ISPM 15 and Sustainability

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History of ISPM 15

The International Stands for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15, referred to in the industry as ISPM 15, is an International Phytosanitary Measure developed by the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC). According to its documentation, the primary goal is to “reduce the risk of introduction and spread of quarantine pests associated with the movement in international trade of wood packaging material made from raw wood.” The language is comprehensive, covering all forms of wood packaging that serve as pathways for pests that could pose a risk to living trees.

The IPPC is a multilateral treaty signed into effect on December 6, 1951. As of 2010, 74 countries participate in the program. According to the IPPC, the “ISPMs provide globally harmonized guidance for countries to minimize pest risk without creating unjustified barriers to trade, ultimately facilitating their exports and imports of plants and plant products.”

How Wood Packaging Companies Comply

In North America, if a wood products company wants to export lumber then they must comply with the program. The most common way for companies to comply with ISPM 15 standards is by heat treating lumber. In order for lumber to meet these standards, the internal temperature of the timber must reach 56 degrees Celsius or 132.8 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes in a kiln. Certain types of lumber, such as plywood, oriented-strand board (OSB), and sawdust are exempt from these standards as they are exposed to the heat-treating requirements during the manufacturing process. The purpose of heat treating lumber to meet ISPM 15 standards is to reduce the risk of spreading wood boring insects.

Photograph by Wikimedia, distributed under a CC-BY 2.0 license

Photograph by Wikimedia, distributed under a CC-BY 2.0 license

Wood packaging companies that participate in the ISPM 15 program are assigned a stamp with a unique number and that stamp must be clearly applied to all products used in export. They must keep written logs of incoming heat treated lumber and any outgoing orders where the stamp was used. Compliance is monitored and enforced by third party companies that make unscheduled monthly visits to the wood products companies to ensure all rules and regulations are followed. Some of the largest North American inspection companies are Timber Products, Pacific Lumber Inspection Bureau, and West Coast Lumber Inspection Bureau and they work closely with the United States and Canadian governments. If a wood product company doesn’t follow the rules of the program, they can get their stamp revoked and they won’t be allowed to certify lumber products for export.

ISPM 15 and Sustainability

Lumber and other wood packaging companies across North America have widely adopted the ISPM 15 standards and these standards are intended to help protect our forests from wood-boring pests. According to ISPM 15 language, “Pests associated with wood packaging material are known to have negative impacts on forest health and biodiversity. Implementation of this standard is considered to reduce significantly the spread of pests and subsequently their negative impacts.” By adopting ISPM-15 protocols into the manufacturing processes and by achieving the high levels of industry compliance, the wood packaging industry will enhance its role as stewards of the resource, reducing the risk of spreading wood-boring insects which results in elevating the sustainability of the products we produce.

Resources

Successes of the Montreal Protocol

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The Montreal Protocol

This month marks the 26th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol, one of the most successful international treaties that has, among other things, reduced the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere. Forests are also critical in meeting the challenge of total emissions reductions through their ability to act as carbon sinks and safely remove carbon dioxide, CO2, from the atmosphere. Trees help the planet by absorbing carbon dioxide. They release the oxygen back into the environment and use the carbon internally, to produce sugars for growth. Trees continue to store carbon, keeping it out of the atmosphere for the duration of its use, and those benefits are extended when those wood products are recycled time and time again. For more resources on the sustainability of North American forests, visit the reference section at the bottom of this page.

History

The ozone layer acts as a shield to protect Earth and all the plants and animals within it from ultraviolet radiation. In the 1970’s, scientists learned that chlorofluorocarbons, or CFC’s, had been migrating to the upper atmosphere, depleting the ozone layer.

Photo attribute: Photograph by NASA, distributed under a CC-BY 2.0 license

Photo attribute: Photograph by NASA, distributed under a CC-BY 2.0 license

The scientists involved in the initial discovery, Mario Molina and F. Sherwood Rowland, went on to receive the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work concerning the formation and depletion of the ozone layer. However, during the 1970’s, CFC’s were commonly found in household products like hairspray and deodorant. Years later in 1985, scientists discovered that the Antarctic ozone hole, a layer of ozone above the Antarctic, had been shrinking at higher rates than they originally calculated and it was proved that the widespread use of CFC’s had caused it. The international community responded with the Montreal Protocol to eliminate the production and sale of ozone-harming substances.

