Technology Meets Tradition

Government of Canada supports clean tech innovation for the forestry sector

With Government of Canada support announced today by Bernadette Jordan, Member of Parliament for South Shore-St. Margaret’s, WoodsCamp Technologies Inc. is stepping up to influence change in the forestry sector. WoodsCamp is receiving a $250,000 repayable investment, through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency’s (ACOA) Business Development Program, to support developing and commercializing a sustainable forestry management software platform. Today’s announcement was made on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, and Minister responsible for ACOA. 

In regions where the forest is predominantly in private ownership, the forest industry sources its supply from among a diverse group of independent landowners. To capitalize on export opportunities, sawmills and woodlot owners are looking for new ways to sustainably build wealth from their forest assets.

WoodsCamp Technologies’ new software platform helps the forest industry procure timber via social networks and the web, unlocking sustainable forestry from non-industrial private land while building wealth for rural communities. By leveraging handheld devices, remote-sensed data and cloud services, WoodsCamp Technologies is developing a supply management tool for sawmill owners, and a forest planning tool for landowners. These tools will help woodlot and sawmill owners make the shift to a technology-based solution for supply tracking as well as land and resource use optimization for forest planning.
 

Quotes

“Through investing in clean technology and groundbreaking ideas, the Government of Canada is helping local businesses become innovation and climate change drivers. By providing high-potential companies with the support they need to take their environmentally-sustainable innovations to market, our Government is helping to create good-paying jobs for the middle class, while protecting the planet.”  

−      The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for ACOA

“Taking a technology-based approach to solving a long-standing problem will have a significant positive economic impact for rural Nova Scotia, and will be a catalyst for woodlot owners to improve efficiency, generate additional revenue, and increase economic activity for the region.”

−      Bernadette Jordan, Member of Parliament for South Shore – St. Margaret’s

“The threat to the working forest is one of the most urgent and overlooked environmental issues of our time. The forests my children and grandchildren will walk in depend on our ability to build a healthy and sustainable ecosystem that increases the health and wealth of our forests and all who rely on them. With the Government’s support, we’re integrating innovations from around the world, and, from our own comparative advantage, are building innovative new technology that will scale out to regions of the United States and Europe where the forest is also primarily in private ownership.” 

−      Alastair Jarvis, Co-Founder, WoodsCamp Technologies Inc.

Quick Facts

• Nova Scotia’s forests cover more than four million hectares, or 75 per cent of the province’s landmass, and offer a natural source for export.
• In 2014, Nova Scotia’s forest industry exported over $649 million in products internationally, which accounts for 12.1 per cent of the province’s total exports.
• Nova Scotia Forests are:
• 35 per cent Federal and Provincial Crown lands
• 10 per cent industrial private woodlands
• 55 per cent small private woodlots

Associated Links 

• Atlantic Growth Strategy
• WoodsCamp Website
• WoodsCamp on Twitter
• WoodsCamp on Facebook
  

Contacts

Alex Smith
Director of Communications and Outreach
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Phone: 902-426-9417 / 902-830-3839 (cell)
E-mail: alex.smith@canada.ca 

Alastair Jarvis
Co-Founder
WoodsCamp Technologies Inc.
Phone: 902-521-7374
Email: alastair@woodscamp.com