Nominee Summary
Logie Estate is closely woven into its local community. Now under the fifth generation of family management, the estate and the local community go from strength to strength. The 2024 Logie Timber Festival builds on the already successful Logie Steading – home to a vibrant community of independent businesses and makers - and Logie Timber, which focuses on locally sourced wood, and the creation of a circular economy. The festival promotes sustainability and care for the environment; a celebration of all things wood and all the incredible people that make the community and region so special.
What makes your nominee stand out?
Alec Laing’s family are the 5th generation to manage Logie Estate. Returning home in 2013, Alec was drawn to the forestry sector, resulting in the creation of the Logie Timber sawmill business in 2017 in partnership with Mark Councill, an experienced forester and tree surgeon. Logie also has a thriving tourism business - Logie Steading hosts local craft businesses and a popular café - and welcomes visitors to its woodland and river walks. The Logie Timber Festival was a natural follow-on; an event celebrating local craftmanship, sustainable forestry and community spirit. The inaugural event in 2019 brought together sawmill customers, artists, furniture makers and local businesses – all united by a love of wood and a commitment to sustainability. The event returned in 2024 - energised post pandemic - featuring 55 exhibitors and attracting more than 2,000 visitors over the weekend. The tourism business ground to a halt during the pandemic. During that time, Alec and Mark continued to build the sawmill business, creating partnerships with local building firms, DIY enthusiasts, local furniture makers and artisans. It was an incredible achievement for the festival to return so strongly after a 5-year break. Planning a festival is a huge undertaking – attracting exhibitors, arranging council permits, marquees, securing sponsors, planning activities etc. There are significant costs and risks associated with staging such an event and its success is down to a dedicated team, community spirit and a passion for sustainability, as well as the excellent support of our engaged community.
Supporting the local community
The festival provides valuable exposure and business opportunities for a whole host of local businesses – from timber merchants to equipment suppliers; house builders to artisanal furniture makers and foresters to DIY crafters. The festival also welcomes local entertainers, and food and drink suppliers. It really is a celebration of local people, produce and sustainable communities. Exhibitors are encouraged to incorporate educational and interactive elements - running workshops, demonstrations etc. Therefore, the event also provides a unique opportunity for local school children to see more about what happens in the rural world, learn about careers in forestry and find out about how we care for our environment. Pupils of Logie Primary School are fully engaged throughout the festival, running a popular marshmallow stand. The festival has become a fixture in the local community calendar. As well as providing an opportunity for visitors to engage with Logie Timber and the estate and to find out about what they do, it also provides a great platform to get to know other local businesses, makers, artists and producers Logie Steading is home to a number of independent retailers and makers as well as The Cafe at Logie Steading. The festival supports the interests of all these businesses. Also, through exhibiting and sponsorship, the festival provides more local businesses and suppliers with access to an engaged audience keen to interact with businesses that share their values in sustainability, quality, community and family.
Maintaining high ethical/environmental standards
Alec and his business partner, Mark Councill, were frustrated at how much quality local wood was being used for firewood. They saw a gap in the market for a specialised sawmill that focused on durable species such as larch and Douglas fir. Logie Timber’s mission of sustainability sees a focus on locally sourced wood, with a strong focus on a circular economy – ensuring every part of the timber is utilised, from timber to biomass fuel to agricultural products. By promoting all the different uses of wood at the festival – from sawmills, house building, furniture making to crafting – the festival promotes sustainability and care for the environment as well as playing a key education role for local people and particularly local children. Exhibitors, particularly food vendors are encouraged to use compostable and recyclable packaging and the bins provided by Logie Timber allow visitors to recycle responsibly. Logie Timber’s wider business is focused on reducing the environmental impact of our industry, from solar panels in the roof of the sawmill to zero chemical treatment of our timber products. We only cut Scottish timber and are always striving to displace imported products. These principles filter down through everything we do and result in relationships with customers and businesses with similar principles. This is evidenced by the exhibitors and guests to the Timber Festival and proves a long-held belief that we are going in the right direction for the environment.
