management outcomes.

Our Lunch & Learn format is ideal for firms, project teams, and offices looking to learn together and align sustainable wood sourcing strategies. We encourage group participation to foster discussion and shared understanding across your organization.

Course Highlights

  • Silviculture explained: how North American forests are sustainably managed.
  • Where U.S. timber comes from, and what products each region supplies.
  • Why solid sawn timber performs in structural, sustainable design.
  • The environmental and economic advantages of sourcing wood locally.

AEC Forest Tour

Led by local foresters, you’ll walk through a working forest to see climate-smart design, local sourcing and long-term sustainability in practice. 

Along the way, you’ll learn about:

  • The benefits of growing Douglas-fir on extended rotations for stronger, premium-grade wood.
  • The environmental benefits like biodiversity, carbon sequestration and wildlife habitat.
  • The economic and environmental advantages of sourcing local timber.
  • How regulations, certification and conservation shape forest management.  

Upcoming Tours

Each tour runs from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and includes a guided walk through the forest, highlighting key topics in sustainable forestry, with lunch provided. Tour locations vary by date and include Olympia, WA and Molalla, OR. Upcoming tours include: 

Olympia, Washington

Can't make one of our current tour dates? Join our notification list to hear about upcoming tours!