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University of Montana Sustainability Project Garners National Attention
The University of Montana Forum for Living with Appropriate Technology (UM FLAT) has made UM the current spotlight campus on the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Web site at http://www.aashe.org .
UM FLAT, located at 633 S. Fifth St. E. in Missoula, is a student-run project that demonstrates the practicality of sustainable living with the goal of encouraging the development of efficient and affordable homes.
The project – which is supported by UM, student organizations and Missoula-area businesses and individuals – began in 2008 using two existing homes and a garage on land held by the University. It has become a model community center for sustainability and environmentally focused events and for exhibiting efficient building practices.
UM FLAT provides opportunities that challenge students to develop workable solutions that can be applied to life beyond the classroom. Students in UM’s Environmental Studies and the College of Technology’s Building and Energy Technology programs began monitoring energy use and resources in 2008. Today, volunteers and students in several UM programs work to remodel and adapt the homes and the garage, as well as the landscape, to incorporate sustainable technologies and practices.
Building components at UM FLAT include superinsulation, solar and wind energy, recycled and reused materials, straw bale construction, passive energy resources, native landscaping, sustainable gardens, a real-time energy monitoring system and more.
The project has grown to become not only a teaching resource, but also a student and faculty research forum for projects related to sustainable living. Workshops that involve the expertise and participation of the Missoula community are held at the site.
To learn more about the project, visit the UM FLAT Web site at http://www.umt.edu/umflat , call project coordinator Derek Kanwischer at 406-579-3244 or e-mail [email protected] .
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