New Design/Build Program in Yucatan, Mexico

Yestermorrow is pleased to announce a new partnership with the Yucatan Institute for Sustainability to offer two design/build courses this summer.

The Yucatan Institute for Sustainability is dedicated to preserving traditional knowledge and promoting sustainable design through education and research, while involving and supporting the local Maya community. Our vision merges principles of sustainability and alternative energy systems with traditional cultural knowledge to shape the interface of human cultures with their environment. The campus serves as a hands-on, real-world laboratory for experimentation and education. The goal is to provide a center where international scholars from diverse disciplines can work, study, interact, create, and exchange ideas while exploring common themes of sustainability, preservation, and innovation. It also supports the neighboring Maya community of Espita while its members confront the challenges of maintaining their cultural heritage.

Course Overview

The Maya have lived in the dry tropical forests of northern Yucatan for over 3,000 years. Despite the environmental hardships of periodic droughts and thin soils, ancient populations were able to prosper, as the elaborate architecture of their abandoned ancient cities attests. This course frames modern principles of sustainability and ecological design within a broader perspective gleaned from thousands of years of human habitation. Students will learn traditional building and design techniques collaborating with the local Maya community. Students joining this initial season of a new educational venture will literally have a hand in guiding its development as we explore the intersection of traditional culture, ecology, and sustainability. The result will be an unforgettable experience helping to design and build a new center for research and education in a tropical setting.

Course Objectives

Students will complete the course having gained an intimate standing of human-landscape relationships in Yucatan from a millennia – long perspective. The course will illustrate the challenges and advantages to sustainable design in a tropical environment. Students will gain an understanding of the principles of historic conservation and learn traditional building techniques varying from wattle-and-daub and thatching to masonry walls and lime plastering. Finally students will have the chance to help design an educational and research facility completely off the grid. The master planning and design component will shape the direction for future courses.

The two course sessions will be offered this summer:
Session 1: June 14 – July 4
Session 2: July 5 - 25

Tuition for each session is $2200.

For more information, please visit http://neogeo.kent.edu/yis/

Yestermorrow and AllEarth Renewables Install 28 Kilowatts of Solar Power

Power Purchase Agreement Makes Solar Power Affordable for Non-Profit

Waitsfield, VT (4/20/10) – Yestermorrow Design/Build School of Waitsfield, Vermont and AllEarth Renewables, Inc. of Williston, Vermont have partnered to install seven AllSun Trackers® on the school’s campus in Waitsfield. Over the course of a year, the 28 kilowatt (kW) photovoltaic array is expected to produce enough electricity to power over 90% of the electricity used in Yestermorrow’s main classroom facility. This initiative is part of Yestermorrow’s master plan to implement and promote renewable energy systems and transition from fossil fuel use.

“Yestermorrow is committed to exploring renewable energy solutions, and part of our educational mission is to provide a demonstration site for different types of systems and technology,” said Yestermorrow’s Executive Director Kate Stephenson. “We’re thrilled that AllEarth Renewables’ power purchase agreement brings this photovoltaic technology within reach of non-profits.”

David Blittersdorf, CEO and president of AllEarth Renewables said, “Financially, it’s a smart decision for Yestermorrow. Our power purchase agreement, which requires only a $1,000 deposit, establishes a fixed price per kilowatt hour for their electricity, enabling Yestermorrow to save money as the cost of electricity rises over the five year term of the agreement.”
The AllSun Tracker is a complete grid-connected solar electric system which consists of photovoltaic panels mounted on poles installed in the ground. The system uses a GPS (Global Positioning System) and a dual axis rotation to keep the solar panels at a perpendicular angle to the sun’s rays throughout the day. This maximizes the amount of light reaching the panels, which in turn maximizes the amount of energy generated, providing as much as 40% more electricity than fixed panel installations of the same size. More than 100 AllSun Tracker solar systems have already been installed, including 36 at the Green Acres Tracker Farm in Hinesburg, Vermont, the largest solar installation to date in the state.

Yestermorrow’s AllSun Tracker installation is located on Route 100 in Waitsfield, VT. The Yestermorrow campus is open to visitors seven days a week and free tours of the solar systems are available with advance reservation (call 802-496-5545).

The solar trackers are UP!

Interview with John Connell on 30 Years of Yestermorrow

In preparation for our upcoming 30th Anniversary Reunion we decided to check in with Yestermorrow's founder, John Connell, on what he's observed about the School over the last 30 years...

What was your original vision for Yestermorrow?
I wanted to teach the butcher/baker/candlestick maker a method of design-driven construction that would allow them to have well designed homes without the cost/annoyance of an architect.

Did you ever think it’d be around 30 years later?
Absolutely. When I was shopping for a campus (there were several potential parcels that I considered) one of the highest priorities was that it should be a situation that we could grow into for at least the next 100 years. At least....

What’s changed the most about the school over the past 30 years?
Many of us old timers lament the loss of design focus that drove the first decade. I guess this is the inevitable price to be paid for being a leader in green and sustainable methodologies. And maybe the pendulum will swing back now that "green" is as common and credentialed as 2x6 studs. Also, we were involved in bigger structures back then. We always tried to build homes or full scale additions. Here again there has been a trade off. By moving to tiny structures we can service more non-profits and municipalities. Still, I think there's something to be learned by wrestling with a real house and a real client's constraints.

What’s stayed the same?
The people! The school is still the net result of an incredible group of outstanding people. It's these people that generate the school's gravitational pull, bringing in more of the same. While the physical plant is important and our facility helps us attract funds and students - it's our faculty and staff that really make the school. If the campus were foreclosed on tomorrow, I know we could start over in a heart beat. We should never lose sight of this fact. It's the staff, the faculty and the interns that really keep the curriculum fresh and the students coming.

When you led the decision to buy the Alpen Inn property, what did you hope would happen to the campus?
Again, my vision was at least 100 years out and I was hoping we would pioneer some really new and brave design/build directions. The economic realities of such a large property have forced us to settle for something a good deal more conventional than I had dreamed. And yet, I still think in 100 year increments (and even 200 years!) so I'm not the least bit disappointed in what we have accomplished in a mere 30 years. There is nothing keeping us from stepping up to even greater design accomplishments if only we will make that a priority. Our campus is an excellent reflection of where we have put our focus - green methodologies both vernacular and high-tech. I love that about it.

