The Missoula Chapter has completed it’s first Forest for Humanity Project. We have produced a 30 minute video showing our entire project. The video starts with harvesting trees on Rose Qualley’s (Andie McDowell) Tree Farm in the Nine Mine Valley, west of Missoula. It shows product being manufactured by the different mills that donated their manufacturing time and interviews with the mill managers. Followed by the ground breaking ceremony and excellent media coverage of the 3-day Blitz-build. It then returns to the Nine Mile Valley where the new Habitat family plants trees on the site where the original harvesting took place earlier that spring.
We produced this video not only for our use, but to have a template that other SAF societies can use and sponsor their own Forests for Humanity Project. Being our first Forest for Humanity and Blitz Build, we made lots of mistakes along the way that others should not have to make again. We will also go over the coordination needed to host a successful Blitz-build.
Our project went full circle. With trees from the forest, to the manufacturing of these trees into building products, to a three-day Blitz Build creating a home and back to the forest to replant new trees for future homes. The Habitat family that this home was built for refers to their new house as the “Our new home, the foresters built.”
New knowledge, skills, or insights that participants will gain from session: 1) After the presentation, each state society, or local chapter will be able to host a Forests for Humanity Project in their area. Including the coordination needed to host a Blitz-build. 2) Working with local forest managers, loggers and building contractors, any chapter can sponsor a Forests for Humanity Project to show the public the relationship of good forest management and affordable homes. 3) That our homes come from wood products produced from our forests!
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