Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Waitsfield, Vermont offers over 80 hands-on courses per year in design, construction, woodworking, and architectural craft and offers a variety of courses concentrating in sustainable design. Now in its 35th year, Yestermorrow is one of the only design/build schools in the country, teaching both design and construction skills. Our hands-on 1-day to 3-week workshops, certificate programs and semester programs are taught by top architects, builders, and craftspeople from across the country. For people of all ages and experience levels, from novice to professional.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Yestermorrow Instructor Bert Yankielun's Book Hits the Streets


Yestermorrow is excited to announce that instructor Bert Yankielun's book, How to Build an Igloo, and Other Snow Shelters is hot off the presses. Bert has been teaching the Igloo Design/Build course at Yestermorrow since 2004. He's been featured in a recent issue of Architecture Week with an excerpt from the book, and in 2005 his Yestermorrow class was featured in the NY Times Travel section. In his regular day job, Bert is an electrical engineer designing and using ground-penetrating radar with the U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory in Hanover, NH, or participating in scientific expeditions to Arctic Alaska, Greenland, and Antarctica. Yestermorrow will offer its annual 1-day Igloo Design/Build workshop on Saturday, March 1, 2008. The course is open to students of all ages and the tuition is only $50 per family.

Friday, December 07, 2007

Friend of Yestermorrow offers Internship in Ghana

This from Anthony Broese, a Yestermorrow grad from Australia who is doing some great community development work in Africa.

"I'm writing to inform you of the project commencing in January 2008 in Ghana. Basically the project is about peace building through food security. This means that it has many faces. Landscape design and restoration will be addressed through permaculture. There is also an aspect of peace building and conflict resolution and using art as a form of expression. I wanted to offer the opportunity to people interested in these issues to intern/ volunteer on the project.Within the scope of permaculture we will also address water and sanitation, and hopefully, if the right skilled people present themselves, building. We are in the midst of registering this as an NGO but in the mean time the project is also being run by the two other NGOs I am working with whom are registered. They are, Aliamos an Australian based NGO and Self Help Initiative for Sustainable Development (SHIFSD) a local Liberian NGO (we are working with the Ghanaian branch). "

For more information, contact Anthony directly at abroese@gmail.com.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

3rd Annual Exhibition and Sale

We are busy this week getting ready for the 3rd Annual Yestermorrow Exhibition and Sale: Art from the Yestermorrow Community. Once again we will feature an amazing lineup of artists from Yestermorrow's talented crew of instructors, interns, staff and board. Our Main Studio will be magically transformed next Saturday into an art gallery and we will celebrate with a public reception and opening with wine and cheese from 6-9 p.m. on Saturday, December 15th. The show will stay up for one week and is free and open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through the 22nd.

This year's show includes furniture from wood and metal, functional ceramics, photography, jewelry, watercolors, prints, wood carvings, stained glass, collage, light fixtures, mixed media, and oils. Featured artists will include Michael Sullivan, Benjamin Cheney, B'fer Roth, Yumiko Virant, Art Schaller, Monica DiGiovanni, Carl Bates, Dave Sellers, Robin Foster, Randy Taplin, John Anderson, Ted Montgomery, Carrie Burr, Dick Montague, Diana Nicholas, William Schnute, Larry Jacquette, Nadia Khan, Chris Gabriel, Anya Domlesky and Dan Wheeler.

This featured piece is stained glass by Nadia Khan, a former Yestermorrow intern from 2005. In addition to creating custom stained-glass pieces in her spare time, she is also a carpenter and treehouse builder.
Posted by Picasa

Monday, December 03, 2007

John Abrams Returns to Yestermorrow in 2008

After last year's "Thinking Like a Cathedral Builder" workshop with John Abrams from the South Mountain Company attracted nearly 30 students, we were thrilled to have him back on the schedule for 2008 to present another weekend workshop, this year entitled "Redefining Small Business". In John's words, this course is "a radical business primer full of stories, activities, and information about making everyday business a thrilling adventure" which covers everything from designing and building a business to issues of philosophy and practice, and will tackle employee ownership, growth issues, personnel issues, benefits, community service, multiple bottom line thinking, and long term business planning and succession.