How do you think Yestermorrow has influenced design/build education on a national scale? When we started Yestermorrow there were exactly two design/build curricula in the nation's architecture schools. Today, over half the schools have great shops and ongoing design/build programs. Yestermorrow faculty helped set up and run a handful of those programs and many others took lessons from our early efforts. But we are no longer leading the discussions that take place in that national context. We could do well to tune in. Additionally, I find that there are more design/build offerings at the elementary and middle school level. This is an incredibly important development and an arena we need to pay more attention to. Only be educating our entire population to design basics and visual intelligence will we be able to bootstrap the future of our built environment. The "Solar Age" of the late Sixties and early Seventies taught us that even green architecture that works will be razed if it's unattractive or poorly designed.

What do you imagine Yestermorrow’s next 30 years looking like?
Yestermorrow, like many institutions, is looking at a critical moment in its evolution. Every aspect of residential design and construction is under review as we look at the post-meltdown resource limited future. I would so like Yestermorrow to be a place that looks at things that other institutions can't because of entrenched special interests, routine or bureaucracy. If we could grow a school that combined the qualities of the Atlantic Monthly, Wired and Metropolis magazines, I think we might be headed in a promising direction. As an organization matures, it becomes increasingly difficult for it to persist as an innovative trail breaker. Maybe that phase of Yestermorrow has passed. I think not (see above concerning the staff).

But really the answer to question #5 should be, "Surprise me!"

John Abrams Lecture Cancelled

We regret to inform the public that the previously scheduled talk for the evening of April 23rd "Building a Local Economy in the Mad River Valley" has been cancelled. There is not yet another scheduled date at this time.

A Note on Solar Trackers from John Norton, Board President

Dear Yestermorrow Community;

As many of you who drive by the school on Rt 100 may have noticed, there has been some construction activity in the area in front of the school between the wetland and the driveway. Seeing this several members of the community have raised serious concerns about the pending installation of solar photovoltaic trackers at Yestermorrow hard by a scenic highway. I am writing to describe the relevant details of the project and to explain the background of the decision to proceed with this project.

Last year, Yestermorrow was approached by All Earth Renewables (formerly Earth Turbines) of Williston, VT with a very attractive proposal to install solar trackers at the school. In December of last year after deliberation by the Executive Committee of the Board and discussion of the whole board, the school entered into a five year leasing agreement with All Earth Renewables for the installation of eight 4 kiloWatt solar trackers. Due to the site constraints only 7 will be installed. This is enough capacity at our location to cover 90% of the anticipated annual load of the offices, studio, shop, kitchen and dormitory. Under the terms of this lease Yestermorrow has made a nominal down payment and will pay All Earth for its energy use at its current price fixed for five years. At the end of the term of the lease the school may elect to renew the lease, buy the trackers, or have them removed. The agreement is forecast to be cost neutral for the school assuming that our cost of electricity would not have changed over the five years. This lease was signed earlier this year and All Earth has installed the concrete pilings. The project has received a Certificate of Public Good and approval from the Wetlands Division of ANR. The trackers will be installed this week. Under the terms of the lease, if Yestermorrow does not purchase or renew at the end of five years, All Earth will remove the trackers, foundations, wiring and conduit and return the site to its former state.

The site of the trackers was determined by a committee of the board working with All Earth to maximize the energy production of the trackers on Yestermorrow property. Several of the trackers are located in the wetland buffer, the balance are in the meadow just outside the buffer. None are installed in the wetland.

This decision was taken deliberately with the full awareness of the potential for controversy after careful consideration of the project’s cost benefit and relationship to the school’s mission and values and was based upon the following principles:
1) Yestermorrow must take responsibility for its own energy consumption and production, to the extent practical, and it must do so with conservation and renewable energy, in its own backyard, not someone else’s;
2) The project must conform to all federal, state and local regulations and must not adversely affect the ecological values of the site;
3) The project must be as beautiful as the current technology and site conditions permit.

We recognized that in order to proceed with the project with the resources available, this third principle would have to be compromised. Considering the “long emergency” of peak oil and the crisis of climate change, we elected to make those compromises. In the context of the 30 year history of Yestermorrow and a thirty year minimum future these compromises can be revisited in 5 years.

This is a matter on which reasonable people, with full appreciation of all the elements involved, will and do disagree, so I am challenging the Yestermorrow community – board, staff, instructors and friends, to collaborate to confront this challenge now. We see and understand the current state of the art and we now see and feel the price of its limitations, and we will soon have a laboratory in our back/front yard. To a far greater degree than any other institution I can think of, Yestermorrow has the resources to design and build, reject and design and build again solutions which will meet the full challenge of the three principles I outlined above in concert with its mission.

Respectfully,
John “Sucosh” Norton
President, Board of Directors
Yestermorrow Design/Build School


For more on the specs of the AllSun Trackers, click here to download the spec sheet pdf

Digital Fabrication Should Be Taken Less Seriously

Yestermorrow instructor Erik Hegre is currently a MArch student at the University of Oregon and put together this presentation on digital fabrication. Press the play button to zoom in and read the details.

Digital Fabrication Should Be Taken Less Seriously. on Prezi

Moving Forward with Semester Program

We’re thrilled to embark on the planning and design of Yestermorrow’s new semester program in sustainable design/build, scheduled to launch in Fall 2011. This innovative new program will bring college students to Yestermorrow for a semester-long immersion in the world of design/build, learning core concepts of ecological design along with hands-on building skills. With start-up funding from an anonymous foundation we have hired Jonathan Mingle to work with us over the next 8 months as a consultant and Semester Program Coordinator. Jon brings to Yestermorrow a broad range of experience in teaching, design/build, semester program development, writing and energy studies. For the past 5 years he has worked with Vermont Intercultural Semesters as a teacher and consultant for their semester and gap year programs in Ladakh, India. He is a freelance writer who has published in the Boston Globe, New York Times Magazine and Home Power magazine and he has built treehouses with Forever Young and worked on natural building projects at Rancho Mastatal in Costa Rica. He completed his MS in the Energy and Resources Group at Berkeley in 2009 and graduated from Dartmouth in 2001. Jon’s connections to Yestermorrow trace back to his internship here in the summer of 2004.

"Smart About Solar" FREE Seminar March 30th

If you are interested in stabilizing your electricity costs while taking tangible steps toward a cleaner planet, please join us next Tuesday, March 30th after work for cheese, crackers, cider and a candid discussion about the practical and financial aspects of implementing residential-scale solar photovoltaics in Vermont.

