Last year the Stone Trust inaugurated a scholarship to support aspiring wallers through the professional level of certification. We wanted to help people achieve DSWA Level 2 Intermediate Waller certification. Six people won multi-year awards through an application process that asked them to connect their current experience of walling with a plan for professional development.
One waller entered the 2021 training season with sufficient walling experience to have accomplished both Level 1 Initial Waller and Level 2 Intermediate Waller Certifications by the end of September Test Days. Trevor Bickford joins the Stone Trust instructor pool! Other awardees plan to continue their training in 2022, adding essentials like retaining walls, steps and stairs, and vertical wall ends to their portfolio of skills. The scholarship also funds Test Prep workshops and certification tests. After September Test Days, we hope to tell you about two or three women and men who have moved themselves up the certification pathway with your support. Thank you to everyone who has provided funding. The scholarship provides up to $5000 per awardee over three years—the time it may take to build at least ten cheeks and be ready to pass the test!
Serious applicants for the Entry-Level Walling Professional Scholarship will:
- Demonstrate the desire and capacity to engage in a community of walling professionals.
- Demonstrate a commitment to incorporate dry stone walling into their working life, as a means of producing income to support themselves and others.
- Consider Stone Trust instructor certification at the appropriate time, in order to participate in the Stone Trust’s instructor pool.
If you are a serious applicant, please apply here. Deadline: April 1.
If you would like to talk with me about ways to support the preservation and advancement of dry stone walling, please let me know.