You can view an 8 minute clip from a 2006 lecture by John Abrams' lecture here at Yestermorrow on Chelsea Green's website- check it out!

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Change is Good


A few weeks ago I attended in the first ever Behavior, Energy and Climate Change conference, hosted in Sacramento, CA, by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, the Precourt Institute for Energy Efficiency at Stanford University, and the California Institute for Energy and Environment at the University of California.

The conference, which sold out at 500 participants, focused on the work that so many of us do, without really knowing that we do it: figuring out what it takes to get people to change their use of, and attitude toward, energy. It turns out, that while many organizations and government entities spend their time on the front lines working through trial and error to implement programs that promote and encourage behavior changes, that there is a burgeoning scientific community spending their time studying what actually works and what doesn’t in terms of getting people to care about energy use and conservation, and the impacts of climate change.

Several universities and think tanks are using quantitative and qualitative research to refine messages and strategies targeted at encouraging individuals and communities to be more aware of the energy they are using and to reduce consumption. They're finding out some very interesting things about what motivates us to change.

We all know, at least on an intuitive level, that change can be perceived as risky, threatening and confusing; in other words, unwelcome and something to be avoided. Moreover, addressing global warming may seem like an insurmountably huge task, and many of us may believe that our individual actions won’t make a difference. As a result, countless people choose to do nothing. However, what scientists have learned is that even small changes can make a big difference.

Sure, we’ve been hearing environmental organizations say such things for years. But now there is research to back it up.

Swapping out one incandescent light bulb for one compact fluorescent won’t eliminate enough greenhouse gas emissions to save a polar bear. But what it will do is lead by example. Research has shown that our neighbors and friends are much more likely to take similar steps – and are even likely to attempt to “one-up” our own green measures – if they see that those around them have made those changes. This makes your one compact fluorescent turn into one or two in every house on your street, which turns into one or two in every house in your town, and so on. Therefore, if you make positive changes- even small ones- those around you are likely to make those positive changes as well, giving your small actions a huge multiplier effect.

So change is good… really good. Especially if you let your light shine and become a leader by example. We all know the famous quote by Gandhi “be the change you want to see in the world.” It’s more true perhaps than he even realized. Even small changes made by individuals can make a big, global difference.

To view the BECC conference program and presentations click here.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Step It Up II: Don't Be A Fool...Carpool

On Saturday morning November 3rd at 11:00 AM Yestermorrow will host our second Step It Up event. This one--the Pre-event, Local Lunch and Valley Carpool Rally--will start with some very short inspirational speeches; continue with a group picture and a local food tailgate feed; and end with carpooling to the max to get folks to the Step It Up II: Who are the Leaders in Montpelier. Check out what's going on at: http://stepitup2007.org/ and if our 05674 event is not in your neighborhood, find one that is!

Friday, October 26, 2007

Barn Raising Sunday October 27, 2007


Costa Rica class graduates Gillian and Russell Comstock are hosting a barn raising this Sunday at the Metta Earth Institute in Lincoln, Vermont. The structure composed of hand-hewn, on-site harvested timber and materials recycled from a post and beam barn will be transformed into one of the new buildings at their retreat. So come one and come all and help them raise their barn. For directions, details, contact information and to learn more about MEI visit: http://www.mettaearth.org/

We wish them well!