Who: Renewable energy experts with AllEarth Renewables (formerly Earth Turbines), a Williston-based company specializing in the design, manufacture and installation of grid-connected, residential-scale wind and solar electricity generation systems.
What: A free 'smart about solar' presentation titled "Surviving and Thriving in an Uncertain Energy Future."
When: 7:00 - 8:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 30
Where: Main Studio, Yestermorrow Design/Build School, 189 Route 100, Warren, VT
How to attend: Please RSVP to events@allearthrenewables.com or call Meghan Dewald at 802-872-9600, ext. 111.

Students build new counter for the Savoy Theater

Yestermorrow's Woodworking Intensive students recently completed a new concessions counter for the Savoy Theater in Montpelier, VT. The theater, recently under new ownership, is undertaking a series of renovations which started with the installation of the new cabinets and countertop. The Woodworking Intensive students built the project during the one week Cabinets Unlimited portion of their 10-week curriculum, led by instructors Larry Jacquette and Peter Buley.

YM instructor's recent article in Home Power magazine

YM instructor Robert Riversong recently wrote an article on Passive Solar Slabs in the April/May issue of Home Power magazine.

Spotlight on: Masonry Design/Build in Italy- July 2010

We're excited about a new course this summer offered by longtime instructor Mac Rood. We'll be bringing a group of up to 15 students to the abandoned village of Ghesc in the northern mountains of Italy.

This three week course will offer students experience in preservation, restoration, and adaptive re-use of historic vernacular masonry buildings in the Piedmont region. The site is the abandoned village of Ghesc, near Domodossola. Students will analyze and document existing structures and devise strategies and designs for the re-use of selected buildings while maintaining their historic features. Studio design time will be supplemented with hands-on construction on projects within the village. Field trips off-site, guided by an architectural historian, will be scheduled to supplement the main work of the course.

This course, taught in English, is open to students of all ages with an interest in architecture, historic preservation and masonry construction. Our purpose is to promote an appreciation of building methods and designs particular to this region, and to imagine how these buildings can be put back into use for another 500 years. Preservation and adaptive re-use of buildings capable of lasting for centuries is the essence of sustainability. The construction project will give students exposure to masonry and timber construction techniques, working under the instruction of local masons and Yestermorrow instructors. Studio time will allow students to individually explore strategies for re-use of these buildings. Great food and exquisite views of the surrounding Alps are a bonus of the course. Food and lodging are included in the tuition price of $2995. Students are responsible for their own travel to the site.

For additional information click here.

Registration for this unique course is open through June 18th. REGISTER NOW!

New Yestermorrow Video

We're thrilled to announce that a new video featuring Yestermorrow is up on the msn.com site "A Guide to Healthier Living". Their film crew was here in February to capture some shots from the Woodworking Intensive and the certificate course Ecological Design in the Built Environment. Combined with some archive footage and shots from the 2009 Natural Building Intensive, it gives a great overview of what the school is all about.
Check it out at http://healthyliving.msn.com/default.aspx?section=video&contentType=video&contentId=98&source=MSNeditorial.

Shed Nation- Coming to a Bookstore Near You

Yestermorrow's own Dan Eckstein, Curriculum Director, has recently edited a book entitled "Shed Nation: Design, Build & Customize a Shed for Your Yard". The book includes plans and photos from past Popular Mechanics magazine articles as well as a couple of Yestermorrow projects, including a garden shed and the garden folly. We just saw the first copy but it should hit bookstores nationwide in May 2010, so keep an eye out for it. We'll also be selling it here at the Yestermorrow bookshop. Congratulations Dan!

Winter Wonderland

Wondering how to help in Haiti?

Many people have been how they can help in Haiti. Haiti will need a lot of help in the rebuilding process, and there are many organizations looking for skilled people to lend their expertise. Thanks to SEI for providing this list:

Natural Building Network is helping to coordinate skilled natural builders with relief organizations. NBN does not directly manage such efforts, but help coordinate skilled people with relief organizations such as Builders Without Borders, Engineers Without Borders , Groundswell International, Permaculture Haiti and the Permaculture Relief Corps. Interested in getting involved? Email NBN director of events Max V. Jensen at max@nbnetwork.org. If you have natural building or permaculture expertise and would like to donate phone or email consultation time to organizations supporting rebuilding efforts in Haiti and elsewhere please click here. If you have a high need project that could use this list please contact us at rebuild@nbnetwork.org.

Colorado Haiti Project is looking for structural engineers.

There is also a one-day workshop on Rebuilding Sustainable Communities in Haiti after the January 12 Earthquake being held on April 9, 2010 in Boston. Contact The Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters (CRSCAD.

Last Chance for Scooter Raffle Tickets

HAVE YOU SEEN OUR SCOOTER?
IT COULD BE YOURS!!

Purchase your raffle tickets for a chance to win a 2008 YAMAHA VINO 125 SPORT

The specs:
· Up to 96 miles per gallon (EPA rating)
· 124 cc 4 Stroke Engine, 1.2 gallon tank
· Great for commuters, students or professionals

Tickets are $10.00 each or 6 for $50.00
Purchase your raffle tickets online through our secure donation site. Be sure to specify "scooter raffle" in the memo line and include all of your contact information so we can get in touch if you are the WINNER! Winner will be drawn March 6, 2010.

ALL PROCEEDS BENEFIT YESTERMORROW'S SCHOLARSHIP FUND

Sign Design Competition

We need a new sign!

Yestermorrow is announcing a design competition for a new sign for our driveway entry. Our existing sign has seen many good years, but is starting to deteriorate and we are looking for a new look!

The winning design will be constructed in summer 2010.

What we’re looking for:

• Visibility and legibility – for cars driving by at 50 mph, visible day and night
• Beauty – exemplifying Yestermorrow’s unique design aesthetic
• Durability – low maintenance
• And a good first impression for the school

Winning designs must include the words "Yestermorrow Design/Build School", the e-911 address "7869", a plan for placement of our mailbox, and incorporate lighting.

The details for permitting by the town of Waitsfield:

• Total square footage not greater than 16 s.f.
• Supports cannot add more than 2’ to the width or height
• Not taller than 15’ high
• Not less than 15’ from the edge of the road (*unless existing foundation is used and sign is only being “replaced”)
• Must not obstruct the view of cars entering or exiting the driveway
• Lighting must be downlit, shielded and directed onto the surface of the sign with no glare. No neon or flashing lights. (Assumption is that lighting will be solar powered, so any associated components must be included in the design)

Budget: $1500 (including solar lighting, assuming some volunteer labor)

To submit a design for the competition:

Deadline: April 1, 2010
Submit documents via email to: kate@yestermorrow.org

Submittal must include dimensioned sketch of sign, site plan showing relationship to Rte 100 and driveway, materials list and rough budget estimate.

