Here We Go! Carbon Shredders

Boy is it hot. The fudgecicles are being passed out in the office as I am packing up catalogs, writing an op-ed for Thursday's valley paper and anxiously getting ready to plop myself and my wife on a non-air-conditioned bus powered by veggie oil, bio-diesel and good intensions.

We are heading to Bonnaroo to sell folks on the need to change the way they live and come up to Vermont to Yestermorrow to learn how to do that with buildings and communities. We are going to hang out in the heat and humidity with 80,000 other souls, including 14 employees from Seventh Generation and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters who will help Jasna, Gregor and Carlene, and I staff our both at PlanetRoo. (Oh Yeah and we might even hear some music from the likes of Jack Johnson and Metallica!)

So come see us at Bonnoroo or live vicariously through our blog postings or the Bonnaroo website as well. And visit the Solar Bus site as too because you might just see a picture of instructor supremo Skip Dewhirst on that solar powered site.

Way to Go Elizabeth!!!

It is wonderful to see our students do well. And Elizabeth has done very well. Congratulations on this article that appeared in The Eagle-Tribune on June 4th. And given Yestermorrow's strong current and historic ties to Yale and the fact that my father is also a graduate of the Governor's Academy (nee Governor Dummer) make it even nicer. We look forward to seeing more of this series!

Bob Ferris

TINY HOUSE: Wanted: 132 square feet of home Governor's Academy alumna has blueprint for a project that's warm, green — and snug

By Victor Tine, Staff writer

This is going to be one busy summer for Elizabeth Turnbull.

The 2000 graduate of The Governor's Academy in Byfield is working "almost full time" for O'Neil Fine Builders of Beverly, a build-and-design company. And she's also building the house she will live in when she goes to graduate school at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., in August.

The thing is, she's building the house in Byfield. On the grounds of her alma mater. On a flat-bed trailer. When she's done, she's going to haul it down to New Haven and find a place for it to go.
It's going to be tiny — the interior living space will be just 7 feet, 4 inches wide by 18 feet long, or 132 square feet. That's a snug fit for Turnbull, who is 5 feet, 113/4 inches tall.
And it's going to be green — energy efficient and environmentally friendly.

"I am going to be studying urban ecology and environmental design and, without sounding too hokey, I'm interested in living that experience," Turnbull said. "This is an opportunity."
"Also, I don't love the idea of paying rent," she said.

She has set up the used trailer she bought at the academy's maintenance area on Middle Road and took delivery of the lumber late last week.

The 25-year-old Turnbull has never built a house before, but she took a furniture building course for three years at Colby College in Maine. "I loved it," she said. She has also taken a two-week home design and build course at Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Warren, Vt.
She's pretty excited about the project, and she hopes other people will be, too. Between now and her departure for Yale, she's planning five "TinyRaisings" work parties. She'll invite people to help her work, maybe take a break for a swim at Plum Island, and then treat them to a barbecue afterward.

"It would be really cool to get community people involved," she said.
Turnbull estimates it would cost her about $14,000 to rent an apartment for the two years she will spend studying for her master's degree in environmental management at Yale's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. At first, she thought she could build her tiny house for a comparable sum, but she's learned eco-friendly materials can be more costly than conventional construction. She is looking for donations of building materials and tools.

Her lumber has been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, a nonprofit organization that encourages responsible and sustainable forest management. Certified lumber costs about 17 percent more than conventional board.

She plans to set the house's studs at 24 inches apart, rather than the usual 16, to save on weight and building materials.

She expects to use recycled and reclaimed windows. Since they have already been constructed, it consumes no additional energy to make them. That reduces what she called the "embodied energy" of the building.

Turnbull also intends to use nontoxic paints and adhesive wherever possible.
"It's hard to find those materials and hard to afford them," she said, estimating that a can of paint without toxins costs twice as much as regular paint.

The tiny house will be solar-powered and well insulated with natural materials.
"If it's a cold winter, I expect to spend $200 for heat," she said.
She will use LED and halogen lights, which, she said, "sip very gently on your power supply."
The Governor's Academy has been highly supportive of her project, giving her the space to work and encouragement. "Everybody has been unbelievable," she said.
Turnbull doesn't expect the tiny house to be 100 percent completed when she leaves for grad school. Some things, plumbing for example, will depend partly on the site she chooses for the house. But she expects the house to be "eminently livable" by August.
After she gets her degree in 2010, Turnbull said there are a number of professional job possibilities.

