Respect for our Earth
Green – not just a slogan, but a way of life.
Stewardship is important to our company. To Barky Beaver being “green” isn’t just a slogan, it’s a way of life. As part of a group of companies committed to natural resource stewardship for more than 35 years, Barky Beaver can truly say: “We were green when being green wasn’t cool.”
We practice what we preach and also preach what we practice. We not only engage in environmentally friendly and sustainable practices as a part of our everyday business, we encourage our sister companies and our suppliers to follow suit.
We’re proud of our green heritage. At Barky Beaver, it’s just a way of life. Our products attest to this commitment.
Stew·ard·ship (noun) – the conducting, supervising or managing of something; especially the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.
Our parent company, Green Forest Wood Products, was started in 1970 by a second-generation farmer, whose father entered the sawmill business to supplement family farm income. That family farming operation and all the conservation measures associated with it continues with another generation today on several thousand acres in Tennessee and Kentucky.
We’re also directly or indirectly (through our sister companies) involved in almost every part of the logging and sawmill business. When a log is brought into our sister sawmills, the bark is removed from it. That’s how Barky Beaver got started.
Along the way, Barky Beaver founder, the late Doug Smith, decided if you’re going to make your living in wood products, you must have practices in place to keep renewing those raw materials, and you need to use every part of a log you can.
That’s not just a good business practice, it’s proper stewardship. We’ve continued those practices from the start, and we are committed to sustainability in creating all our Barky Beaver family of products.
Wood Chips make Beaver Chips
Wood chips are produced as a part of the sawmill process. We buy wood chips from our sister sawmill and a couple dozen other sawmills and turn them into our popular Beaver Chips, Engineered Wood Fiber used for playground, pathway surfacing and more.
From Bark to Mulch
Our all-natural hardwood mulch is nothing but bark, processed in just the right way to ensure not only beauty, but weed control, insulation from temperature extremes, water retention and erosion control. You won’t find any waste wood products in our mulch. Since 1984, we’ve been taking this by-product of the sawmill operation and putting it to good use.
Sawdust and Pine Fines
We use pine “fines” and bark in our soil conditioners and potting soils.
To further complete the “green” philosophy of our organization, although we do not use the sawdust generated by our sawmills in Barky Beaver products, it is sold to outside vendors or taken to a sister company as a fuel for their lumber and log-drying kilns.