The winning design will be submitted for permitting by the Town of Waitsfield and constructed over the summer of 2010 to celebrate Yestermorrow’s 30th anniversary! The winner will receive a gift certificate for a 1-week Yestermorrow class valued at $750 AND the great feeling you’ll get every time you drive by and see that awesome new sign!

A view of our current sign:

Join us at NESEA's Building Energy 10 Conference

Free for all friends of Yestermorrow- a day pass to the trade show at the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association's annual Building Energy conference coming up March 9-11, 2010 in Boston, MA. We'll be hanging out at Booth #1052 with our friends from Stone Soup Concrete. Hope to see you there!

To get your free pass, register online before March 5 at noon.
Here’s how:
Go to www.nesea.org/buildingenergy and click on “Conference Registration.”
When prompted, enter the promo code GUEST_PASS_TS
Finish the registration and receive an email confirmation. Print your confirmation and bring it to our registration lobby at the Seaport World Trade Center on Thursday, March 11. Enjoy the show!

February E-Newsletter

Our February e-newsletter is now online.
This month's features include:

• 30th Anniversary
• Yestermorrow Goes Solar
• Woodshop Improvements
• Thank You Forbo
• Featured Class: Renovation
• UVM Summer Courses
• Connect With Yestermorrow

Check it out!

Alumni Featured in Deep Energy Retrofit Case Study

This great case study features two Yestermorrow alumni in a Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources- RESIDENTIAL CASE STUDY
(online at Deep Energy Retrofit, Westborough, Mass. with photos)

The deep energy retrofit of a house in Westborough stands out as an example of how an owner’s individual motivation and the historic nature of a building can shape and challenge an extensive retrofit. Owner Caroline Fisher, a designer, did not pursue the home’s retrofit so she could benefit from the anticipated energy savings. Rather, she was motivated by her belief in the social value and marketability of an energy-efficient home. Fisher noticed that certain homes within the community frequently changed ownership. This led her to think about the features that make some homes more comfortable to live in than others, which led her to classes in super-insulation at the Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Vermont. There she learned that an energy-efficient home not only saves energy, but also creates a home that is comfortable, quiet, and healthy — a wonderful home to live in. Fisher’s Westborough house is an early 19th century Greek Revival antique. This made it a challenging project that required innovative and creative construction techniques. However, Jay Hartnett, the builder for the retrofit, did not have experience in energy retrofits and needed to be convinced of the value of super-insulation. On Fisher’s recommendation, Hartnett took a class at Yestermorrow, where he learned about the inefficiencies of standard insulation, as well as the money-saving benefits of closed-cell foam. Super-insulating the antique home was not an easy task due to the construction history of the house. Harnett installed two layers of rigid foam insulation to the back half of the house. On the front half, he added extra space to the wall cavity and blew in cellulose insulation. He then had to reframe the windows and doors to accommodate the additional insulation. Last, he attached the clapboard siding. Despite the complexity, Harnett has been eager to work on another super-insulation retrofit ever since he finished the project. The project was completed in the summer of 2009. Fisher has put the newly retro-fitted house on the market. She hopes a new owner will soon enjoy the comfort and benefits that this energy-efficient home offers.

ENERGY-EFFICIENCY SPECIFICATIONS

WALLS: R-40 rigid foam & blown-in cellulose insulation
ATTIC: R-60 insulation (28’’ R-100 in gables)
BASEMENT CEILING: Soy foam insulation
WINDOWS: Pella triple-pane, U-0.26
HEATING & COOLING:Heat-recovery ventilation system for forced hot-air distribution system
LIGHTING: Compact fluorescent
APPLIANCES: ENERGY STAR refrigerator & dishwasher

groSolar and Yestermorrow Partner to Provide Solar Seminars

Yestermorrow Design/Build School and groSolar are pleased to announce a new partnership to educate Vermont property owners about solar power systems. groSolar recently installed a solar hot water system (SHW) on the campus headquarters, as part of Yestermorrow’s campus master plan to implement and promote renewable energy systems and transition from fossil fuel use. The educational partnership is now part of Yestermorrow’s educational mission to demystify sustainable design and renewable energy.

Beginning in March 2010, Yestermorrow will host free “Solar Made Simple” educational seminars for the general public, to be held on the first Thursday of every month at the school’s Waitsfield campus on Route 100. The seminars, led by groSolar representatives, will provide an overview of solar power, including a review of Yestermorrow’s solar system and tips on how state grants and federal tax credits can help pay for a system. The seminars will also cover guidelines for assessing whether a home or business is right for solar, along with a preview of the long-term savings in utility costs property owners can expect from solar.

Upcoming seminars will be held from 6:00-7:00pm on March 4, April 8, May 6 and continuing throughout the year on the first Thursday of each month.

Interested homeowners are encouraged to bring a copy of recent utility bills as well as photographs of their properties if interested in discussing solar in more detail with groSolar representatives.

“groSolar treats most of our marketing outreach as education, so this is a great partnership,” said Gaelan Brown, Vice President of Marketing for groSolar. “groSolar is a big supporter of Yestermorrow’s mission, and we’re thrilled to help bring solar power to their operations and community outreach.”

groSolar recently completed the installation of a solar hot water system at the Yestermorrow Design/Build School’s campus. The system provides hot water for use in the kitchen, showers, and sinks for the School, which hosts over 1,000 students each year from around the country. The system is designed to provide an average of 150 gallons per day of hot water, with a storage capacity of 240 gallons. The panels are estimated to produce 100,000 BTUs per day, saving more than 400 gallons of propane per year and reducing Yestermorrow’s fossil fuel use by approximately ten percent.

”Yestermorrow is pleased to have this opportunity to partner with groSolar to help people understand their energy options in solar power. Solar systems are a clean, sustainable energy solution to reduce fossil fuel use, and an investment in solar is one of the wisest energy decisions people can make for the long term,” said Kate Stephenson, Yestermorrow’s Executive Director. “Domestic hot water is the second highest energy cost in a typical household. A solar hot water system can provide enough energy to meet 70% of a home’s annual hot water needs, even in cold climates.”