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Friends of Yestermorrow offer Thailand Workshops

Our friends at Seven Generations Natural Builders will be offering two natural building courses in Thailand this winter. Read on to learn more about these opportunities:




In less than a decade, earth building has been embraced by many Thai communities as an appropriate building technology---economically, environmentally, socially, and spiritually. The speed by which earth construction has been adopted, the community support and training, and the number of homes and structures built provides an outstanding example and inspiration for those of us in industrialized countries. These two two-week natural building courses in Thailand will bring together Thai and non-Thai students to work on the building of a kitchen and children’s play house at the Whispering Seed community. As a collaboration with Whispering Seed (http://sgnb.createsend3.com/t/1/l/dittu/ptljlt/www.whisperingseed.org ), a children’s home and community living and learning center on the Thai-Burmese border, students will spend two weeks learning the fundamentals of earth construction, gaining an understanding of the characteristics of different sediments (clay, sand, silt), and how to use a variety of techniques to create earthen building materials----from abode block, to cob, to wattle and daub, plaster, and more. The Thailand courses are unique in several respects: the student body will combine Western students and local Thai, Burmese and Karen students to facilitate cross-cultural experiences and learning; construction of a kitchen and children’s play building using earth and local resources at a Thai children’s home is one of the purest examples of the possibilities and benefits of natural building in bringing people together as a community to help others; unlike most cob courses in temperate and desert North America, students will learn techniques for earth construction in tropical and subtropical climates incorporating bamboo, thatch, and round wood carpentry. Tuition covers room and board at Whispering Seed, as well as subsidizes the Thai, Burmese and Karen students’ participation. Tuition for one of the two-week courses is $1000, for students that wish to enroll in both classes the total tuition is $1500. Enrollment is limited to 10 foreign students per workshop and because of travel/logistic issues the enrollment deadline is December 7, 2007. For more information, or to register, visit the Seven Generations Natural Builders website, http://sgnb.com/workshops.php.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Yestermorrow Featured in Seven Days

This week's Seven Days newspaper out of Burlington included a feature story on Yestermorrow entitled "Raising the Roof: A Waitsfield design/build school drafts post-carbon plans". Check it out at: http://www.sevendaysvt.com/features/2007/raising-the-roof.html.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Fly South for the Winter


Do you want to find a warm place to learn this Winter? Are you dedicated enough to take Yestermorrow's longest class? If you answered both of those questions in the affirmative you should consider Design/Build in the Dominican Republic running from January 3-2o, 2008. But you better act now because spaces are limited and the deadline for this popular class is November 16th.
So what does that have to do with the building at right? This is a tea house built here in Warren by Sandy Lawton who is one of the course instructors. To see more of pictures of this wonderful structure please visit: http://picasaweb.google.com/arrodesign/BlackTreehouseCompletedProject
And think seriously about hanging out with Sandy and Kyle Bergman in the Dominican Republic. You will be very glad you did!

Thursday, October 11, 2007

THANKS!!!!!!

Thanks to our loyal students and blogsters (I have no idea if that is a word) Yestermorrow seems to be maintaining a comfortable, fifty-three percent lead in the Yert.com Vermont video choice poll. That means that the Yertians (also not sure this is a word) will be issuing a new video that will feature more on Yestermorrow. Stayed tuned, but until then, here is a new link for the current Yert video with Yestermorrow clips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM09pV05DV0

as well as the link to Yestermorrow's own video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5amc7ULrOkg

It’s Not Your Daddy’s Factory Built Home

It is often wondered whether people of normal means can afford a truly green, energy efficient house designed by an architect for their lifestyle and their particular site – especially if that site is in the snow-belt. Five Vermont architecture firms have spent over a year studying this question and their explorations have revealed the remarkable potential of factory built homes.

Five different design solutions were created for an actual 3-acre site in Manchester, Vermont. All went beyond the highest Energy Star rating and some even met the highest LEED rating (US Green Building Council’s national metric for green buildings). Designs ranged in cost from $75/s.f. to $200.00/s.f. depending on the size and number being built. While most designs were around 2500 s.f., some studio designs are as little as 800.

These designs will be on display at the Burlington’s City Hall in the Metropolitan Gallery Nov. 1 thru Nov. 15. Additionally, on November 7th at 5:30 pm, there will be a special presentation and panel discussion led by the architects and manufacturers of the projects. Refreshments will be served and there will be printed information available for those interested in green, affordable housing.

This effort is organized under the auspices of the Vermont Chapter of the Congress of Residential Architecture (CORAvt) and sponsored by CSI, RK. Miles Building Supply, Hastings Inc. and others.

