Community builds 'living green wall' to combat pollution in Park DuValle neighborhood

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- People in the Park DuValle neighborhood are working together to combat pollution.

The community gathered Saturday to build a "living green wall," a 7-feet-by-30-feet wall made of succulents and moss, at the Southwick Community Center.

Once completed, the green wall will be installed on the west wall of the community center at 3621 Southern Ave. Its purpose will be fighting pollution, cleaning the air and cooling dangerous heat. Organizers said installing the green wall has about the same benefit as planting 275 trees.

"Heat plus pollution, we know what that does to the body; we know what that does to quality of life," said Brianna Harlan, an artist and one of the event's organizers. "So a project like this is just really exciting because this is a huge effort -- a huge, visible effort."

According to data from a Center For Neighborhoods news release, people in the zip codes near Rubbertown, including the Park DuValle neighborhood, "were nearly 31 to 35% more likely to develop lung and colorectal cancers in 2013 than those in other Louisville zip codes with similar median incomes because of pollutants."

Several of the chemical plants in Rubbertown, including American Synthetic Rubber Company and Zeon, sponsored the living green wall, which organizers hope becomes an educational site for environmental issues facing the community and a backdrop for future events.