“Today, seven participants came together from Early Education Services with varying levels of background knowledge and worked together to take down and beautifully rebuild a section of wall at Scott Farm. The quality of the wall they put back together was a reflection of their excellent communication- throughout the workshop, I heard people debating different stone placements, and helping each other out whenever there was a particularly tricky spot. By the end of the workshop, they sounded like they had been walling for years as they talked each other through the various challenges the stone presented. It was a joy to work with them!”
–Ben Sandri, DSWA-Certified Instructor, August 15, 2022
Ben is also a teacher at the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School in South Hadley, Massachusetts, where he shares his knowledge of dry stone walling with colleagues.
What a pleasure for the Stone Trust to make training in dry stone walling available to the staff of Early Education Services (EES) as part of their annual retreat! Many thanks to EES Executive Director Deb Gass for feeling inspired to offer this special opportunity to her hardworking teachers and other staff members.
Thanks, too, to Michele Powers, Operations Coordinator for Landmark Trust USA for connecting our organizations. Yet another example of the wonderful synergy that arises from the collaboration of the Stone Trust with the Scott Farm and Landmark Trust USA.
From the EES website:
“Early Education Services is our region’s Head Start, Early Head Start and Parent Child Center (PCC). Our services include: Head Start & Early Head Start classrooms, Early Head Start Home Visiting, the Welcome Baby Program, playgroups, the Dedicated Dads program, a monthly dental clinic for children 0–3, information and referral services to connect families with area resources, support groups, and parent education classes.”