"I would like to continue exploring and improving the built environment," she said.
But she thinks she'll want to hang onto the tiny house. She might use it as her office.
"I don't think it will ever be done, that it will ever come to a point where I say nothing more needs to be done," she said.

The making of Tiny House

This is the first in a series of stories on the Tiny House. The Daily News will be following the progress of Elizabeth Turnbull and her green house every two weeks until August when she leaves for Yale with her new home.

Turnbull has also started a blog about the project — www.turnbulltinyhouse.blogspot.com — to let people know how it's going.

The Turnbull File
Age 25
Grew up in West Virginia
Moved to Massachusetts after freshman year in high school
Lives in Beverly
2000 graduate of The Governor's Academy
2004 graduate of Colby College, Waterville, Maine
Has worked at alternative energy consulting firm in Washington, D.C.
Campaigned for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004
Has bicycled across the United States and Europe
'TinyRaisings'
Elizabeth Turnbull is inviting anyone who is interested in helping her build her house to five weekend work parties. The schedule is:

June 21 and 22
June 28 and 29
July 12 and 13
July 26 and 27
Aug. 2 and 3

E-mail her at turnbulltinyhouse@gmail.com to sign up.

Eco-friendly factors
Forest Stewardship Council-certified lumber
Studs 24 inches apart, rather than 16
Recycled windows
Solar power
LED (light-emitting diode) and halogen lights
Nontoxic paints and adhesives
Insulation with natural materials
Minimal reliance of fossil fuels

Play House "R" Us

One of the real joys of working at Yestermorrow (and there are many) is introducing folks to buildings that are well-designed and functional. We like doing that for people of all ages, but we really love it when those buildings impact the lives of the littlest among us. And that was certainly the case when a class recently built a playhouse for the Warren Elementary School. Those who delivered the small building to the
school told us tales about children waiting in line to be among the first to enter this delightful, right-scaled play space. Thanks to the parents of Warren School students for raising the money for this project and the students of the Yestermorrow Basic Carpentry class for raising the roof--and other parts--of this handcrafted cottage.

Thanks for NYC

As I sit here taking a breath between the NYC event, preparing for our next Board meeting, and ironing out arrangements for our planned trip to Bonnaroo, I wanted to take a moment to thank all the folks who came, helped or otherwise made the NYC event at the Tribeca Cinema the success that it was. The board, staff, intructors and yester-friends (old and new) came out in scores to celebrate Yestermorrow's inclusion in Metropolitan Home's Design 100 listing for 2008.

The event (and dinner afterwards) was great fun as was the Metropolitan Home shindig the following evening. Lots of rain and another time I had to wear a tie, but it was gratifying to see a Yestermorrow project flashed up on the video screen along with 99 other stars from the global design world. I had to duck a few times to avoid getting poked in the eye by a woman who was wearing an elegantly sculptured hat complete with trailing pheasant feather, but I was able to bob and weave and still enjoy this wonderful event.

So thanks especially to Erin, Dan, Monica and Kate for assembling this grand event and to board members Bill Bialosky, Kyle Bergman, Hannah Purdy and Stephen Kellert who really opened their roledexes to bring us a crowd. And special thanks also to artists Bill Brauer, James Hubbell, and former board member Art Schaller who all donated artworks to the event's silent auction. Many, many thanks all around.

Best,

Bob Ferris

Executive Director

Yestermorrow Design/Build School

ReadyMade: Great Escape

Take a moment to catch this great article and photo spread on Yestermorrow in the June/July issue of ReadyMade magazine. Our school and instructors clearly made a big impression. The article is part of an overview of summer learning excursions.

Music and Mud at Bonnaroo

Former Yestermorrow Design/Build School interns Amorin Mello and Anne Marie Flusche are heading up a team to build a strawbale post office on the 700 acre Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival site in Manchester, Tennessee (http://www.bonnaroo.com/). They still need a few folks with natural building skills to help so if you are interested in a muddy and musical experience visit their FaceBook page (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=13181314573&ref=mf) to get details on what you can expect from the experience. But act fast because mudslingers have to be on site by the 6th of June.

