Alan Todd, lecturer of religious studies at Coastal Carolina University and executive director of the Conway Architectural Salvage & Heritage Project, shared insight on his nonprofit restoration organization aimed to repurpose waste and reinvigorate the local Conway community.
With the goal of preserving the history of Conway and fostering a positive change to the environment, Conway Salvage volunteers deconstruct old buildings by hand to use leftover material for other projects.
Deconstruction, according to the Conway Salvage website, is the careful disassembly of structures to preserve building materials, an alternative to demolition. The group repurposes the gathered materials for sustainable construction and restoration of historic buildings.
Through deconstruction, the group kept over 700 tons of historic building material out of landfills to be repurposed. 650,000 pounds of wood has been used for historic preservation. They redirected 4,000 pounds of cinder block to the Burroughs and Chapin center for Marine and Wetland studies, and much more.
Volunteers dedicate many hours throughout the week while maintaining jobs and school. They are dedicated to bettering their local community, which makes the bond among Conway Salvage stronger.
“We have a chance to bring together a lot of people,” Todd said.
Todd’s desire to bring his community and its residents together heightened after encountering flyers discriminating against the Jewish community. His idea of a “broken world” pushed Todd to do what he could to encourage collaboration with those around him.
For Conway Salvage’s biggest recent project, volunteers spent the first three weeks of February dismantling the Henry Building on Church Street, a 6,700-square-foot barn that has been on the land for decades.
Frankie Feltmann, a freshman political science major, is one of the volunteers working with Conway Salvage. She recently participated in a building restoration project.
“It opened my perspective to what recycling really is. It’s not just plastic bottles and straws,” Feltmann said. “I really enjoyed it, and it made me feel good.”
Feltmann explained how the group went to the deconstruction site with various tools and started pulling nails out. She said they kept all the supplies from the structure, instead of throwing them into waste piles.
Conway Salvage hopes to create spaces for students that encourage traditional crafts and trades out of materials used in building restoration. The group keeps one-third of the material from restoration for their own projects.
Students and other residents in the surrounding area often support Conway Salvage, through volunteering or partnerships. Some student organizations with an interest in sustainability aided in the restoration process. While the group is not directly affiliated with university programs, they still seek to make an impact in the Conway community.
Todd and his volunteers seek support and acknowledgement, especially from students. Todd expressed how important it is for younger generations to gain insight on what is going on so that they may continue this positive aspect.
