ALLIANCE, Ohio – The University of Mount Union’s Green Raiders took second place in the first Canstruction event hosted by the Alliance Area Habitat for Humanity.

The event was held on Saturday, February 3 with teams competing at the Carnation City Mall. The Green Raiders raised the money to pay the $50 entrance fee and purchased canned goods necessary to build their structure.

For their design, the Green Raiders wanted to do something nature-related and decided to construct a tree design. It took the team 323 cans of green beans and corn to create the tree.

“The hardest part was keeping the cans stable,” said Mallory Glenn ’19, Green Raider and writing major from Bowling Green, OH. “Other teams, such as Lowe’s, used electrical tape to prevent the cans from falling. But we only used fishing line, which is less sturdy.”

Building a tree out of cans was not an easy task. The team took time to carefully prepare the design and plan out exactly how many cans, along with the type, they needed in order to build the structure.

“We raised the money, purchased the cans and practiced beforehand,” Glenn said. “Building the can tree took a lot of teamwork and communication. Even though we took second place to Lowe’s, I’m really proud of how we prepared and executed our plan in the competition.”

Jamie Greiner, the sustainability and campus outreach manager for Mount Union, decided to have the Green Raiders take part in Canstruction after hearing about what the event helped to support.

“The proceeds for the registration went to Alliance Habitat for Humanity and all the canned goods got donated to the Alliance Community Pantry,” said Greiner. “Both are wonderful causes in our community.”

The team consisted of six students: Glenn, Devin Farmiloe ’18, Megan Hoover ’20, Jared Marsh ’20, Sophie Ramsey ’19, and Jake Stallman ’18.

“The Green Raiders worked very well together as a team and had a fun time participating in Canstruction 2018,” Greiner said. “They look forward to the event next year.”

For more information about events related to the Green Raiders and sustainability, visit www.mountunion.edu/sustainability.