“The future starts today, not tomorrow.” Pope John Paul II
On our way home recently from attending reviews of Masters projects at the UNL College of Architecture my family and I stopped at South Bend to cross the Platte on the Lied walking bridge. It was a wonderful Spring afternoon; sunlight glistened on the water as migrating geese landed along the bank.
Near the far shore we noticed a lone goose, obviously ill, its head leaning far to one side.
Upon seeing us the goose raised its stately head one last time. It stared across the river at its brethren, crying out softly. As we turned away it laid its head down on the sand to resume its slow, inconspicuous death.
The dying goose stood in stark contrast to the promise of Spring as well as the promise we’d seen in Yaravi Lopez-Wilson’s and Jake Slobodnik’s Master’s projects. They are two of a number of UNL architecture students who have embraced “re-pioneering” rural Nebraska. Jake had addressed the silent problem of rural homelessness while Yaravi had developed a dwelling that included an integrated subterranean greenhouse allowing a family to produce its own fresh vegetables year-round.
Headed by Dean Wayne Drummond, the UNL College of Architecture is widely respected for helping communities not just in Nebraska but nationally. It assists many communities with design and development challenges and was among the first institutions to respond to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
In rural communities more and more buildings sit empty because it’s become too expensive to heat and cool them. Generally, over its lifetime it costs about eight times as much to maintain the average building as it cost to build it. And with energy costs only increasing this problem will grow. So communities in Boone County have turned to the UNL College of Architecture for assistance with conserving energy in both new constructions and in renovating existing structures.
Under the direction of German eco-architect/professor Martin Despang, 4th-5th– and 6th– year UNL students have been working with residents in Albion, St. Edward and Petersburg to identify community needs and develop sustainable, affordable and aesthetically pleasing solutions using locally-available materials.
When viewing the students’ designs one is struck by the realization that the future has arrived. At a reception in December showcasing the first phase of this work, Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman called the creativity, diversity and innovation of the designs “absolutely amazing.” Intended to compliment the character of small towns, the designs provide a foretaste of what the successful rural community of tomorrow will look like (one visitor said the designs were so exciting they gave her “chills”).
Governor Heineman also remarked that this project is a great example of Nebraskans utilizing the talents of our creative, educated young people to deal with the challenges of rural life. Much is heard about “brain drain” – educated young people leaving our state taking their much-needed skills with them. The perception is that young people aren’t interested in rural areas. But the UNL/Boone County partnership is demonstrating that this isn’t the case. There are many bright young people who, when provided the opportunity, are diving head first into “repioneering” our state.
There are many ways for colleges and rural communities to collaborate. Ord, for example, is partnering with Central Community College in Columbus to educate aspiring entrepreneurs. There’s talk of college engineering departments partnering with wind farm communities to train students in the burgeoning field of green energy. But this won’t happen overnight; it’s going to take active and sustained involvement on the part of rural residents to bring this about.
Returning home filled with fresh ideas and enthusiasm I couldn’t help but think about the difference between the outlook at the College of Architecture and that of many rural communities. Like that dying goose they’ve fallen behind their healthier counterparts. They may raise their heads for a moment when attention is directed their way but too often lie back down afterwards to continue their prolonged demise.
The resources necessary to revitalize rural areas do exist. Ultimately, though, it is up to rural residents to utilize them. Finding ways to involve our best and brightest young people in this process is crucial – not only do they possess much-needed skills, their input will help communities reshape themselves as attractive places for young people to live and work.
As the UNL students are demonstrating, young people have much to offer rural areas. They are our future, and as the Masters projects at UNL clearly demonstrated, that future is already upon us.