Yestermorrow’s solar hot water system was funded in part by a Vermont Community Climate Change grant.

The Yestermorrow campus is open to visitors seven days a week and free tours of the solar hot water system are available with advance reservation (call 802-496-5545).

Many Thanks to Forbo!

We'd like to offer our sincere thanks to Forbo for their donation of Marmoleum flooring for our new kitchen floor. We chose Marmoleum for our kitchen floor because it is one of the few flooring materials available today which is 100% all-natural, meaning that all its ingredients are derived from natural raw materials. Ingredients include: linseed oil, rosin, wood flour, cork flour, limestone, pigments, and jute.

Here are a few shots of the new floor (and our happy staff and interns!)

30th Anniversary Logo Competition Winner

Yestermorrow is excited to announce the winner of our 30th Anniversary logo competition. Peter M. James of Silver Spring, Maryland was the designer of the winning entry. Peter is a graduate of the 2008 Community Design/Build class and is an architecture student at the University of Maryland. Peter will receive a free one-week Yestermorrow class in recognition of his efforts. We received a dozen very creative entries and want to thank everyone who submitted a design. The winning design will be printed on our 2010 t-shirts and used in other 30th anniversary materials.

Concrete Decor features Fabric Forming Instructors

This month's issue of Concrete Decor magazine includes a feature article on the topic of Fabric Forming, with references to Yestermorrow instructors Sandy Lawton and Kyle Bergman. The story also includes images of the class project from the 2008 Dominican Republic Design/Build project which also featured the use of fabric forming. This innovative construction technique is taught in very few schools, and Yestermorrow is excited to be one of the locations of a week-long course and a demonstration project. Started in the summer of 2009 and scheduled to be completed by courses over the next two years, Yestermorrow's concrete cabin will provide housing for students as well as a demonstration of the technology and its diverse applications in walls, beams and roof panels.

Yestermorrow's 2010 class "Innovations in Fabric Forming with Concrete" will be held June 27 through July 2nd. Tuition for the course is $750.

You can read the whole article online at: http://www.fab-form.com/news/media/concrete_decor_jan_2010.html

YM alum featured in Yale Daily News

Yestermorrow Home Design/Build alum Elizabeth Turnbull's "tiny house" project was featured in this week's Yale Daily News: http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/scitech-news/2010/01/27/tiny-house/

MLK Day of Service Project

Yestermorrow's Americorps member Jose Galarza organized a volunteer project today for the national Day of Service. We worked at the Vermont Foodbank at Kingsbury Farm right down the road from Warren, helping them renovate the farmhouse, and creating a farm office. Today's project was to demolish a closet and create stairs to access the basement from the new office. We got a lot done- thanks to volunteers Robert Riversong, John Stephenson, Jordan Diez, Nick Salmons, Jose Galarza and Nils Shenholm (pictured above with the new stair).

Dominican Republic class builds children's park for Pueblo of Samana

This just in from instructor Kyle Bergman whose Dominican Republic Design/Build class wrapped up last Friday 1/22.

"Hi all,

A quick snapshot of the 2010 Dominican Republic Design Build Class. This was another adventure and a successful project. We designed and build a children’s park for Pueblo of Samana – which is 45,000 people strong. There has not been a children’s park in the town since the early 60’s. Many of the children there have never been on a slide.

We transformed a former dog fighting ring into a kid's park, with a tree house, hopscotch, a slide, murals, sculptural bamboo gates all in a very shady part of the main green in the center of town. We had our challenges beginning with the rain and then a backhoe (trying to deliver materials) knocking down one of our existing walls and a few trees ( a good opportunity to redesign), electricity going on and off, a 7.0 earthquake 197 miles away, stop orders by different political factions one with guns and guys in military wear – but the Mayor came each time and we got the go ahead to keep pushing to finish. The last night we worked until dark and then had a candle light rooftop Yestermorrow awards ceremony followed by dancing at the local bachata place and then came back next morning at 7:00 to finish and clean up before the 10:00am dedication ceremony. This was all topped off with Whale Watching during our final afternoon.

Kyle"

Check out some images of the class and final project in our Picasa gallery

A little treehouse in the woods

A few years ago Harry and Will Reynolds (father and son) took the Treehouse Design course at Yestermorrow led by John Connell. They took their plans back to their home in Lincoln, VT and built it together over three summers. It’s now heated, wired, insulated and finished and rented out as a bed and breakfast spot for folks looking for an unique lodging spot. The treehouse is very quiet and perched on four maples in a blanket of ferns. Access is by a ramp 50 ft. from the main house. The loft has a queen sized futon and there is a single bed on the main floor. It also has a comfy reading chair that rocks and a porch. Private bath and shower in the main house. Their treehouse is rented out through the website http://www.airbnb.com/ where it’s been ranked in the top 40 sites worldwide and they have hosted guests from as far away as England and Australia.

Instructor Andreas Stavropoulos Featured in Modern House Blog

Yestermorrow instructor Andreas Stavropoulos has been busy cooking up a new project at www.chickencribs.com- the place to find plans for a modern urban chicken coop that you can make yourself!

He's profiled this week on the blog Modern House Notes

Is Adding On Really the Answer?

This article was written by Yestermorrow instructor Moneca Kaiser to share with the Yestermorrow community.

Your Home-- Is Adding On Really The Answer?

When I was apprenticing as a carpenter, I got to work on some really great additions. Often they were new family-friendly kitchens with tons of counter space, a place for the kids to do their homework, and with casually elegant family rooms off of them. Usually they had two story banks of windows, maybe a fireplace, ambient and task lighting, clear maple flooring… welcoming wonderful spaces. They were grand -- the kind of space we all seem to want to live in these days.

Unfortunately, we’ve been seduced by all those glossy magazines. I’m sure if the people who live in those pages have problems, they’re the elegant kind -- like having been invited to two dinner parties with fascinating guests on the same night. The magazines want us to believe that we need more space.

The underlying message is that more space means there’s a place for everything. Then our house won’t be so cluttered and our mornings will be calm, the kids won’t fight about who’s got who’s mittens because they’ll each have one of those Martha Stewart-style wicker baskets, and they’ll always put there stuff there as soon as they come home. I’ll be able to enjoy that second cup of coffee in the morning, and maybe even glance at the paper instead of playing referee.