And if you do go you might see many Yestermorrowians in the crowd because the Mad River CarbonShredders might be making an appearence, Buzz Ferver (board member and instuctor) will be helping with the compost operation on site, and Russ Bennett (instructor) is one of the moving forces behind the event.

Summer 2008 interns are on their way...

We are getting ready for the summer season at Yestermorrow and looking forward to the arrival of our summer session interns-- Erin Campbell, Colin Widdoes, Laura Fedderson, Matt Wolpe and Bob O'Hara. They're all making their way towards Vermont and will be arriving this coming weekend. You can read their bios on our website at: www.yestermorrow.org/interns/inthis.htm.

Yestermorrow named to Metropolitan Home magazine's Design 100

If you're familiar with Yestermorrow, you know that Yestermorrow is unique. Indeed, one in a million.

Now Yestermorrow is being honored for it's one-of-a-kind-ness. Yestermorrow has been chosen by the editorial staff at Metropolitan Home magazine as 1 of the 100 best and most interesting designers, design elements or locations of the past year. Published annually, the Metropolitan Home's Design 100 list is an “admittedly quixotic collage of the 100 most noteworthy objects, events and personalities in the world of design.”

Join us for a special reception in New York City to celebrate this award and the many achievements of our special design/build school. Our "1 in 100 Reception" takes place May 19 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the Gallery at Tribeca Cinemas. You can find more information here.

Big Ideas about Small Spaces, by Andreas Stavropoulos

I am pleased to introduce a new course for Yestermorrow Design/Build School. Designing Small Living Spaces is a course that has been years in the making.

The origin of the course lies in the frustration of bigness. Bigness, to borrow the term from Rem Koolhaus, permeates all aspects of American culture. Bigness of portions, bigness of vehicles, and bigness in homes are just a few, and they are leading to bigness of problems. Sadly, bigness begets bigness, and, until now, there were few constraints of just how big that bigness could get. In the last 50 years our culture has been flooded with propaganda equating size with quality, explicitly encouraged by big business and tacitly condoned by the government.

However, of late, there have been many big signs that all is not well in our culture of bigness. The recent big drop in the stock market, as well as the big credit crunch, have given us big cause for concern. Big increases in oil prices and food prices may cause big changes in the way that we fuel ourselves and our transportation. At the same time that we are painfully discovering these limits to bigness, there are a number of rapidly growing small movements afoot. A doubling in the number of farmer's markets over the past 5 years is a big step in the direction of smallness. Big advances in wind power technology and solar are allowing more power to be produced on a local scale.

So when I proposed a class to teach some big ideas about smallness, Yestermorrow was enthusiastic, of course, in a big way.

Designing Small Living Spaces is offered as a week-long course at Yestermorrow as way to demonstrate that quality design can allow us to design, build and get big rewards out of small spaces. In the course, we will look at domestic and international examples of how cultures and individuals have designed small dwellings. Some of the dwellings are iconoclastic while others are miniaturized versions of the white picket fence concept. We'll look at students' individual situations, and generate big ideas on how to solve them. We'll generate small sparks of genius and deliver big doses of encouragement as students work together to apply big ideas to small spaces.

(Andreas X. Stavropoulos is an airstream-dweller, cargo trailer remodeler, tipi aficionado who works by day as a landscape architect to combat bigness by designing small spaces for people in Berkeley, CA)

Yestermorrow Instructor Featured at Longwood Gardens

If life is driving you up a tree this spring, you might take a trip to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania (visit http://www.longwoodgardens.org/NaturesCastles.html) and check out their treehouse exhibition--three very cool arbor abodes. If you like what you see and want to build one of your own, there is no better place to come than Yestermorrow. In fact, one of the lead builders of the Longwood structures is our very own Eyrich Stauffer. And he and Erik Hegre will teaching a class in Sustainable Treehouse Design and Construction on May 4-11th.

Other Yestermorrowians working on this project include:

Ben Cheney (YM instructor and former intern 2003)
Jay Tarlecki (intern 2006)
Christian Peterson (intern 2005)
Eric Stevens (alumnus)
Dan Wheeler (intern 2007)
Josh Jackson (instructor)
Skip Dewhirst (instructor)

Congratulations to all of you on job well done!

Bob Ferris

Instructor Ben Falk Featured on FastCompany.com

Yestermorrow instructor Ben Falk was recently profiled on www.FastCompany.com along with his business Whole Systems Design of Moretown, VT. Falk teaches a variety of courses at Yestermorrow, including Design for Climate Change and Biofuels. Read the full article here. Congratulations Ben!

