WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A local college student says her capstone project in her Sustainability Technologies class was inspired by nature.

Cape Fear Community College student Leigh Humphries chose hemp as a building material to construct a doghouse for her capstone project.

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She says her favorite thing about this is educating people on hemp and its versatility.

“I took it to the Earth Day festival. People were excited to learn about it, as excited as I was. Again, not only the environmental benefits but all the health benefits and people want to be able to live in buildings that are you know safe for them and the environment,” Humphries said.

Hempcrete is created by mixing the hemp core or ‘shiv’ from the hemp plant with a lime-based binder. She says this substance not only creates a negative carbon footprint, but it is also easier and more versatile to work with than standard concrete.

Humphries says she worked on this project for four months and she got an A+ on it.