#bldg61

We've selected the next #TreeOpp crew from the Bridge House Ready to Work program! Our format will be a little different from previous sessions. This fall, the crew will learn woodworking basics while helping prepare wood for public workshops.

“Once I found myself in BLDG 61, I felt instant captivation by the technology at our disposal. 3D printers, a laser cutter, and a shop dedicated to nothing more than creative inspiration of those who enter.” – Bryce, TreeOpp crew member. 

TreeOpp 

TreeOpp has been a difficult project to describe because there are so many components: trees, homelessness, woodworking skills, technology skills, selling products, holding workshops, and the list goes on. 

Above: Bryce learning as part of the TreeOpp crew.

While the TreeOpp project addresses dying public trees and homelessness, the real focus is on the future: new skills learned, opportunities, usable products, art, and ultimately creative ideas producing the tangible. 

When the Knight Foundation announced the City of Boulder won a Knight Cities Challenge grant for the TreeOpp project, there was excitement, along with unanswered and open-ended questions. 

We didn’t know if anyone who was transitioning out of homelessness wanted to learn woodworking. We didn’t know if anyone would want to buy art and products the crew created. We didn’t know how multiple city departments, local businesses and nonprofits would work together on this project. 

Creativity and community were the answers.

Community Connections 

Emily Messina, development director at the Bridge House, says people who are homeless don’t feel a part of the community – that the housed community doesn’t see them, and if they do, they see a homeless person, defining the person by his or her current circumstance. 

Art and creativity act as a connection for people who are transitioning out of homelessness to re-enter the community and connect in a way beyond the homeless/housed dichotomy. 

Above: TreeOpp community workshop

One unanticipated consequence of the TreeOpp program is how the crew joined the BLDG 61 maker community. Janet Hollingsworth, creative technologist at the Boulder Public Library’s BLDG 61 and TreeOpp instructor, said she was surprised to see TreeOpp crew members coming in on their own time to use the makerspace and interact with community members as collaborators – helping each other with projects. 

While this is a great benefit to the TreeOpp crew, it also adds social and economic diversity to the makerspace, which is a benefit to all. 

The TreeOpp crew interacted with the public outside of the makerspace as well. At the most recent Boulder County Farmers Market Artisan Show, the crew talked with the public all day about products created, using local, reclaimed wood, and the problems the community is facing with the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) infestation. These interactions focus on the future and showcase the crews’ abilities, talents and worth. 

Work and Creativity 

It takes a lot of work just to be accepted into the Boulder Bridge House’s Ready to Work Program. Applicants must first show a commitment to sobriety, have all their paperwork in order so they can be hired, and be ready to gain experience in the working world by being able to show up for work on time, follow directions and work as part of a team. 

While this is quite an endeavor in itself – especially considering the backgrounds many participants have experienced – their job prospects are slim after being incarcerated, homeless, or whatever challenges they have recently faced. 

Above: First TreeOpp crew working together

Many choose either picking up trash in parks or food service – necessary jobs that give them solid experience for future work. But, in addition to these jobs, a creative outlet is an integral part of the transition back to the housed and working community. 

Emily, at the Bridge House, says that while creative expression won’t solve homelessness on its own, it helps bring out participants’ talents, skills and interests and demonstrates them to the community – even if the participant isn’t a natural artist. 

Creativity and the TreeOpp Project 

TreeOpp crew members have showed up for the TreeOpp project enthusiastically and put their creativity to use immediately, encouraged by instructors and staff. Many crew members contributed their creativity towards the project – beyond building the products. 

One crew member, Shannon, came up with the idea of creating a butterfly to symbolize sobriety and new life and opportunities. 

Above: TreeOpp butterflies

Rico, another TreeOpp crew member, is a talented illustrator and has donated his drawings to the TreeOpp outreach efforts and used them for laser cutting projects. 

John, TreeOpp crew member and gifted photographer and videographer, created a video slideshow about the project from his perspective. 

Contributing to the Community 

Another benefit of the project is the opportunity for the crew to give back to the community by turning downed lumber into art and usable products. 

Crew member Dan said, “I'm a Boulder native looking to help the trees and learn a new trade.” After learning about the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) infestation, the crew was also in a position to educate the community and help address this community problem, while rejoining the community as a contributing member.

Above: TreeOpp May sale

Bryce, who once lived in a park in Longmont, been hired for some contracting work at BLDG 61 and continues to be a contributing member of the BLDG 61 team. 

by Andi Jobe

The TreeOpp crew, their instructor, a volunteer and the project manager set up shop on a beautiful, sunny day at the Boulder Farmers Market Artisan Show. 

By Andi Jobe

From the moment I heard about TreeOpp, I knew I needed to get involved with this project. It is the perfect mixture of my three biggest passions: the environment, social impact, and creative expression. This project takes two issues, dying ash trees (due to the invasive emerald ash borer beetle) and homelessness, and offers a creative solution.