Let's Face It!

With social networking being all the rage, how could Yestermorrow be left behind? The answer to that question is: We just won't. So now in among the sundry alumni pages featured on Facebook you will now find a Yestermorrow page too. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=14368031554&ref=mf

Visit the page. Sign up and start communicating with your fellow Yestermorrowites (Yestermorrowians?).

Enjoy,

Bob Ferris

Yestermorrow Seeks Campus Master Planning Intern

We have a special opportunity which has recently come to our attention. As you may have heard, we are embarking on the first phase of our expansion plan to build a new shop in the spring of 2009. We have just sent out an RFP to recruit an integrated design/build firm to lead this process. Plus we are still continuing to refine our campus master plan which the folks from the Conway School of Landscape Design helped us with last year.

We are looking for a special Yestermorrow intern to work under the direction of the Building and Grounds committee to help prepare site plans, document our existing conditions, and help with the permitting and planning process. This could count for IDP credits (for architecture students). Ideally we’d like to find someone who can commit to 20 hours/week for 4 months, but could also work with someone for a shorter time period more intensively if it worked better for their schedule. We don't have lodging available on campus but could offer a camping spot or help you find a place in town.
We are still working out some of the details, but if you're interested in learning more about this new opportunity, please email kate@yestermorrow.org.

Here’s the scope of the project as we have defined it so far:
1) Creating a unified format set of plans of the various master plans and visions over the past 10 years.
2) Gathering all current base information, and putting it in uniform format- Survey and topo info, ANR GIS info, soils, hydrology, vegetation. Updating more detailed mapping of the "campground" and other misc structures and gardens, trails, etc. Updated plans of the chalet existing conditions. Updated plans of the school building existing conditions. All official permit plans and Act 250 submission, wastewater and water permitting information, etc.
3) Developing massing, grading, and site layout for the school zone master plan. Developing utilities infrastructure plan for the campus. Develop a base "permaculture plan" for the central green and school zone areas, including locating existing trees and making a plan as to which stay and which go.
4) Develop a soft costs budget, to further planning, engineering, and permitting that will be necessary to make progress with plans.
5) Develop models, plans, CAD models, etc that will be useful in fundraising efforts.
The Campus Master Planning intern will work under the guidance of the Buildings and Grounds committee (which meets approximately bi-weekly) and document the process of the committee.

Go AIA, Go Green

A few years ago I attended my wife's 20-year reunion for a year that she spent overseas in Florence, Italy. This was an arts and architecture year abroad so many attending the event in Venice (CA) were now architects including my wife. As I cruised around the party I talked with many architects and asked them how often their designs included solar panels. As this event was in Southern California, I was surprised that the response was often: We love solar panels and will include them in our designs as long as our clients as for them.
I was a little taken aback. If architects are not aggressively recommending solar panels, who will? While I was going through this, the AIA (American Institute of Architects) was also taking a look at how green building and sustainability were being taught at architecture schools. Their conclusions were similar to mine: more needed to be done in this arena. Architects need to know about sustainability and green building and need to sell it in the same breath that they are selling good design.

My response to this need has been to push our students at Yestermorrow Design/Build School harder and harder as it relates to these important educational threads--and to offer more courses in these areas. And the AIA's response is outlined below. Great move AIA, please let us know how we can help!

CES Sustainability Requirement – NEW!

During the March 2008 AIA National Board of Directors meeting, it was approved that beginning January 1, 2009 the AIA would require all members to complete four (4) hours of sustainable design. These 4 Sustainable Design (SD) hours would be included as part of the current 8 hour / HSW requirement. They are not additional hours to the 18/8 LU hours that the AIA already requires. This requirement would run until 2012, at which time it will be evaluated.
The AIA is currently finalizing the rules of Sustainable Design (SD) Learning Units. During the course of this summer the AIA/CES will be establishing the infrastructure for CES providers to determine, register, and report their future continuing education courses to qualify for Sustainable Design (SD) learning units. These rules will be based upon the following definition.
Sustainable Design (SD) Learning UnitsSustainable design is achieved through an integrated design and delivery process that enhances the natural and built environment by using energy sensibly with a goal toward carbon neutrality, improves air and water quality, protects and preserves water and other resources, and creates environments, communities and buildings that are livable, comfortable, productive, diverse, safe, and provide enduring value to our community and society as a whole.

