Dave Bennink is the director of the Building Deconstruction Institute in Bellingham, Washington, where he and his team specialize in building materials reuse. He is a circular economy professional and an embodied carbon advocate, and is passionate about empowering others to embrace reuse as well.

The Deconstruction Institute explores cutting-edge techniques to advance the building material reuse industry. The reuse of building materials is a way to fight climate change, and part of their mission is to educate others about this process. Their training center is a catalyst for others to start their own independent world-saving reuse business, and part of the Institute’s mission is to prepare and inspire others to incorporate re-use when and wherever possible.

Since 1993, Dave and his team have been working to change the way we look at buildings that are scheduled to be altered or removed from a site. As he puts it, his team views these structures as resources to be harvested instead of liabilities to be landfilled.

Building deconstruction is a sustainable alternative to demolition that is rapidly becoming a mainstream choice for building removal. Dave and his team have deconstructed over 1000 structures ranging from 75 to 75,000 square feet, and they’ve worked in 43 states and 4 Provinces. When they originally started, it took 3 weeks to take down a 2000 square-foot home, but now it may take as little as 3 days. To the Deconstruction Institute, every building is like a "deconstruction lab" in which they can experiment and discover new techniques.

I’ve invited Dave to the show to discuss how and why he got into the re-use field, what he’s learned along the way, and what the future looks like for The Institute. This conversation is particularly timely considering the economic devastation wreaked by the pandemic.

About This Podcast

This show explores how the themes of nature, weather, climate, and environment interrelate. Visit the accompanying blog at www.ponderingskies.org

Dave on the job site. Photo by Andy BronsonOne of the many job sites where Dave and his team apply their expertise.A piece of furniture crafted from materials saved from one of Dave's jobs. This piece was made by Nicholas Hardrath of Urban Craftsman.Institute team members hard at work on a job site.

Adam Carlin is a social practice artist who lives and works in Greensboro, North Carolina. He is currently the Director of Greensboro Project Space, an off-campus contemporary art center that is part of the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. He is Director of Community Engagement for UNCG’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, where he creates and supports community-engaged programs and advances partnerships between the college and the community. He is also co-Founder and co-Director of Creek Colleges, an organization that creates schools on the banks of rivers, lakes, and creeks that are going through active restoration. His work often takes the form of institutes as artworks that enact projects which highlight under-recognized histories, idiosyncratic activities, and public dynamics. Participation and collaboration are integral to his practice, and he often works site- and situation-specifically. He received a BFA from California College of the Arts and an MFA in Art and Social Practice from Portland State University.

In this episode, we hear how Adam became an artist and what brought him to social practice as an art form, and we'll hear an explanation of what social practice is. He discusses why it is important for him to connect art, ecology, and community through projects and institutes that blur the lines between art production and everyday life. And we'll hear about his love for chickens.

About This Podcast

This show explores how the themes of nature, weather, climate, and environment interrelate. Visit the accompanying blog at www.ponderingskies.org

Participants gather for a Creek College session in which they poetically engage with the ancient adage: "You never step in the same river twice."

Participants gather for a Columbia Slough Creek College session near Portland, Oregon.

Dr. Carolyn Finney is a storyteller, author, and cultural geographer. Her work looks to develop greater cultural competency within environmental organizations and institutions, challenge media outlets on their representation of difference, and increase awareness of how privilege shapes who gets to speak to environmental issues and determine policy and action.

Her work is grounded in both artistic and intellectual ways of knowing - she pursued an acting career for eleven years, spent five years backpacking through Africa and Asia and living in Nepal, and eventually returned to school after a 15-year absence to complete her bachelors, masters degrees, and eventually a Ph.D.

She has been a Fulbright Scholar, a Canon National Parks Science Scholar, and she received a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in Environmental Studies. Carolyn has worked with the media in various capacities including the Tavis Smiley Show, MSNBC, and Vice News Tonight; she’s written op-eds for Outside Magazine & Newsweek; was a guest editor & contributor for a special section on Race & the National Parks in Orion Magazine; participated in a roundtable conversation with REI and The Atlantic; and has appeared in interviews with NPR, Sierra Club, Boston Globe, National Geographic, and The Guardian; and she served on the U.S. National Parks Advisory Board for eight years. Her first book, Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors was released in 2014.

In this episode, I talk to Dr. Finney about what sustainability means to her, how sustainability and environment became part of her work, and her unique approach in working both inside and outside of academia. She discusses how her scholarly work complements her creative artistic practice, and vice versa. We also get a glimpse into current and upcoming projects.

About This Podcast

This show explores how the themes of nature, weather, climate, and environment interrelate. Visit the accompanying blog at www.ponderingskies.org

Dr. Finney snaps a selfie for the podcast.

Artifacts gathered by Finney for use in her creative nonfiction book project.