Walnut Street Landscape Project
A group of residents in the South 3rd and 2nd Street area proposed to landscape a portion of the boulevard on Walnut Street behind UBC. Gwen Hoppe, project coordinator, submitted a Neighborhood Project Fund Grant application and received $2210 for the project. The City Forestry Department planted the Ponderosa Pine trees and City Engineering delivered gravel for the walkways. Fourteen volunteers worked an estimated 172 hours to get the project completed. From all the comments of people passing by the site while we worked, it has been a success,” said Gwen. If you haven’t been by, make sure to take a trip down Walnut Street and see the marvelous job that everyone worked so hard on. For information on available grants call LaNette Diaz, 552-6081.
Janette Court Park Project
The residents of the Janette Court subdivision in the Upper Rattlesnake proposed to develop the common area in their neighborhood. Jeff and Candyce Weeks, project coordinators, submitted a Neighborhood Project Fund Grant application and received $500.00 for trees. Ten volunteers worked on the project an estimated 32 hours.
The neighbors also received a loan for improvements to the area. When everything is completed, the common area will also have solar lights for safety and be a great place for neighborhood barbeques. Candyce stated that “we came together as a neighborhood to create a park-like setting that is visually pleasing for us and our surrounding neighbors.” She hopes that this will “encourage others, throughout the City of Missoula, to do the same in their neighborhoods.”
Leslie Kitchens, site manager for the Missoula Urban Demonstration Project (MUD) is excited to show off all the innovative work done on the new tool library. The project was a collaborative effort and MUD received a Neighborhood Grant for $3000.00 for the project. There is an art project by middle school children, and a wall that was made from cob. According to Leslie, cob is a substance made from sand, straw, clay and water. “It is a good insulator, made from local products and kids and adults can use it. We all took off our shoes and mixed it like grapes.” There were about 25 adults and children involved in this endeavor. “It’s a fun technique because everyone can do it and it’s fun to get dirty.”
The most important aspects of the library are that it is better insulated and fire safe. The walls are thicker than usual and the studs are staggered to accommodate continuous insulation. A finishing touch is the lovely faux finish painting.
Another innovative idea is the duct work system. It starts in the attic with a fan that turns on automatically by the thermostat. It blows the hot air down the duct work and it can be directed by opening and closing the various “arms.” The duct work finishes its journey 6 feet under the building and feeds into a series of cinder block canals. This heats the thermal mass under the building. Although experimental, the hope is that in cooler weather all the ducts are closed and the building will have radiant heat. How long into the cooler weather this will work remains to be seen. The ultimate goal is to grow food, in the adjacent greenhouse, year round and keep the library cool in the summer and warm in the winter. “We’ll have to see how warm it will be in the winter,” said Leslie.
The Trom wall, named after the French inventor in the 1950’s, is located on the greenhouse side of the wall. It is a series of clean oil cans that have been filled with water and painted black. The cans serve as a barrier between the tool library and the greenhouse. They absorb heat and help moderate the heat exchange.
Leslie said that the project was fun because it was so interesting. “So many unusual techniques are used. Anyone can use them in their own home without added expense. Salvage wood can be used and looks great.”
She credits Matt Hiesel, the brains and energy behind the project and Erik Benson, board member and volunteer extraordinaire, for bring the project forward.
Any resident of Missoula County can become a member of the Tool Library for a small fee. You can check out tools and books, receive discounts to workshops, use larger tools on site, and get information on how to use tools.
Tool Library Art work on the cob wall Duct work
Trom wall
The Neighborhood Project Fund Grant Program has funded many more neighborhood projects. Check this site again for more projects and more pictures.
OR call the Neighborhood Liaison, 552-6081 for more information.