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Congrats to Bill Maclay and NRG Systems


Congratulations to long-term Yestermorrow board member Bill Maclay and his architectural team for having their design for the NRG Systems building in Hinesburg, Vermont selected as the cover photograph for the fall 2007 issue of Northeast Sun. The magazine which is published by the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association is one of our favorites--as are Bill (whose office is constantly helping us with the campus plan and far too frequent printing assistance) and NRG's co-founder David Blittersdorf (who spoke here during our summer lecture series). Congratulations and many thanks to both of you for supporting Yestermorrow and having the collective vision to produce a work environment that not only produces 70% or so of its own power but also supports programs that reduce the collective carbon footprint of those that work in this cutting edge structure.

Monday, October 01, 2007

Green Shirts Invade Yestermorrow

Ten young people from the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps recently descended upon Yestermorrow as part of the perfect barter arrangement. They were seeking cob building skills, Yestermorrow was seeking laborers to help finish a cob garden wall. Five days later and voila: the cob wall is much closer to completion, and the VYCC'ers are now cob-handy. Gotta love it!


Too much fun!



I'm muddier than you.


Next generation of natural builders.


Crew chief Josh says, "Awesome! Less work for me."



The garden wall, closer to completion.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

How Can We Make Everywhere Vermont?

Ever wonder why Yestermorrow evolved in Vermont and not somewhere else? Part of that question is answered in the video below. The short clip shows that Vermont is a veritable hotbed for sustainability. We rock in that regard, but the good news is that we also wish that we could export this valuable commodity as far and as fast as possible. So take a gander at the video and ship it far and wide. And vote for your favorite segment. (Hint: From our perspective, Yestermorrow would be a choice).

http://blog.yert.com/2007/09/22/new-video-yertpod10-seeding-is-believing-in-vermont/

Also, take some time to follow the travels of the YERT team. Invite them into your homes and let them tell your stories of sustainability.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Cobbers of the Future

This just in from Certificate in Sustainable Building and Design student Stacey Corbin: "I thought you might enjoy these pictures from this past weekend at Yestermorrow.
Beatrix Holloway took the Intro to Cob class with Tim and Andy earlier this month. This past weekend she drove her entire family back to Yestermorrow to volunteer on the garden wall for a day of cobbing. We spent the day teaching everyone about cobbing, mixing, building, and getting nice and dirty. Now the wall has a few more inches of cob on it as well as even more beautiful joy and energy in there...good times! I thought you might want to use the pics of the kids for the blog to show people neat things like this that happen at Yestermorrow on what seems like a regular basis."






Wednesday, September 12, 2007

yestermorrow moments





there are some pretty sweet visuals here at yestermorrow, in some unexpected places. these pics were taken one quiet wednesday afternoon.

Monday, September 10, 2007

The house of my dreams









During the summer of 2006 I decided to begin investigating the home building process. I had a nice, sunny building spot that was ready to go and needed to look at all of the different ways I might transform this piece of land into a place to call home.

I'm the bookkeeper at Yestermorrow, so this has given me a great opportunity to talk with instructors and students, and to also be on the cutting edge of new construction techniques that come along.

First I took Danny Sagan's "Green Home Design" class and found out about materials to use for my home - local lumber, asphalt shingles and cement slab v.s. dug foundation. I sketched out a floor plan that was efficient and compact. I looked through Danny's extensive collection of books and magazines and learned about a wide assortment of green home characteristics.

Next, I signed up for Robert Riversong's week-long class on "The Super-Insulated Home". His technique used the "larsen truss" system where the walls were a foot thick, and blown-in cellulose insulation provided the home with an envelope of protection from the frigid Vermont winds and the hot summer sun. The foundation would be a frost-protected insulated slab with radiant heat tubing to keep my toes warm all winter and a terra-cotta color would be added to the cement to give a beautiful finish to the floor surface.