This is how we get seduced. The problem is that rarely is an addition the most elegant solution to the challenges of our house. Often the more sensible (and affordable) option is to renegotiate our existing space. The problem with adding on the “aint it grand room” is that it can easily wreck a house. The rest of the house is demoted because it’s dwarfed by the grandeur of the addition. Sometimes an addition is in harmony with its potential, in which case I say, let the excavators roll. But too often it can be like too much water on that precious seed, and you end up with a soggy mess.

Now the “old” part of the house looks just that way -- rooms that were a decent size seem stingy in relation to the “ain’t it grand room,” and they become lonely, forgotten spaces. Lonely, empty rooms and grand additions can suck the life out of a house. They’re also wasteful; in the age of climate change and peak oil, we’re not going to be able to afford to heat these spaces. Small will be appreciated more and more as beautiful; the magic lies in letting it breathe and feel spacious. Gargantuan additions and lonely, empty room are the antitheses of the homey-ness we so desperately need to nourish us and provide refuge so we have more to share with the world.

Still think you need more space? Could be. But the next step isn’t to start planning an addition. The next step actually is to make a list of everything you need and want -- a wish list. Don’t even think about how to achieve it. Then it’s time to get an as is picture of your house and lot. What do you already have, and how are you using it. Then it’s time to play! Draw, scribble, sketch. How can things be re-organized or rearranged to provide you with what you need. Re-imagine the space you have.

Most of the time, we discover that if we rework the existing space, we need much less addition (if any) than we anticipated to satisfy our wish list and maintain the integrity of the house. Compromise is the magic element, but it can be hard to do with visions of dream homes dancing in our head.

Some friends came to me thinking they needed to add on at least a 400 sq. ft. great room because they love to have family gatherings and also wanted a space for their grandchildren to stay over. Their current space just wasn’t working. Their lot could easily accommodate this size of an addition, and it almost made sense until we looked closely at the existing space. In the end, we were able to add just a small foyer (well under 100 sq. ft.) and renovate their existing spaces to accommodate everything on their wish list that really mattered by eliminating all the dead space (see before and after drawings below). Often the problems originate in previous additions that don’t live up to their promise.

So as you imagine your home’s next iteration, think inside the house! There are so many delightful, sustainable ways of transforming a house into a home. And many times, those options are already available under your already built roof. If you listen very carefully your house may even tell you how. Greenspeed!

Moneca Kaiser is a trained carpenter, designer, writer, student of eastern philosophy and owner of Moneca Kaiser Design Build. www.mkdesignbuild.ca

the home's floor plan before renovation

home's layout after renovation

Looking for a Cabinets Unlimited project

Here's a great opportunity- we're looking for a client for our Cabinets Unlimited class coming up in March. This is a one week section of the Woodworking Intensive program, and it's a great opportunity for someone who's looking for an unusual cabinet for their home. Here's the course description: "This class pushes beyond where Basic Cabinetry leaves off. We'll cover more advanced techniques such as raised panel doors, tambour, intricate moldings, inlay, bentwood, and more. The general approach will be the same as with the original class, covering techniques relying on basic shop equipment like the table saw and router. But we will really push the limits of what these tools can do and open up a whole new world of possibilities as we work on a group project for a real client."

As the client for this project, you'd be responsible for the cost of all materials including wood, hardware and finishes. Our instructors will work with you to design the cabinet and it would be ready for installation in mid-March, and you'd need to be able to pick it up at Yestermorrow and install it yourself.

If you're interested in potentially being a client for the cabinets unlimited class, please email Woodworking Intensive Program Director peterbuley@gmail.com with an idea of what you're thinking of. We will review the requests we receive and choose the project which is most appropriate for the scope of the class.

Intructor Ben Graham to present at upcoming conferences

Yestermorrow instructor Ben Graham has a long term vision to bring natural building methods to a wider audience of builders, architects, designers and people in general. This winter he will be taking a clear step in that direction by presenting on natural building at two of the biggest conference/trade shows in the northeast. The first one in February is the Vermont based conference, Better Buildings by Design put on by Efficiency Vermont in South Burlington. The second is in March at the NESEA (Northeast Sustainable Energy Association) Building Energy conference in Boston.

This is an important marker in the development of natural building which has been considered a part of the fringe. Ben hopes to create awareness of local, natural materials as another element of a designer or builder’s pallet amongst many. Especially those interested in energy efficiency and low impact methods, natural materials and techniques offer important benefits as we develop structures for the future that use less energy and are healthy for people and the world.
Ben will show how his company, Natural Design/Build, based in Plainfield, VT, has been working with natural materials to create high performance buildings that can not only meet rigorous energy efficiency standards but also offer benefits such as recycleability, durability and life cycle costs that out perform many products widely used and raise the bar for what it means to be green.

The details:
Better Buildings by Design
February 10 -11, 2010
Sheraton Conference center, Burlington, Vermont
Natural Building 101: Tradition meets the future of energy efficiencyBen GrahamNatural Design/BuildLearn about how natural materials and methods are being redefined to become the next high performance system for low impact construction. You will see the latest details for straw bale, light clay and earth plaster solutions for the northeast and beyond. We will look at the building science and the latest data that supports using natural building methods to achieve high-level energy efficiency.R / Beginner Builders, Contractors, Architects

Building Energy 2010
March 9 – 11, 2010
Seaport World Trade Center, Boston, MA

Natural Materials: A New Look at the Old Ways Tuesday, March 9- 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM Workshop Speakers: Ben Graham Terry Brennan
This workshop will look at natural materials in two parts. First we will cover the materials themselves. There will be a discussion of the availability, cost and performance of different materials such as Durisol, Strawbales, clay plasters and wood fiber batts. We will cover thermal, hygro, permeability and durability performance based on test studies. The second part of the workshop will cover how the materials stack up in building assemblies. We will go over effective construction details and real data showing how natural building methods perform in a whole building.

Building Materials - Health Challenges and Natural Construction Alternatives
Thursday, March 11 - 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Session Speakers: Liz Harriman Ben Graham

This session will first look at potential human and environmental health hazards from construction materials such as finishes, plastics, additives, brominated flame retardants, fluoropolymers, and other substances. This will be followed by a presentation on natural building materials and systems that are minimally processed and are potentially more sustainable for our natural resources and human health. A view towards energy efficiency when building with natural materials will also be provided.

