The city of Boulder has received a $200,000 grant from the Knight Cities Challenge, to fund a program that trains homeless residents to make furniture and art from trees that were killed by the invasive emerald ash borer.
The program is called, Tree Debris to Opportunity, and it is trying to utilize waste for the public benefit – 11 percent of the City’s canopy was killed by the invasive beetle. The City of Boulder will train local homeless individuals in the art of woodworking and furniture making at a local maker space at the Boulder Library, to transform the discarded wood into art that will be sold at the City’s farmers market.
The City of Orlando and neighboring municipalities are expected to lose approximately 30 percent of their mature tree canopy in the coming years.