According to the United Nation’s Environment Programme, below are some of the successes of the Montreal Protocol

  • The ozone layer is recovering. It should return to pre-1980 levels by the middle of the century
  • It has helped the global community avoid millions of cases of fatal and non-fatal skin cancer, and cataracts
  • As of 2010, the consumption and production of ozone depleting substances has stopped
  • It became the first treaty to be universally ratified

Paris Agreement of 2015

Since CFC’s and other ozone depleting substances are also global warming gasses, the reduction of one helped reduce the other. However, there’s still work to be done. Scientists estimate that the size of the Arctic ozone hole won’t return to pre-1970 levels until the middle of the 21st century, so the full impact of the Montreal Protocol might not be realized for at least another forty years. Moreover, the planet is still warming. At the Paris Climate Conference in December of 2015, 195 countries agreed to a global action plan that will limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius. This historic breakthrough is the result of nine years of United Nations diplomats working together to stop global warming, requiring action from all countries. In an interview, the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon said, “For the first time, we have a truly universal agreement on climate change, one of the most crucial problems on earth.”

Resources

Finding Pallets for DIY Projects

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Finding Pallets for DIY Projects

In the United States its estimated that there are more than 4 billion pallets in circulation yet about 100 million still end up in landfills. One growing trend that has helped keep pallets out of landfills is using them for do-it-yourself (DIY) projects. Pinterest is flooded with creative ideas to inspire alternative uses for wood pallets. People make things like planter boxes and shelves and even using recycled pallet boards to make beautiful custom home flooring, as featured in our post Pallets Inspire New Markets, New Products.

Where to Find DIY Pallets

Natures-Packaging-DIYThe most widely used pallet size in the industry is the 48×40 but there are hundreds of other custom-sized pallets in circulation every day that are thrown away near dumpsters. These usually make for great DIY projects. However, with its growing popularity, finding free pallets has become challenging and people are starting to source them from other ways. In fact, because they’re in such short supply, folks have started contacting their local pallet companies to buy pallets for their DIY projects.

People are finding that some wood pallet companies sell to the public and they’re excited to sell pallets to the DIY community. For them, it’s fun and it’s a great way to sell older, unwanted inventory especially if it takes up valuable storage space. One pallet company in California went as far as to open a new product line, using his resources to manufacture and sell finished DIY Christmas trees made from pallets. On the other hand, some companies have minimum order quantities for pallet orders because as wholesalers, they’re not equipped to sell to the public.

One thing pallet and crating companies can get behind is that finding alternative, creative uses for pallets is good because keeps them out of landfills and that’s good for the environment. It’s a fun way to help mother nature. There are many tools accessible online that will help you find the pallets you need for your DIY project.

Contact your local pallet company and ask if they sell to the DIY community. Below are some resources that will help:

Disassembling pallets for DIY projects can be dangerous. Remember to wear personal protective equipment to prevent injury. Instructions on how to safely dismantle a pallet are listed below, courtesy of the Canadian Wood Pallet and Container Association. For the color of your finished product to really stand out, it’s advised that you pressure wash the pallet with water and use sandpaper to remove impurities. Follow Nature’s Packaging on Pinterest today for inspiration and ideas on do-it-yourself pallet and crate projects!

Resources

What Happens After a Forest Fire

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Life Returns After a Forest Fire

Forest floors after a fire are ripe with nutrients to support new life. A natural part of the forests’ life cycle, plants and animals have adapted to survive and thrive after such fires.

Photograph by United States Forest Service, distributed under a CC-BY 2.0 license.

Photograph by United States Forest Service, distributed under a CC-BY 2.0 license.

Most animals flee from the initial scene of the fire but over time, they return. Certain types of wood boring beetles can detect a fire’s heat or smoke from more than 30 miles away. They are usually the first to arrive on scene of a forest fire. These types of insects are always present in the forest, living underneath the bark of trees, and their activities help burnt trees decompose.