Day of Service January 18th

Dear Yestermorrow friends,

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, January 18th, Yestermorrow Design/Build School is organizing a Day of Service project at the Kingsbury Farm at the Vermont Foodbank in Waitsfield, VT. We’ve partnered with the Foodbank over the past year to help them with a renovation plan for the farmhouse, and work is continuing this spring in a number of different YM classes. However, there are some critical projects which don’t easily fit into the scope of our curriculum which we want to help them accomplish through a VOLUNTEER DAY OF SERVICE on January 18th.

On January, 18, 2010, people of all ages and backgrounds will come together to improve lives, bridge social barriers, and move our nation closer to the “Beloved Community” that Dr. King envisioned. Dr. Martin Luther King devoted his life’s work to causes of equality and social justice. He taught that through nonviolence and service to one another, problems such as hunger and homelessness, prejudice and discrimination can be overcome. Dr. King’s teachings can continue to guide us in addressing our nation’s most pressing needs---poverty, economic insecurity, job loss and education.

Volunteer with Americans across the nation on the 2010 King Day of Service and make a real difference in your community.

What we’ll do: We will be building and installing a set of stairs in the new “office” portion of the farmhouse, plus additional sheetrocking, building the new bathroom, and whatever else we can get done in a day. Volunteers with carpentry experience are welcome, but those without a lot of experience are welcome too- we have a variety of projects lined up which can be accomplished by people of varying skill levels.

Time: 9:00am to 4:00pm. Come for the whole day, or just a couple hours.

RSVP: Please RVSP to jose@yestermorrow.org if you plan to join us (you can just show up, but we’ll provide snacks and lunches for those who RSVP).

We hope you can join us.

Kate

Happy Holidays from all of us at Yestermorrow!

(and Heidi too- missing from this photo)

On Sale - Meditation Temple to Benefit Scholarship Fund

The meditation temple pictured above is now available for sale at the cost of $1,000 to benefit the Yestermorrow Scholarship Fund. Built from salvaged material, with hundreds of invested hours, this dynamic piece is an excellent example of micro-architecture and as a space can help facilitate quiet reflection.

About the designer/builder:

Aaron Westgate first came to Yestermorrow in 2005, as an enthusiastic intern with a strong sense that the school was doing something unique and essential. Four years and sixteen classes later, he is just as enthusiastic and now completely convinced about the importance of the school’s mission and its ability to influence people to create a better world.

"Yestermorrow taught me about design/build as a curriculum, but also as a philosophy. Think and do, visualize and create; deeply understand context and materials while you explore outside-the-box creativity; let your hands and your head and your heart all mutually reinforce each other. These lessons are by no means confined to architecture and construction. My work is focused on exploring design through the lenses of beauty, functionality, and sustainability. I’m currently building a modern home in Montpelier, and experimenting with salvaged materials to create meditation temples. I'm fascinated by the idea of architecture-for-enlightenment - the concept of designing spaces that facilitate personal peace so that we may engage in the world with more awareness and compassion."

For more information contact Aaron directly at aaron.westgate@gmail.com.

Art Show Preview

These are just a selection of the many amazing handcrafted items that will be on auction this Saturday evening at the 5th Annual Yestermorrow Art Show and Sale. Please join us! Live auction starts at 8:00pm.

A Time for Giving

Dear friends,

As climate change and its effects become part of our national dialogue, there is great opportunity for Yestermorrow to solidify its position as the leader in green building education.

• Training for Tomorrow: Yestermorrow is poised to launch innovative new programs to train designers, builders, homeowners and emerging professionals.
  
• Leading the Way: Members of our faculty have received national recognition for their leadership in regenerative and high performance design, natural building, and craftsmanship.


• Walking the Talk: We’re transitioning our campus from oil dependence to renewable energy, installing cutting-edge solar thermal and photovoltaic systems for power and heat.
  
• Community Impact: We’re reaching out into the community and partnering with local organizations like the Vermont Foodbank and Housing Vermont to provide expertise and labor for their building projects.

We believe that educating homeowners and professionals about the sustainable design/build process is a critical step in creating strong, healthy, vibrant communities. We are teaching the leaders of tomorrow. But to succeed in this work we need your support.

Your contribution today will finance:

• The development of a semester-long program in sustainable design/build
• Campus renovations to improve current facilities and provide additional lodging options
• Outreach to, and scholarships for, new populations of students currently underserved by our education system

Your contribution is critical to furthering our mission of creating positive change in our community and beyond. A donation to Yestermorrow is a commitment towards creating a more just and sustainable future. Please donate today.

Sincerely,

Kate Stephenson
Executive Director

GI Bill Benefits Good for Certificate Program

Yestermorrow is thrilled to announce that veterans of the U.S. military are now eligible to use their GI Bill benefits for coursework. The Vermont State Approving Agency has approved Yestermorrow’s Certificate in Sustainable Building and Design and Natural Building Certificate for the education and training of eligible military personnel, veterans and their dependents. For more information, please visit http://www.gibill.va.gov/ or call 888-442-4551 to find out how to enroll in the program.

Building Green Suite offer

We are excited once again to offer a special opportunity to friends of Yestermorrow -- discounted annual subscriptions to the BuildingGreen Suite for only $50! The normal retail price for this subscription is $199.00 and this offer is available only through a special bulk buy program if together we have more than 25 subscriptions. This program is not limited specifically to Yestermorrow so if you have friends or colleagues that you think would be interested as well, please spread the word!

The BuildingGreen Suite (www.buildinggreen.com) of online tools gives you the best information on green design in a subscription-based Web site format. This online resource features comprehensive, practical information on a wide range of topics related to sustainable building--from energy efficiency and recycled-content materials to land-use planning and indoor air quality.The BuildingGreen Suite integrates online versions of GreenSpec, Environmental Building News, and a database of more than 100 high-performance building case studies. This wealth of information is searchable and cross-referenced by CSI MasterFormat division, LEEDT credit, or green topic. Each article, product listing, and case study also lists related content and information sources.BuildingGreen Suite subscribers can also access the Environmental Building News (EBN) print resources at a substantial discount.

HOW TO SIGN UP:Once we have your money in hand ($50 per person) we will get a list of activation codes which we will distribute to everyone who is taking advantage of this great Yestermorrow/EBN offer and you'll be able to choose your own user name and password. If you have a current Building Green subscription, and want to use this offer to renew/extend your subscription, that's fine too. Contact Monica@yestermorrow.org to sign up. This is a limited time offer- after the December 1st we will likely not be putting together another bulk subscription this year.