I was very impressed with Robert's knowledge with the building system he has spent years developing, so asked him to help me come up with a design that would work for me, and then I wanted him to get a crew together and build my new home.

The final house plan, which was a result of many hours of work, has the first floor (approximately 1000 sq. feet) completely self-contained and handicap accessible with a mud room/laundry room, kitchen, dining room, bathroom, office nook, and living room with a wide window seat. I'll be able to close off the upstairs if I don't need to use the two bedrooms and extra bath up there. I also rent out rooms to Yestermorrow students, so if you are looking for lodging, I'm Chez Carol on the on-line registration page.

Addditions to this blog will happen when I have more time available, but for now, please see the photos of some different stages of the construction, and feel free to visit the house-in-progress! Go up the Sugarbush Access Road in Warren, take the second right (Lower Pines Road) and keep going until you see #168 on the right. If you want a tour, please give me a call at (802) 496-3153 and I'd be happy to take you through my new home.



Friday, September 07, 2007

2 Chances to Own a Piece of Architectural History--The Dimetrodon


Many Yestermorrowites have toured them. Many of the Prickly Mountain babies grew up in them. And now ordinary people have a chance to own a unit or two in this early '70s experiment in communal living. Check out details on the units below:

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Yestermorrow Solar Trailer Marches for a Better Future


Fresh from its award-winning performance in the Warren 4th of July parade, Yestermorrow's ever popular solar trailer made another public appearance--this time in New Hampshire. Look close at the picture above and you will see the brave little trailer's solar panels peaking out from the back row. The solar trailer is surrounded by marchers from New Hampshire participating in a foot-powered plea to cut fossil fuel use and encourage the use of renewable energy. The walk was part of the Step It Up effort. Let's hear it for fossil freedom.

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Natural Building Intensive Open House


Dear colleagues, students, friends, and neighbors,

We would like to invite you to an open house at Linda Lloyd's garden folly on Friday, August 10. This project is the culmination of Yestermorrow's inaugural Natural Building Intensive program, and embodies the design creativity, imagination, sweat and labor of several dozen students and multiple instructors who have put their energy into the project since mid-May. Eight students in particular signed on for the entire project---from start to finish---and will be recognized on the 10th with a graduation ceremony. The Natural Building Intensive enabled these students and instructors to bring together stone, wood, earth, and straw to create a beautiful, whimsical structure.

Please come and join us from 4-6pm as we celebrate our work and community.

Directions to the site: from the center of Warren Village, cross the covered bridge, turn left and the garden folly will be on your immediate right.
About the project: one of the students has created a blog to document the process, with lots of photos, which you can view at: http://townsquarecreative.com/naturallybuilt/.

Questions? Call the Yestermorrow office at 802-496-5545.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Fossil Free Chariot Wows 'em at July 4th Festivities

Yestermorrow staff and interns, along with some help from the Mad River Sustainability Group (MrsG) put on a dynamic show before 10,000 spectators lining the parade route during Warren, Vermont's infamous 4th of July Festivities.

The parade theme, "Fueling the Future," prompted a variety of energy-related floats, but Yestermorrow had the upper-hand, entering the float conceptualization phase with a prime prop in it's back pocket: the school's solar powered portable generating unit. Some creative thinking by MrsG head Nils Behn got things rolling and the unit quickly was transformed into the "Fossil Free Chariot."

Interns Keith Case, Shirn Kier and Bo White, after much head scratching, then designed and built a yoke with which to harness the trusty steeds for effective chariot pulling. Costumes and capes fashioned by staffer Monica DiGiovianni provided the finishing touches.

But what was the message, you ask? That's where the drama kicked in. The chariot, fueled by the peddle powering Eco-Warriors, is attacked by King CONG (that's Coal, Oil, Nuclear, and Gas) accompanied by his evil atom girls (DiGiovanni and intern Meredith Bridges). Fended off by Captain Yestermorrow (executive director Bob Ferris) and MrsG's Volt Man (Dennis Derryberry), CONG (Kier) reaches into his bag 'o tricks and pulls out copies of the Constitution and Bill of Rights, which he promptly feeds into a paper shredder powered by the solar chariot.