Other animals that follow the beetle post-fire are woodpeckers, as some species feed on beetle larvae and other insects. Next to return are small ground animals, that will make homes out of shrubs that may have survived the fire. Once the population of small animals returns, coyotes will follow, thus over time reinvigorating the burnt forest with life.

Trees and other plant life have evolved ways to survive forest fires. They can re-grow from their leaves or needles, re-sprout from their roots, and some even have fire resistant seeds that will sprout after a fire. According to Dr. Peter F. Kolb of the University of Montana, their success depends on the intensity and duration of the fire. In other words, a fire that burnt at a high temperature for a long period of time could inflict the greatest damage to plant life and reduce survival rates.

Mountain Pine Beetle

The mountain pine beetle epidemic, which began in British Columbia and spread across western North America, has impacted an estimated 18.1 million hectares of forest in British Columbia. This beetle invades weakened trees, creating more fuel for future forest fires. The epidemic has spread into Wyoming and Colorado, which had been triggered by an extended drought in that area during the 1990’s and 2000’s.

According to Dr. David R. Coyle of the University of Georgia,

“Trees are pretty well-defended against bark and wood-boring beetles. Trees produce copious amounts of resin, and this acts to push beetles out of holes they may be making, and usually entombs the beetle. When a tree is successfully colonized by beetles, its usually because the tree is weakened by something, such as drought, fire, overcrowding, or poor genetics. The beetles may be the final straw, but most of the time the trees have to be weakened enough to allow a beetle to colonize it.”

Resources

 

(Photograph by USDA Forest Service, distributed under a CC-BY 2.0 license)

Fighting Forest Fires and Climate Change

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Fighting Forest Fires and Climate Change

Fire is a natural event that provides the following benefits to land once it has burned: cleans the forest floor, increases available water supply to the habitat, kills diseases, and supports new plant life.

Two members of the Idaho City Hotshots work on the Springs Fire on the Boise National Forest, August, 2012. Hotshot crews are the best of the best of wildland fire fighters. They have been extensively trained to fight fires in remote areas with little or no logistical support in the most demanding conditions. (US Forest Service photo/Kari Greer)

Two members of the Idaho City Hotshots work on the Springs Fire on the Boise National Forest, August, 2012. Hotshot crews are the best of the best of wildland fire fighters. They have been extensively trained to fight fires in remote areas with little or no logistical support in the most demanding conditions. (US Forest Service photo/Kari Greer)

However, in recent decades forest fires have become larger and harder to contain. In the early and mid 20th century it was common policy to fight every forest fire. Today fire fighters called hot shots use different methods to fight fires. Methods for fighting fires involve one of three options: attack some of the fire, extinguish all of the fire, or let it all burn. Fires are usually allowed to burn provided that homes, buildings, or landmarks are out of harm’s way. In fact, the United States policy for forest fires that occur on federal land is to let it burn freely. If there is a forest fire that threatens private land, efforts will be made to protect that property and let the fire burn. On the other hand, if a fire occurs in an urban area, the fire must be extinguished.

Ways to Fight Fires

Airplanes will distribute fire retardant, which is usually dyed red so that it’s easier to see so pilots can drop it in a straight line. When applied, it reduces the intensity of fires and slows larger ones. It often includes salts like ammonium phosphate and ammonium sulfate, chemicals used in fertilizers. The retardant clings to plant life so it can restore after a fire. Buckets of water can also be dropped on fires to aid in the fight.

Hot shots who fight the fire at the front line use different methods. One way they fight the fire is through a pre-burn. A pre-burn creates a perimeter for the fire with fire, so that when the main fire arrives at the perimeter there’s nothing left to burn. Teams will dig trenches around the fire to disrupt it to prevent it from jumping. Additionally, they will clear brush in high-risk areas to prevent embers from spreading.