Upcoming Winter Term Classes

Turn the lull of winter vacation into a valuable learning opportunity with one of our upcoming Winter Term courses--a great educational experience in the context of a tropical paradise or a winter wonderland! It's you're pick, as we are continuing to offer our popular courses Design/Build in the Dominican Republic, Natural Design/Build, and Raising the Bar on Sustainable Design.

Deadline for enrollment to the Dominican Republic is fast approaching and we have just a few spots left. Please help spread the word!


Design/Build in the Dominican Republic

This 18-day design/build adventure will focus on building a unique community project in a rural part of the Dominican Republic. This year’s class will take place on the edge of Los Haitises National Park. Students will create a new pedestrian entrance to the park that will ultimately be utilized by the people of the local village of Gonzalo as a meeting site for eco-tourism expeditions into the Park. The class begins with a group design process culminating in a single design emanating from the collective ideas of the participants. The remainder of the course is an intensive sprint to build what has been designed, utilizing local, environmentally appropriate materials, while allowing the design and building processes to continually inform one another. This class will take place in a remote context; with rustic lodging, limited or no electricity, lots of nature, and tons of hard work. It will be the experience of a lifetime, providing an immersion into a unique Afro-Caribbean island culture, while fostering community development through hands-on action that meets the needs and furthers the goals of a grass roots organization. Tuition includes travel within the Dominican Republic, camping facilities in wall tents, and all meals.

View a slideshow from the 2008 class:
http://bergmandesignteam.com/drdb2008/index.htm

View a slideshow from the 2007 class:
http://bergmandesignteam.com/drdb2007/index.htm



Natural Design/Build

This course provides students with a comprehensive exploration of all facets of creating an energy efficient, climate-specific natural structure. In this two-week intensive, we will engage in studio sessions, hands-on construction experience, lectures, slide shows, and site tours. In the studio, students will develop a comprehensive design of a project through the creation of drawings of elevations, sections, plans, and scale models. In the shop, students will build a variety of insulative wall systems, examining critical details such as doors and windows, wall to roof connections, air sealing, framing options, plastering, and much more. Topics include straw bale construction, fiber-clay infill and other natural wall systems, clay and lime plasters, natural roof options, alternative foundations, water and energy conservation systems, permaculture and building-site relationships, and social and cultural contexts. Emphasis will be paid to designing and detailing for success in cold, wet climates. Beginner to Intermediate.



Raising the Bar on Sustainable Design: Designing for Beauty and Sustainability

This intensive course guides students through the process of designing their homes and landscapes to be harmonious, efficient and resilient. In the face of a changing climate and economy, we have the ability to shape our lives in a way that provides the comforts we want along with the food, water and energy security that we need. This course will help each student to develop beautiful and affordable plans for localized sustainability.

We will review historical and contemporary design solutions and technologies in order to help each student find their threshold for design response. We’ll focus on integrated-design: how to create multiple benefits with single expenditures. How can the landscape provide perennial food and regulate temperature? How much energy and money can you save with extra insulation and high-performance windows? What techniques can you use to improve comfort and dramatically reduce resource consumption?

This class will build on Yestermorrow's time tested model of Design/Build to focus participants on designing custom projects that demonstrate advanced performance. The class will be split between lecture and application, with many of Yestermorrow's preeminent instructors adding their expertise. Students will leave the course understanding best-practices for sustainable design and plans for the project of their dreams. Beginner to Intermediate.

Requesting Submissions for "30th Anniversary" Logo

In 2010 we will be able to add to our list of accomplishments thirty years of inspiring people through hands-on education in building and design. Thus, in effort to celebrate our coming of age we are now soliciting design submissions for our 30th Anniversary logo. The prize for a selected design, aside from the glory, is a free one-week Yestermorrow class! The guidelines for entries are as follows:

-Your design should be inspired by Yestermorrow and incorporate some mention of the 30th Anniversary. Additionally it should take the opportunity to riff on, adjust, or completely rethink the logo, suggesting a coming of age.

-Your design should be printable on t-shirt (one-sided). It should be monochromatic or two-tone. And be universally attractive, something that everyone non-Yestermorrow folk would want to wear.

-It would be great if your submission is in some Adobe format (like Photoshop, Illustrator, or PDF). Submissions should be no larger than 5mb. If selected we will contact you for a higher resolution copy.

-Your design should be completely original.

Have fun, and we look froward to seeing your entries. Deadline for submission to http://www.blogger.com/jose@yestermorrow.org is (extended to January 31st, 2009).

(We can send you an Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop t-shirt template to get you started and/or our style guide)

Thinking About Energy

This week has brought a flurry of thought to Yestermorrow about energy. On Tuesday I attended the monthly meeting of the LocalVolts- the energy subcommittee of the Valley Futures Network. One of the volunteers unveiled the Mad River Valley Energy Wiki- an amazingly information-filled resource about energy-related projects happening around here. There are folks looking at biomass- how much wood could we sustainably harvest from within the valley, and how would we distribute it; others are looking at energy conservation and weatherization; still more are interested in barn-raising type events to help homeowners install solar hot water and photovoltaics. Pretty neat!

On Thursday I was lucky enough to tag along with the Farm Design class for the morning on a field trip to see Gaelan and Jasna Brown's experimental woodchip water heater affectionately nicknamed "the brown mound". Based on what's called the "Jean Pain Method" they have created a large packed pile of wet woodchips with a coil of 1" water pipe in the middle which preheats the water coming out of their well before it goes into their hot water heater. So far he's been getting water out at 120 degrees F. In addition to domestic hot water, they're hoping eventually they could use it for space heating as well. Gaelan has been blogging and documenting the whole process in order to help spread the word about this fascinating low-tech system- check it out!

Back at Yestermorrow everyone was buzzing over lunch about how we might get involved here at the school. One possibility is to run a workshop with Gaelan next summer and create a woodchip pile for the Chalet's hot water. While the current focus on campus is getting our solar hot water system and PV array installed this winter, we also started talking about how we could transition to solid fuels for heating our main building (right now we have high efficiency propane boilers). That's a bigger project, obviously, but one worth starting to think about as we plan our campus expansion. On November 23rd from 7-9 pm we'll host a free Button Up Vermont workshop for the local community to learn about energy conservation and money saving techniques to weatherize your home. The interns have been tackling the Chalet (certainly a weatherization challenge) and already it's more comfortable and better equipped for the dropping temperatures to come, and we've started replacing our 30-year old donated refrigerators with new Energy Star rated models, amongst other energy efficiency improvements.