Good drama is all about the symbolism....

The judges offered up the prestigious "Best Bicycle" award for their efforts.
The Fossil-Free Chariot races toward renewable energy future.
Evil King CONG threatens the eco-warriors.
Encore!

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Former Intern Wins Tri-State Prize

Jessa Turner (Summer 2006) translated life experiences and her time at Yestermorrow into prize money and fame this past May. Congratulations, Jessa! To learn more about what she did to win visit: http://www.berea.edu/bcnow/story.asp?ArticleID=1021 She is living the Yestermorrow life and making the world a better, more sustainable place.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

I Don't Want Another Stinking Tie!


Fathers around the world are united in their frustration regarding Father's Day gifting. We at Yestermorrow have a solution: Why not let old dad pick out his own gift from among Yestermorrow's upcoming classes? So stop looking at that golfing sweater with matching argyle socks and get your father a Yestermorrow gift certificate. Just think about the fun the father in your life will have when the new catalogs come out in mid-July. Check out the options below.

www.yestermorrow.org/gift.htm

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Yestermorrow Gets Active for Energy

Dear Yestermorrow Community:

I think it goes without saying that we are in a pickle when it comes to energy, global warming, and a whole host of other issues that revolve around or are related to the way we design and build our homes and communities. The problems are so serious and widespread that the Yestermorrow Board decided that the school could no longer stand on the sidelines and grumble. We took the extraordinary step last Friday of changing our by-laws to allow the board, staff and instructors to lobby where appropriate and needed.

Our first official action under this new regime is to call on Vermonters to contact Governor Douglas and ask him not to veto H-520 which is a key piece of legislation that would provide increased incentives and assistance to promote energy conservation and renewables. It is not a perfect bill, but is one that was fairly negotiated and endorsed by groups such as Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility.

We hope that Governor Douglas will listen to reason and take this action that helps all Vermonters take the right steps for our planet and our children. If he does not listen, then there will be an effort to override the veto in the legislature. Contact the Governor now at the below link and also let your local legislators know how you feel.

http://www.vermont.gov/governor/contact.html

Let's lead the way so that others may follow,

Bob Ferris
Executive Director

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Congrats to the Treehouse Crew

Friday marked the grand opening of the handicapped-accessible treehouse at Nay Aug Park in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Designed and led by Yestermorrow instructor Eyrich Stauffer, the building crew included former Yestermorrow interns Nadia Khan, Christian "Cowboy" Peterson, Jon Mingle, Nick Donowitz, Lauren Faulkner-Duncan and Peter Buley as well as YM alumni Andy Felice and Chris Casey. The Scranton treehouse marks the 14th treehouse completed by Forever Young Treehouses, an organization which has worked in close collaboration with Yestermorrow since its inception.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

New Meal Program is in Full Swing

That's right. We're living the high life here, eating 3 fabulous home-cooked meals a day!

No more hunting for ingredients at the local convenience store. No more lunch orders from the cafe down the road. No more gridlock in the self-service kitchen.

Instead, you get chatty Heidi, cooking up delicious meals using home-grown, local and organic ingredients (as much as she can get her hands on them). You get not-quite-so-chatty chef's helper Austin, and kitchen/garden intern Bradley, helping prepare those meals and foster the growth of those seedlings that will be plump tomatoes and succulant squashes come summer. You get brand new dining tables and benches, designed and lovingly built by our recently departed spring intern crew. You also get time and space to chat with your instructors and co-students, while munching away.

What could be better?

The author, astounded at the quality of the food.


Chef Heidi and some happy students.


Yum!

Friday, May 04, 2007

Bergman Goes Broadway


We always knew that Yestermorrow instructor Kyle Bergman was much more that just an architect. Now the talented Kyle can add Broadway producer to his resume as well, because he and his director brother Evan are collaborating on a play about seminal architect Mies van der Rohe. This is big doings and even got Kyle some ink in the New Yorker. Congratulations Kyle and Evan!

