UNC Asheville’s STEAM Studio received a $200,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina's Emergency and Disaster Response Fund for their Community Lumber Project.
The grant funding will allow STEAM Studio to purchase equipment and process trees felled by Hurricane Helene into usable lumber. A mobile sawmill was purchased from Wood-Mizer at a generously offered 50 percent discount. The funding also helped acquire a compact track loader with a 2,500 lb operating capacity, an equipment trailer, a pickup truck, and a kiln to dry the wood. The grant also supports the salary for a staff person to coordinate and operate the mill.
The project will only mill trees that fell due to Helene or other natural causes. The lumber will be available free or discounted for a variety of uses related to recovery and rebuilding after the natural disaster.
“When Helene happened, we were consumed with grief like the rest of Western North Carolina and wanted to find ways to turn the grief into action. As practitioners who work with wood and understand its value in rebuilding, it was heart-wrenching to see so many trees getting hauled off to be chipped,” said Sara Sanders, director of STEAM Studio. “We figured that if we could get a mill and start producing lumber from salvaged timber, we could donate it to community rebuilding efforts. Thanks to CFWNC and Wood-Mizer, this idea became a reality.”
Hundreds of logs are downed on the property of the North Carolina Arboretum alone, which STEAM will be milling into lumber for the Arboretum’s use in benches, trail maintenance and other needs that arise. Green, air-dried lumber will also be made available for free at the Asheville Tool Library for outdoor projects like raised garden beds, chicken coops, and fencing.
UNC Asheville students will be involved in multiple facets of the project. The first use of the mill on campus was to create timber for a steam-bending class, and students will also contribute to building benches out of the lumber for the Botanical Gardens.
“As we progress with the project, we hope students will be involved in designing and building solar kilns to pre-dry lumber,” Sanders said. “This will be a fantastic hands-on design and fabrication experience. I am confident that more student engagement opportunities will emerge as more faculty members learn about the project and identify points of intersection with their curriculum.”
Once operational, the kiln will provide dried lumber for artists and woodworkers who lost inventory in the storm, as well as for trim, flooring, and other interior architectural needs for rebuilding homes.
“While what we are doing at times feels like a drop in the bucket compared to the relief work needed, it feels incredibly important that STEAM Studio, as part of UNC Asheville, does what we can to engage in work that supports the community that supports us,” Sanders said. “The concept was admittedly outside our normal scope of work, but sometimes stretching beyond those boundaries can bring unexpected meaning and growth to our work.”
Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) converge in this educational space at the River Arts Makers Place (RAMP), engaging the next generation of makers, engineers, artists, and entrepreneurs, who work side-by-side with faculty and staff experts experienced in all facets of the creative process. Developed by UNC Asheville, the state’s designated public liberal arts university and a national leader in making an impact, STEAM Studio provides state-of-the-art equipment and training to creatives and connects the campus to the creative community of Asheville.
The Community Foundation is a nonprofit organization established in 1978 to build a permanent pool of charitable capital for the 18 counties of Western North Carolina including the Qualla Boundary. We work with individuals, families and corporations to create and manage charitable funds and make grants to nonprofits or public agencies in our region.
CFWNC activated its Emergency and Disaster Response Fund to accept and disburse funds supporting a regional response and relief efforts. Funds ensure that nonprofits have the resources they need for the critical early response and continuing recovery.
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