To qualify as Sustainable Design learning units, the content must meet 4 thresholds:
It must address the AIA definition of sustainability.
It must be a structured (third-party) program (i.e. no self-study).
At least 75% of program content must qualify as HSW.
Its primary purpose must address at least one of the AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) Top Measures of Sustainable Design and Performance Metrics
Examples: Design & Innovation; Regional/Community Design; Land Use & Site Ecology; Bioclimatic Design; Light & Air; Water Cycle; Energy Flows & Energy Future; and Materials & Construction to reduce product-cycle environmental impacts and optimize occupant health and comfort.

If you feel that your CES Provider courses will qualify as Sustainable Design (SD) learning units please plan on providing that information to the AIA/CES Records Center this fall once we announce the procedures. Additional progress reports will be offered in coming issues of the CES Provider Connection as well as the AIA/CES website. NO action is necessary at this time.

Invest in Something Positive

The coming paper flurry known as the economic stimulus checks will tempt many Americans to apply those checks towards the frivolous and ephemeral. We at Yestermorrow would urge all to take a moment and take a breath before casting this "bread" on just any passing waters. Our counsel would be to invest that money in change for the better. So what would that be? How about plunking it down to support your local farmer's market or a non-profit trying to make a difference in your neighborhood or the world (hint: Yestermorrow)? Or how about investing in yourself through taking a class at somewhere that will change your life (hint: Yestermorrow).

This idea of enriching the world or your small chunk of the globe with these funds is catching fire and groups such as Keep it in Vermont (http://www.keepitinvermont.org) are full of great ideas of how you can invest these funds locally in a manner that will last much longer than that cashmere sweater or weekend at the spa. Pony up and be the change.

Meet our current staff and interns

Here's a shot of the current Yestermorrow crew (with apologies to Carol, our bookkeeper, who wasn't here today for the photo). From left to right: Back row: Adam, Scott, Josh, Erin, Bob, Austin, Lawry; Front row: Dave, Heidi, Kate, Dan, Monica, Ted, Courtney.

Bill McKibben Strikes Again

Bill McKibben--Advisory Council member and general friend of Yestermorrow--is launching a new initiative that all folks should pay attention to. Check out the below for a message from Bill and links to his new intiative:

http://www.350.org/

A Letter From Bill McKibben

Dear friends,

350 is the red line for human beings, the most important number on the planet. The most recent science tells us that unless we can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million, we will cause huge and irreversible damage to the earth.

We're planning an international campaign to unite the world around the number 350, and we need your help. We need to make sure that the solutions the world proposes to climate change are to scale with the level of crisis that this number represents. Everyone on earth, from the smallest village to the cushiest corner office needs to know what 350 means. The movement to spread that number needs to be beautiful, creative, and unstoppable.

What we need most right now are your ideas for how to take the number 350 and drive it home: in art, in music, in political demonstrations, in any other way you can imagine. We will connect actions all around the world and make them add up to more than the sum of their parts–but we don't have all the ideas and all the inspiration. We need yours. 350.org@gmail.com
We could also use your help spreading 350. Can you contact anyone you think might be interested and willing to help–in every country on earth–and send them our way? 350.org@gmail.com

Many thanks,

Bill McKibben and the 350.org crew.

Yestermorrow Plays Key Role in Local Actions to Fight Global Warming

From the Feb. 27th edition of the Barre/Montpelier Times Argus:

Valley Towns Tackle Global Warming

February 27, 2008

By Peter Hirschfeld Vermont Press Bureau

WARREN – From abolishing nuclear weapons to impeaching the president of the United States, Vermonters have long used their town meetings to weigh in on matters of national scope.

On Tuesday, in the Mad River Valley, at least three towns will tackle the issue of global warming. But for Warren, Waitsfield and Fayston, the ballot measures have a decidedly local focus. According to backers of a plan to reduce carbon emissions in the Valley by 10 percent, this rural Vermont enclave is as good a place as any to start solving the international climate-change crisis.

"We wanted to test out a prototype approach for organizing people and getting them to start changing behaviors," says Bob Ferris, head of the Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Warren. "… The assumption is that towns, and the elected set of officials representing our government, should take a leadership role in this, and people see what's going on and adopt it in their own lives."

