Quran Whatley sees a space he helped create with his own hands when he walks into work in the morning.
The 25-year-old graduated in 2018 from the previous version of Build it Green (BIG), the sustainable leadership and workforce development program run by green|spaces, and now serves as a leader in the relaunch in its new space on Glass Street.
After losing funding for the program at the beginning of COVID, green|spaces and Build Me a World redesigned the program to work with the AmeriCorps Opportunity Youth Service Initiative.
Team members receive a living stipend as they learn sustainable building practices and skills and then put those skills to work improving homes and neighborhoods.
Thanks to Glass House Collective’s knowledge of a local landlord who had an available space that needed repairs, the BIG team saw an opportunity not only to have a hands-on project but also a location where the members could serve as a resource for the surrounding community.
From sink installation to larger interior construction projects, team members have been working to bring their vision for the space to life.
Part of that community service involves a partnership with Glass House Collective, where the members work with neighborhood residents to make improvements, like the recent public street mural completed outside the Glass Street Gateway Save-a-lot.
More than workforce development
While construction work like insulation and repairs to improve energy efficiency requires technical skill, it also can take a lot of creative community problem-solving, Whatley says.
And, the Tyner graduate and budding photographer adds, developing those skills through BIG has sparked his interest in a career.
When he isn’t using his artistic eye for construction and team building purposes (after all, he says, building an A frame requires the same understanding of space as capturing a well-balanced photo does), he’s outside getting to know neighbors and offering solutions where he can.
“It saddens me to know that people in my city – especially people who have less control of their circumstances – know very little about the social, economic and environmental injustices they face,” Whatley says. “Those are the illusive monsters this program is trying to tackle.”
Whatley’s co-team leader, Dexter Talley, focuses on projects like decreasing air leakage in area homes by up to 50%, as well as homeowner outreach and education.
For graduating BIG team member Marlon Lykes, his passion for helping others combined with his woodworking skills translated into raised bed gardens, repaired mailboxes and other beautification projects for community members.
He’s now using his carpentry skills to work with multiple contractors that are repairing homes that were damaged during the 2020 Easter tornado in East Brainerd.
Lykes, along with LeBron Nash and Edward Whitlock, are the first graduates to complete the program since the move. Each also received a scholarship at the end of their service for continuing education.
Through his time in the program, Whitlock discovered his passion for environmentalism. Invasive species removal and other community land work became his specialty, and he and Nash now work at Hiwassee Building Supply, where his work helps reduce construction waste to a fraction of what exists at a typical job site.
“Our goal isn’t just sustainable building skills,” says BIG program co-director Christian Shackelford. “It’s about providing the necessary tools to build sustainable and resilient lives and communities.”
A community that cares
Building resilient communities is also a passion of BIG’s business neighbor, Jacquelyn Allgood-White, owner of All-Good Coffee Shop and Used Bookstore.
Allgood-White took over the family business her grandmother started in 2019 in the midst of COVID-19. While the decision was an unexpected one, she says, a deep desire to give back to the community that raised her fuels her every move.
“Having a coffee shop in any neighborhood is special, but especially in a community like ours, which is not affluent and is often overlooked, having comfortable public spaces for people to go is important.
“I love the work the Build It Green team does. What people need isn’t always glamorous. But having resources available to solve those personal problems for people in a community? That’s huge.”
Allgood-White says she knows many people view East Chattanooga as a place of need.
“I sometimes ask people who are dismissive of my childhood home and neighborhood, ‘If it’s so bad, what are you going to do to make it better?’”
As BIG works to fill the open team member spots and honor its three new graduates, Allgood-White is also looking forward from next door, celebrating the team members she’s come to know and providing space for connection and community conversation.
“The work they do is bigger than weatherizing homes and community curb improvements,” Allgood-White says. “It’s investing in them but also focused on investing in the people in them.”
“A very easy way to talk about community development is believing in people and giving them the tools they need to make a lasting difference,” agrees program co-director Chris Woodhull. “Each step we take brings us one step closer to achieving that goal.”
Learn more about BIG at www.greenspaceschattanooga.org/build-it-green-americorps-oysi.
Source: green|spaces