Mobile Woodshop and Urban Saw Mill and Forestry Education

Our goal is to teach a new generation skills, specifically woodworking skills and urban forest stewardship.  Additionally, we will raise public awareness about the value of our urban forests to the city, local economy, and the environment.  An effective approach to urban forest stewardship must target and engage students, who are the future stewards of this valuable resource.

One of our target audiences is students in the District’s public schools.   The objective of the mobile woodshop and urban forest stewardship project is to create and help:

•       Provide mobile woodshop and carpentry training to the District’s high school and community college students.  By learning to use their hands, students will build confidence, strength of character, and problem solving capabilities, as well as transferable skills that can be applied to many other challenges.

•       Reclaim and repurpose the city’s trees and trimmings, and turn them into a useable source of lumber for small construction projects (i.e. home improvement, community-based facilities, city parks, schools, furniture, arts, and crafts). 

•      Create community outreach and education on the diverse uses of urban recycled wood and the importance of urban trees.

•     Further enhance the District of Columbia’s goals for sustainability and green building and  development.

 By bringing the tools out of the classroom and into communities in need, students can practice their skills, learn with experienced woodworkers and artists, improve their communities, develop entrepreneurial skills, and foster a sense of accomplishment and pride.

In addition, the mobile woodshop can be used for art projects throughout the city and in the parks. We will encourage other non-profits to utilize our mobile woodworking facilities and offer them to city festivals, community projects, and disaster relief. The uses for a mobile woodshop are vast.

Washington is famous for its wide variety of trees, of which many were given as gifts by grateful nations. These precious trees are an extremely valuable resource we can’t afford to waste.

We are working with a wide range of stakeholders on this project, from government to the private sector and other non-profits and individuals.

We need your help.