Ferris is among the founding members of "Carbon Shredders," the coalition of Valley residents that petitioned to have the carbon-reducing articles on town meeting warnings in Warren, Waitsfield and Fayston. Moretown may consider the measures from the floor.

All three towns will consider a nonbinding resolution to reduce the energy use and carbon emissions of residents, businesses and institutions by 10 percent by 2010. Warren will also vote on two additional articles: one mandates town participation in the so-called "10 by 10" effort; the other asks voters to appropriate $600 to Carbon Shredders to help fund the group's Valley-wide effort.

Gregor Barnham is head of the corporate responsibility division at the Burlington-based company Seventh Generation and a Carbon Shredders founder. As a Valley resident, Barnham wanted to incorporate the firm's "footprint" mitigation efforts into his own community.

"I thought it'd be fun to start this group and use it as a launching pad – Can we get the whole valley to reduce its carbon footprint by 10 percent by 2010?'" Barnham said.

It's still unclear exactly what Valley residents are signing on for. Barnham says the carbon-reduction mandate will assume whatever form its participants choose.

"It means something different for everybody," he says. "How many showers you take a day, the insulation in the house, buying food locally … You can actually find ways to reduce your energy consumption just by paying attention to what you're doing."

Calculating the amount of energy saved – and carbon sequestered – means voluntary participation in a Web-based carbon-tracking system. By inputting various behavioral changes into a tracking site, Valley residents as a whole will be able to quantify their impact.

"We can have this whole thing reported, and it becomes inspirational in the rest of the country," Barnham says.

Barry Simpson is a longtime selectman in Warren. He says he supports the underlying concept behind the articles but is wary of the measure that mandates 10-percent energy reduction in town facilities. While the town will continue to pursue good environmental practices, Simpson says, selectmen cannot do so at the cost of Warren's fiscal health.

"I believe they're going to amend that so that rather than mandating it, it would be expressed in terms of the town's ability to accomplish that within future budget constraints," Simpson says.

Still, Simpson says environmental and economic interests often overlap. The town has already sought energy efficiencies in its operations, and he says it welcomes the expertise of the Carbon Shredders in finding even more.

"This is a group that certainly has a lot of creditability in terms of what its members have done and achieved previously," Simpson says.

Barnham says the Carbon Shredders will follow the Town Meeting Day vote with a March 18 event preparing residents for the carbon-reducing program. Teams of about 10 people will be sent off to train other Valley residents on carbon-reduction measures.

"We'll begin to see if the ripple effect actually works," Barnham says. "We'll have a Web site, and we're looking at a marketing-buzz strategy to keep people going."

By reframing global warming as a local-warming issue, Ferris says, residents may recognize the benefits, or hazards, of their own personal behavior.

"I think may people think it doesn't really matter, or it's such a big issue they may feel disempowered," Ferris says. "But when they see the needle start to drop on their own carbon usage, it gives you hope … The point is to get people to start thinking."

Yestermorrow on the Today Show!

Well... our banner showed up on national TV. Many thanks to our intrepid volunteers, interns, and staff for braving the zero-degree mountain top temps early this morning.

January 2008 Newsletter Archive

Check out our January 2008 e-newsletter!

In This Issue
Yestermorrow Profile: John Abrams
Hands-on Education: Cabinets and Built-ins
Yestermorrow on YouTube

Yestermorrow Welcomes New Facilities Manager Dave Warren

We are very pleased to announce that Dave Warren has come on board as Yestermorrow's new Facilities Manager. With a firm belief in the importance of a creative collaborative relationship between design and building, Dave has found a home at Yestermorrow. He has over 35 years experience in residential and light commercial construction in Oregon as owner/operator of a custom building company and most recently in Vermont as carpenter to project manager for a couple of local contractors. In addition to the use of hand tools and the employment of responsible building practices, Dave enjoys making music, sailing, and politics. He looks forward to sharing this with the folks at Yestermorrow. We are very pleased to have someone of his experience and caliber on our staff.

