Australia, let’s celebrate the people that craft our furniture, frame and clad our houses, lay our floors, build roofs over our heads, and count Harrison Ford among their more celebrated peers.

In 2010, for the second time National Carpenters Day recognises the value of the work carpenters contribute to our communities.

Every year carpenters help build more than 100,000 new homes in Australia.

But, it's not only this (and their great Aussie "mateship") we need to thank our carpenters for...

Every year carpenters lock away thousands of tonnes of carbon in the wood they use. Carbon that was absorbed from the atmosphere by growing trees and is now locked away for the life of the building – and often beyond.

But that’s not all. In addition to storing carbon, wood uses much less energy to manufacture than other popular building materials, so less carbon is emitted in getting wood to the building site.

This is a measure of what’s called ‘embodied carbon’. Using wood is one way we can all join carpenters in tackling climate change.

In fact, by counting stored carbon and embodied carbon, and maximising the amount of wood used in construction, people have built carbon positive buildings. This means that the building itself stores more carbon than the construction of it emitted.

1. The word carpenter is derived from Middle English and Anglo-Norman, from the Latin word carpentārius (artifex). It also comes from carpentum, a two-wheeled carriage, of Celtic origin.
2. Famous carpenters include former US President Jimmy Carter, actor Harrison Ford, American singer Ray Lamontagne and of course Jesus of Nazareth.
3. The Worshipful Company of Carpenters is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London, and existed in 1271. The organisation received a Royal Charter, granted by the Sovereign to legitimise an incorporated body, in 1477.
4. In Japan, Miya-daiku or temple carpenters perform the work of both architects and builders of shrine and temples.
5. The oldest wooden schoolhouse in America is in St. Augustine, Florida. It was constructed in the 1700’s.
6. The world’s tallest wooden building was built by Nikolai Sutyagin in Russia. It took Nikolai 15 years to erect 13 floors of wood. The project had a forced four year hiatus when he was sent to prison back in 1998 on racketeering charges - the third time he served a prison sentence during the life of the project.
7. The tomb of King Midas, ruler of the kingdom of Phrygia, is made from juniper logs and sealed with pine planks. It is located in the centre of a 40 metre high funereal mound and is thought to be the oldest intact wooden structure in the world.
8. A finish carpenter is also called a joiner and is one who does cabinetry, furniture making, fine woodworking, model building, instrument making, parquetry, joinery, or other carpentry where exact joints and minimal margins of error are important.
9. The German word for carpenter is "Zimmermann", meaning room maker and is the source for the surname of many people in German and English-speaking countries.
10. On average, carbon accounts for nearly 50 per cent of the mass of a wood product and for every tonne of wood produced, 1.8 tonnes of CO2 Wood is taken from the atmosphere.
11. In the US, 98.5% of carpenters are male, making it the fourth most male-dominated occupation in the country.
12. However one of America’s most recognised carpenters is Norma Vally, host of the Discovery Home Channel's Emmy-nominated series Toolbelt Diva, where she pairs up with female homeowners to tackle a variety of real-life home-improvement projects.
13. Carpenters' Hall is a building in Philadelphia that was a key meeting place in the early history of the United States. Completed in 1773 the meeting hall was built for and is still owned by the Carpenters' Company of Philadelphia. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970 and is the country’s oldest extant trade guild.
14. The Greeks built the famous Trojan Horse out of wood. It was designed to allow the Greeks to finally enter the city of Troy after a fruitless 10-year siege to reclaim their queen, Helen. The Greeks built a huge figure of a horse, as a gift to the Trojans. They then pretended to sail away, as the Trojans pulled the Horse into their city as a victory trophy, allowing the hidden Greek force to open the gates for the rest of the army, who then destroyed the city.
15. According to the Bible, Noah built one of the first wooden structures in the world - an ark of "gopher wood". Noah's Ark was three stories high and had a total deck area that was equivalent to the area of about 20 standard college basketball courts or 36 lawn tennis courts!
16. Carter Oosterhouse of Trading Spaces fame was voted Sexiest Carpenter Alive in 2008.
17. The largest wooden ship ever built was by the Emperor of the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shi Huangdi in the first Chinese dynasty.
18. In February 2008, a U.S. design company created the world's first wooden supercar, with a top speed of 240 mph. The 4.6 meter-long, two-seater "Splinter" car, made from maple, plywood and MDF, has a 4.6 litre V8 petrol engine and a six-speed gearbox.
19. The most famous wooden shoes are from the Netherlands. Dutch clogs have been officially labelled as safety shoes and are considered to be healthy for the feet.
20. In 2005, the world’s largest all-wood treehouse was built amongst the lime trees of the Alnwick Garden in Northumberland County, UK and consists of a 6,000 square foot treehouse comprising of walkways, cottages, shops, a restaurant, and play areas.
21. The world’s largest wooden nickel is in San Antonio, Texas and is 13 feet 4 inches in diameter and 5.5 inches thick, about 108 times the diameter of a standard wooden nickel. The Mayor of San Antonio, Texas issued a Proclamation making June 22, 2002 "Wooden Nickel Day".
22. The historic Todaiji Temple in Nara, Japan is the world’s largest wooden building. It is 169 feet high and 187 feet wide and was constructed in 752 as part of Japan's former capital city, Heijokyo, in the 8th century.
23. The biggest double track wooden rollercoaster in the world is "The Monster" at La Ronde amusement park in Montreal, Canada. It stands at 39.9 meters tall and has a top speed of 59.7 miles per hour.