This blog post was written by Andrew Hicks, IMPACT! Sustainability Champions Training participant and founder of Lakewood Designs.

A couple years ago, I had the amazing opportunity to participate in the IMPACT! Sustainability Champions Training in Ottawa. I have a passion for social change and environmental sustainability, so the IMPACT! training was a great place to bounce ideas off like-minded people and learn more about what it means to be sustainable. Going into the program, I was full of ideas, but I didn’t know how to take those ideas to the next level and create a plan to achieve my goals. The IMPACT! training really helped solve this challenge. I have used a lot of my learnings from the 3-day workshop to create my wood working design startup, Lakewood Designs.

I started Lakewood Designs this past summer with my first product: a guitar stand made out of driftwood. I have since started to expand into décor and furniture, including candle holders, art, tablet/phone cases, cutting boards, and I am currently working on creating tables.

The reason we use driftwood as our product material is because it’s abundant and sustainable. Not only is it easily found washed up on the shores of many lakes, but it also doesn’t require heavy equipment and energy to harvest, reducing CO2 emissions. By using already fallen driftwood, we prevent it from decomposing and releasing its sequestered carbon into the atmosphere in the form of CO2. Each one of our products sequesters anywhere from 2 – 6 lbs. of CO2.

By using reclaimed material, such as driftwood, which is readily available and within 200 km of our design facility, we are able to cut our processing energy requirements by more than 95% compared to other materials such as aluminum, plastic, and steel. To date, Lakewood Designs has sequestered 65 lbs. of CO2 with the sale of our products.

Starting Lakewood Designs has helped me marry my passions for sustainability, creativity, and working with my hands, to provide customers with sustainable products they can feel good about buying. We are in the process of collaborating with other small woodworking and design shops in order to expand our product offering, while also ensuring we stick to our mission of providing well designed and environmentally sustainable products.

At Lakewood Designs we believe in supporting the sustainability of our environment with everything we do. From every product we sell to how we package it. Check us out at www.lakewooddesigns.com or on our Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook accounts.

To learn more about the IMPACT! Sustainability Champions Training and apply for an upcoming session, please visit naturalstep.ca/impact. Apply today to take your sustainability journey to the next level and connect with others that care deeply about the planet, it’s people, and future!

For more sustainability resources follow IMPACT! on Twitter and Facebook.

Written by Andrew Hicks