Forest Fires and Climate Change

In 2007, 60 Minutes ran an episode on forest fires which highlights some reasons why field experts believe forest fires have become larger and more difficult to fight in recent years. They give two reasons: poor public policy and warming global temperatures. In 1907, the United States policy for fighting fires was to extinguish all fires, everywhere. Because so much land remained unburned, this fuel buildup created conditions for the historically large forest fires we see today. In 1997, a large forest fire was considered a 100,000 acre burn and would occur 1-2 times per year. By 2007, 200,000 acre fires became the new norm and as of May 20, 2016, more than 1.5 million acres of land had burned in the United States.

Dr. Thomas Swetnam of the University of Arizona’s Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research notes that recent decades have been the hottest in over 1,000 years. This has increased the number of forest fires high in mountains, where they normally don’t occur. Warming temperatures in those regions that would historically hold snow pack are now dry and susceptible to fires. It seems that this could partly explain why forest fires have become more destructive in recent decades. Fires can reach higher elevations, giving them more terrain to burn.

Reference Links

 

(Photograph by USDA Forest Service, distributed under a CC-BY 2.0 license)

Forest Fire Prevention: Facts, the Public Campaign and Best Practices

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Forest Fire Prevention: Facts, the Public Campaign and Best Practices

The United States National Park Service estimates that in the United States, 90% of all forest fires are caused by humans and the remaining 10% are from natural causes. Humans can cause forest fires from campfires that are poorly extinguished and lit cigarette butts that are thrown into brush. The remaining 10% of forest fires are caused by either lightning or lava from an erupting volcano. Canada’s rate of man-made forest fire prevalence is much lower than the United States. The Government of Canada estimates that each year 45% of forest fires are caused by lightning, which accounts for up 81% of the total land burned per year, and 55% of forest fires are caused by humans. Canada’s Wildfire Information System provides a detailed weather map, highlighting forests and grasslands around the country that are at risk for fires, and providing up to date information regarding active forest fires.

The Wolverine Creek Fire located northwest of Lucerne, WA began on Jun. 29, 2015 and has consumed an estimated 25,000 acres. The fire was caused by a lightning strike. USFS photo.

The Wolverine Creek Fire located northwest of Lucerne, WA began on Jun. 29, 2015 and has consumed an estimated 25,000 acres. The fire was caused by a lightning strike. USFS photo.

In North America, the public campaign to prevent forest fires started in the 1940’s in the United States with Smokey Bear and is the longest-running public service advertising campaign in U.S. history. Since that time, Smokey Bear has become a North American symbol of forest fire prevention as he is widely recognized across the United States and Canada. Smokey Bear’s campaign has evolved from a series of posters and advertisements into active social media presences on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Forest fires that take place near heavily populated areas are by far the most dangerous because of the threats they make on human life and the subsequent property damage that can follow. The Fort McMurray fire of May 2016 in Alberta, Canada was caused by humans and is the costliest fire in Canadian history, costing insurers an estimated $3.58 billion Canadian dollars. In the United States, those charged with starting a forest fire can face heavy legal consequences. Keith Emerald was charged with starting the 2013 Yosemite Rim fire from a campfire on steep terrain. Although charges against him were dropped, he faced a 5-year imprisonment and minimum $250,000 fine. With the threat of jail time and heavy fines, Americans face harsh punishments for starting forest fires.  One practice used to prevent forest fires is to schedule a controlled burn, where land that is at high risk for fire is intentionally burned in a supervised and regulated setting. When properly executed, this can give forests the benefit of fire without posing risk to nearby communities or taxing public resources.

The problem remains that the majority of North American forest fires are caused by humans and this puts strain on our public’s resources. However, under the right conditions, fires can be good for the ecosystem because they leave behind an exposed canopy and fertile soil to promote new plant life growth. In fact, certain species of trees that have serotinous cones like certain species of California’s great sequoia and Canada’s jack pine need fire in order for their seeds to dry, open, and germinate to promote new life. New plant life and tree growth must be supported in order for North American forests to continue providing lumber for our future.

Referenced Links

 

(Photograph by USDA Forest Service, distributed under a CC-BY 2.0 license)

 

Mulch and Pallets: A Connected Life-Cycle

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Mulch and Pallets: A Connected Life-Cycle

Wooden pallets can be recycled many times over. At some point though their cargo-carrying days are over. However, that is not the end of the line. It is actually the beginning of a new life cycle for a different product: hardwood mulch.

