The Stone Trust’s 2020 season opened on March 13 with a 1-Day Contractors Intensive at Stoneyard in Littleton. Twelve hardscapers/landscapers came to add the basics of dry stone wall construction to their professional repertoire. Some participants came in teams of three and five from two different landscape companies. Others engaged in professional development on their own.
Instructors Jared Flynn, Ron Neil, and Pete Ryder guided students in stripping out and rebuilding the existing wall during the course of the eight-hour day. Later Ron shared a few reflections. Instructors learn a lot from working together he said. He commented on the value of posting an agenda to create visual time checks, on working together to be sure that the teacher’s voice is heard by all participants, on keeping students hydrated and making sure they ate snacks to keep their energy up. Ron also noted that in a situation where a number of participants use another mother tongue as their primary language, it was helpful to bring chalk as a visual aid to instruction–a good reason for engaging instructors with years of experience developing efficient building practices in the field.
The Stone Trust (TST) welcomes wallers from all backgrounds who want to become instructors. You are eligible to participate in a DSWA-GB/TST instructors course once you have achieved Level 2 certification. Bilingual skills are especially helpful.
We expect to schedule a 1-Day Contractors Intensive in July. Or register for the workshop scheduled at Stoneyard on December 12.
Photos below of work in progress.