Check out the New Yorker article.

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2007/04/30/070430ta_talk_goldberger

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Yestermorrow Debuts on YouTube

In our efforts to expand our reach in cyberspace, Yestermorrow posted our first video on YouTube.com (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5amc7ULrOkg). Please check it out and then send the link on to your friends or post it in other blogs. Let people beyond our community know about the school and what we are doing here and through our international programs. Enjoy!

Friday, April 20, 2007

Yestermorrow Does Multiple Scene Changes

Anyone who has worked behind the scenes in a play or other major production should have a pretty good idea of what it is like here at Yestermorrow. But instead of putting on one play, we at Yestermorrow seem to be undertaking the complete works of Shakespeare or some equivalent feat.

In Ring One, we have the mad dash to get our new food program up and running, with interns flying to and fro building tables and cabinets with greatly appreciated help from cabinet-making tutor extraordinaire Randy Taplin. There is a lot to get done and no one knows from one moment to the next whether they will be working with potting soil (tending to our seedlings) or joint compound (patching walls after plumbing new sinks).

And then there is getting the dorms ready for the new season. We’ve got a whole lot of scrubbing going on to make everything fresh. This is spring cleaning on steroids and no one seems exempt from the labor.

In Ring Three we have everyone manning computer terminals and adding student records in preparation for Yestermorrow’s foray into the realm of electronic registration. All ten of us (staff and interns) preloaded the system with over three-hundred students to prime the digital pumps and get the bugs out prior to going live in the next couple of weeks.

Ring Four deals with our nascent attempts at advocacy and community organizing via providing a supporting backbone for the Mad River Valley Step It Up 2007 event and the whole 7 Days for the Earth series. The latter includes a Valley-wide values exercise and a visioning session. The events involve dozens of speakers and panelists, a handful of insightful movies and much, much more.

And through all of this we have still had time to meet with the team from Conway School of Landscape Design who will be helping us with our campus master planning process and running public charrettes for us on April 28th and June 2nd. And we still made time to ogle at all the really cool hand planes and other woodworking tools donated to us by Lee Valley-Veritas (www.leevalley.com). These are very cool additions to our shops, and many tool heads here are still drooling when they think of these finely crafted beauties in action.

All in a day’s work here at the Yestermorrow circus.

Monday, April 02, 2007

Natural Building in Costa Rica

Our Natural Building in Costa Rica class just concluded its fifth year at Rancho Mastatal. This year's project was a timber framed structure built with local wood. You can view many photos from the class on our Snapfish group site: www.yestermorrowdesignbuildschool.snapfish.com.

Monday, March 12, 2007

Yestermorrow Faculty Featured in Dwell Magazine Video Webisodes


Yestermorrow instructors Hannah Purdy and Nick Moons are featured in the current series of "Webisodes" on the Dwell Magazine website (www.dwell.com). In this short video series, Dwell follows a New York couple with a passion for building green through the challenges—and triumphs—of renovation, from finding the design-build team to finalizing the design. Watch for the rest of the 10-part series in the weeks to come.

Friday, March 02, 2007

Playhouse Escapes Shop!

Today, on the last day of the Home Design/Build class, the class project (a small playhouse for a local preschool) was liberated from the shop. Despite the snowstorm and some very close maneuvering with a skidsteer (thank you Steven!), it made it outside and into the Arches where it will be picked up soon for transport to Fayston.
Check it out!




Thursday, February 22, 2007

Yestermorrow Video Featured on Sustainable Route

Check out a short 3-minute interview with Yestermorrow Outreach Director Dan Eckstein on Sustainable Route, a project by two recent Bennington College graduates who are travelling the country to explore the 'sustainable' movement. (p.s. you'll need the latest version of QuickTime to view the video).

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

interns outfoxed again


Last weekend was host to the parent/child woodworking course at Yestermorrow. The interns heads were left slack-jawed by the prowess of the youth and their crafty inventions.
Tony and Peter hope to catch up to the skill level of these youngsters by the end of our internship.