Leahy speaks to PPH about woodbanks

Jessica Leahy, professor of human dimensions of natural resources at the University of Maine, spoke to the Portland Press Herald about woodbanks in Maine. Leahy, who researches wood banks, said that firewood is the only heat source for as many as half of the homes in parts of Washington County. Leahy told the PPH she hopes that she can support the expansion of the network of wood banks using a $62,500 U.S. Forest Service grant awarded to UMaine for the National Wood Bank Project, but she also hopes that people will not forget that there are structural issues in society that cannot be addressed solely by volunteers. “People should be able to afford basic elements of living — we can’t lose sight of that. We have to think about bigger, longer-term solutions than managing the crisis of people being cold this winter,” Leahy said. Yahoo News shared the PPH report.