An estimated 32 million yards of mulch are produced annually, providing a large market for an important by-product of recycled pallets. The mulch business, and a growing biomass and wood pellet market are quickly helping the industry approach the goal of zero wood waste to landfills.

It doesn’t hurt that wood chips from recycled pallets are increasingly the preferred choice of arborists. A 1990 study evaluated the landscape mulch potential of 15 organic materials, including wood chips. Wood chips were one of the best performers in terms of moisture retention, temperature moderation, weed control and sustainability. Coarse textured organic mulches, like wood chips, are also the least flammable of the organic mulches.

“Wood chips are available locally in many communities. Most sources are… made from recycled pallets and other discarded wood products. It is an ideal Master Gardener-recommended product.” Master Gardener 2007

Another key driver for the growing mulch market has been the surge in demand for colored mulch. Consumer demand, specifically for an opportunity to add a low-cost, high-impact curb appeal design statement to their home, has helped the colored mulch market grow during a very challenging residential market. The color preference varies by region with the primary earth tone colors of red, light and dark brown, and black in most demand.

The wooden packaging industry is helping deliver innovative new products from wood waste, adding value to homeowners and improving the environment. Talk about an impressive life cycle.

Art Underfoot-A Texas Story of Upcycled Pallets

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Pallets Inspire New Markets, New Products

Wooden pallets are typically the vehicle transporting products globally or locally. They carry products large and small – automobiles, tractors, building materials, pharmaceuticals, iPads, Smart phones, produce and other consumer goods.

Pallets are rarely seen as anything other than a transporter of goods. But at PalletCentral we are seeing a growing number of businesses looking at these platforms in a different way, and we’re not talking about stray pallet gardens shared on Pinterest or Etsy’s one-of-a-kind pallet wood creations. Below is one innovative use of pallet wood.

Art Underfoot: A Texas Story of Upcycled Pallets
Underneath all the layers of burnished coats of oil sealant lies a wood floor with a unique history. Wood that once moved the world, travelling across the globe until reaching its useful life and landing in one of many pallet yards in Houston, Texas, long associated with the city’s shipping industry, has now become art underfoot in a high-end home.

Wooden shipping pallets are typically a low-end commodity. Sometimes a pallet will get reused a few times before it ends up being scrapped or used as firewood. For Greg Schenck, president, Schenck and Company, custom wood flooring specialist in Houston, he had a better idea. He used inspiration from a ceiling while sitting at a bar at the Gage Hotel in far west Texas. The ceiling was created in a design common in southwestern construction and traditional pueblo architecture called “vigas” (round beams) and “latillas” (small straight sticks).

What Schenk thought would be a “cool floor if he could mimic the pattern on the ceiling” turned into a “labor intensive work of art.” The idea to use pallets came from seeing stacks of them at the local shipping yard. Once he made a sample for his showroom, he sold the floor. Their client was not concerned about the price; it was the look they wanted to create for their home.

Working with local pallet companies, Schenck said, “Everyone wanted to sell me new pallets. I only wanted to use the most damaged, most weathered pallets I could find. Those pallets have the most charm,” he added, “as long as they were structurally sound.”

Several truckloads of pallets later, Schenck denailed, disassembled and sorted pallet boards by color and wood species to get the right mix to create the floor. “With pallets, anything goes. You’ll get various widths, thicknesses and any species. I also wanted a good combination of colors in similar species.” He used mainly oaks – red and white oaks – and a mix of other hardwoods and softwoods.

All the boards were fumigated, and to maintain the weathered face of the boards, they were planed from the back to get a more consistent thickness. “We wanted to preserve as much character as possible but some of the boards had to be planed down so it wasn’t a trip hazard. Then some cuts on the board were distressed to match the rest of the floor,” Schenck added. On-site, the boards were glued to a plywood subfloor over the slab and face-pinned with headless pins. The “smoothing” process was accomplished with a nylon pad then a penetrating oil sealer was burnished into the floor.