The Prickly Mountain Gang Rides Again

If Yestermorrow is the tree of all design/build knowledge--and we think there are strong arguments that it is--then it also should be argued that this metaphorical tree has its roots firmly buried in Prickly Mountain. The boys and girls who have called that hallowed mound home are the stuff of legends and are still deeply involved in Yestermorrow. To learn more about their exploits please visit:http://www.wishtank.org/magazine/commons/prickly_mountain_gang_freedom_in_architecture/

While reading the story you will see names of folks who have served on our board, taught our classes, lent their children to us a interns, and helped us refine our mission and master planning process. Thank you Prickly for feeding our roots and leading by example. Long live Prickly Mountain!



Bob Ferris

Doing Good In and Out of the Classroom/Studio/Shop

One of Yestermorrow's great strengths is our steadfast commitment to community exemplified by our own work in the Mad River Valley and by our courses in responsible community development and design. There is no true measure for the impact of these activities, but one indication that what we are doing is being noticed are mentions of our work and actions in The Valley Reporter--our Valley's weekly paper (http://www.valleyreporter.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=5&Itemid=38).

And this week was a big one for Yestermorrow:

Page 6: Article on Yestermorrow's new catalog for spring/summer classes

Page 11: Nearly full-page coverage with one article on taking personal responsibility for your carbon footprint and another on the actions of the Mad River Valley Carbon Shredders in putting forth climate change resolutions in 3 out of the 4 Valley towns in preparation for town meeting day. The Carbon Shredders were brought together by a team of folks from 7th Generation, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, and Yestermorrow. The Carbon Shredders use Yestermorrow as their clubhouse.

Page 12: Covers the recent developments regarding the purchase and conservation of the Kingsbury Farm. Here again, Yestermorrow was involved and we have provided meeting space for the steering committee and are currently managing the farm property until suitable buyer or buyers can be located (http://www.kingsburycommunityfarm.org/).

Page 14: Has a full page spread on the Souper Bowl which was a fundraising event for the Mad River Valley Localvore Project. If you look close on the page you can see a picture of Yestermorrow's own Dan Eckstein. Kate Stephenson is very active in the group and they frequently use our conference room for meetings (http://www.vermontlocalvore.org/).

We do all of this because we believe in what we teach at Yestermorrow and we hope that others will follow these examples and undertake similar efforts in their own backyards.

Good luck on your efforts!

Bob Ferris

Doing Good in the Dominican Republic

This 17-day design/build adventure is focusing on a rural community project for the Women's Club of the Future of El Rincon. The Women's Club is dedicated to strengthening their community by creating opportunities for their residents, especially their young adults. Their projects include utilizing the nearby Laguna Del Diablo as a guided tourist hike through steep mountain farmland offering an experience of rural Dominican culture. They also offer public sewing machines (with instruction), and rainwater harvesting for public use.

The class project is to create a gathering area where both the local community and a burgeoning eco-tourist community can congregate. The design challenge is to make the site inviting for tourist vehicles that pass by on their way to famously beautiful Rincon Beach, as well as create a shaded public place for the residents of El Rincon. The site is in the middle of the small village.

See pictures of the class in action, and read more about the impact the class is having here.

Moving forward

As planet earth begins a new rotation, and the calendar signifies a new year, my thoughts naturally turn to the lengthening days ahead, despite the bitter cold temperatures that seem to have frozen everything, including time, in place.

A new year means many things. Resolutions. Tax time. Time for change. Fresh starts. Personal reflection. Opportunity for growth.

It seems that I'm not the only one looking ahead. The phone here at Yestermorrow has been ringing non-stop. Our new Spring/Summer '08 Course Catalog has just been sent out and posted on our website. Late winter and early spring is a great time to dig into oneself: learn a new skill or hone an old one; push a boundary or comfort zone; or turn a dream into a reality.

Yestermorrow is stretching its wings as well. Out of our 79 courses for the '08 Spring/Summer Semester, 14 of them are new, including Ecological Water Systems, Deconstruction and Material Re-Use, and Designing Small Living Spaces. We constantly make efforts to improve our offerings and respond to the learning needs of our students. As our mission says, we strive to inspire people to create a better, more sustainable world.

Like I've said here before, change is good. Each one of us has a fresh opportunity to change our world and make it a better place, and make ourselves better along the way. Happy New Year and Carpe Diem!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

yestermorrow moments

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

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.

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:

http://www.beangroup.com/real_estate/listings/Condos/VT/Warren/593483

http://www.beangroup.com/real_estate/listings/Condos/VT/Warren/591536

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.

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.

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!

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.

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

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