The floor was extremely labor intensive and the client loved the floor so much that they bought the same flooring for their Texas ranch home.

The most appealing character of this wood floor is its history. Wood that once carried cargo from around the world or even transported local produce and pharmaceuticals makes a great story. Turning pallets into a finished flooring material is a great example of recycling, reusing or upcycling.

Pallets Move the World: Urban Coffee Farm

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Pallets Move the World: Urban Coffee Farm

Urban Recycling

Wooden pallets stood at the center of attention during the 17-day Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. Wood is a natural product that can be recycled, reused or upcycled in a variety of ways. Whatever you call it, the HASSELL design team used pallets donated from a local pallet manufacturer for the Urban Coffee Farm. As well as availability and cost-efficiency, the design team also selected the pallets to make a visual statement of the coffee story, understanding where the coffee they drink comes from and the journey made along the way – from plantation to café. At the conclusion of the festival, the pallets were returned to the pallet manufacturer.

About the Project

In March 2013 the Urban Coffee Farm and Brew Bar, designed by HASSELL architects, brought Australia’s Melbourne Food and Wine Festival visitors together in an engaging learning and social environment that responded to this year’s festival theme of earth.

The core building materials of the Urban Coffee Farm were shipping containers and pallets. These materials from the transportation industry were the inspiration for the design team, to remind us of the journey made by coffee beans – from jungle plantation to city cafe. The Tasting Café and educational presentation zones were housed in shipping containers, disguised by the sculpted terrain of planted shipping pallets and crates.

The young designers group at HASSELL took advantage of Melbourne Square’s iconic Red Stairs public amphitheater to create a terraced landscape to install their farm and cafe. The space was then filled with coffee trees to give visitors a glimpse of the story of coffee – from seedling to coffee cup – while wandering through the farm. The pallets and containers used in the landscape brought to life the story about coffee, inspiring coffee drinkers to think about its origins, production and transport.

HASSELL has succeeded in transforming this space into an innovative pop-up experience that not only delivered on taste but also on design. The design team celebrated the REUSE of objects in order to serve the urban culture their coffee. A total of 125 coffee trees from a disused coffee plantation in New South Wales were used on the Farm and were later sold to someone who will replant them in Victoria. Over 2,000 tropical plants used to create the jungle effect were given back to the nursery that donated them for the duration of the Festival.

About 1,500 pallets were also donated for the Festival. These pallets were returned to the owner when the Festival ended. The three Port of Melbourne shipping containers, refitted as a bistro and kitchen, were at the end of their useful life; this was their final destination.

ReThink Pallets

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ReThink Pallets

It took B sq. Design just 105 pallets, each 5” high, 40” wide and 48” long, to create the ultimate pallet garden for their annual installation at the Canada Blooms festival. The design firm wanted to do something different: rethink opportunities for humble pallets that extend their environmental life-cycle benefits. The clever use of pallets to create a small garden house and incorporating them as garden elements has given new meaning to uses for these common commercial shipping materials that would normally be shredded into mulch at the end of their traditional life-cycle.

At the end of the Canada Blooms festival, the entire installation was dismantled with the pallets returned to warehouses until their next useful life.

At the end of the Canada Blooms festival, the entire installation was dismantled with the pallets returned to warehouses until their next useful life.

B sq. Design firm is just one of many architect and design firms that PalletCentral has seen recently who are incorporating wooden pallets and using them in new ways at trade shows, in retail spaces, and in commercial and residential applications.

At the end of the Canada Blooms festival, the entire installation was dismantled with the pallets returned to warehouses until their next useful life.

Architects and designers are constantly challenged to think outside the box and create unique, cost-effective spaces for their clients. A natural option is incorporating wooden pallets into the design because they are often more readily available than other surface materials. The A.R.E. (Association for Retail Environment) is forecasting an increase in pop-up shops for retailers, industry and consumers. You will likely see wooden pallets increasingly incorporated into commercial projects across the globe. Send us your pictures of these unique and creative uses for pallets, or share a tweet to @palletcentral and we’ll feature more of these inspirational projects in the future.


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