Welcome to The Stone Trust

Established in southern Vermont in 2010, The Stone Trust’s mission is to preserve and advance the art and craft of dry stone walling. We do this through an expanding program of educational events and outreach projects. The Stone Trust is a multifaceted resource engaged in preserving the natural use of plentiful stone in simple, gratifying ways.

The Stone Trust Center is the only facility in North America that provides year round educational and DSWA certification opportunities for all levels and abilities. The Stone Trust is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization. It relies on contributions from people like you to keep its programs going. Help us continue to preserve and advance the art and craft of Dry Stone Walling!

Quick Links

• Looking for hands-on training to build dry stone walls? Click Upcoming Workshops
• Want to become a Certified Dry Stone Waller? Click Upcoming Certifications
• Looking for a contractor to build a wall? Click Certified Wallers
• Want to read up on the basics of dry stone walling? Click How to Build Walls
• Looking for amazing photos of dry stone walls and features? Click Photo Gallery
• Are you an Architect, Landscape Architect, Engineer or Designer looking for specifications for dry stone walls? Click Design Information

Support The Stone Trust

Your support makes our work possible. Please consider helping us preserve and advance the craft of dry stone walling by making a donation today. Thank you.

Ten Newly Certified Instructors Join Our Instructor Pool

Posted February 13, 2020
Early in February, 17 Professional Members traveled from as far afield as Montana, Tennessee, and South Carolina and as close as New York State, Rhode Island, and Maine to participate in our 2020 Instructors Certification course. All participants had already accomplished Level 2 Professional Waller certification. Ten of the group arrived eager to add the [...]


WRCC Stone Trust Dry Stone Walling Spring 2020

Posted February 13, 2020
The Windham Regional Career Center and the Stone Trust are partnering to make sure that Windham County cultivates and trains the best dry stone wallers on the continent. The jointly sponsored WRCC Stone Trust Dry Stone Walling Spring 2020 begins March 3 and runs through May 16. Former TST board president Peter Welch describes the course [...]


Scott Farm Seeks Business Manager

Posted February 6, 2020
The Scott Farm, a Certified B Corporation located in Dummerston, Vermont, seeks a full-time Business Manager. The farm includes 571 acres, many historic buildings, a 40-acre heirloom apple orchard, a thriving on-farm market, indoor and outdoor event spaces, hiking trails, and a variety of natural resources. Our team seeks someone with the skills to manage […]



Meet Duncan Murphy, Board Member

Posted January 28, 2020
January 2020 brought 6 new board members to The Stone Trust, bringing the board to a nearly full complement–12 out of 13 allowed by our articles. We hope you’ll enjoy meeting a board member each month. Each brings invaluable knowledge, expertise, commitment, and camaraderie to the work of preserving and advancing the art and craft […]



2020 Workshops and Early Bird Pricing

Posted January 28, 2020
This year The Stone Trust offers 36 regular workshop offerings across our Curriculum in Dry Stone. We’re also offering Early Bird registration at 2019 prices to people who register 6 weeks in advance. Check course listings. Take one of our three versions of Introduction to Dry Stone, the prerequisite course for our advanced offerings. We […]



Japanese Garden Arts in Portland, Oregon

Posted January 28, 2020
The Stone Trust collaborates with like-minded organizations like the International Japanese Garden Training Center in Portland, OR. Both organizations focus on teaching traditional skills and techniques as a means of preserving  craft, an art form, heritage and history. Each offers instruction to both the general public and the professional. Spring courses include With an Eye Towards […]



Masterclass: Problems and Planning, Part 4

Posted January 17, 2020
In part one (Stonechat 26: Summer 2012) I suggested that “poor grading can become what is in effect a self-fuelled inevitability” . This was developed in part 2 when we looked at the tendency to place large stones alongside and on top of each other leading to grouping. This however does not just apply to large stone. If we are not careful similar size stones can tend to flock together – both along and up. Small stones can lead to a ‘mushrooming’, especially if we are concentrating on sitting one on two and half on half and levelling ready for the next stone.



January Waller of the Month: Andrew Pighills

Posted January 17, 2020
ANDREW PIGHILLS (Connecticut) was born in Yorkshire, England. His formal horticulture training started at The Royal Horticultural Society at Harlow Carr Gardens in Harrogate Yorkshire, and has spent several decades creating gardens and building dry stone walls in his native England, in and around the spectacular Yorkshire Dales and the English Lake District.



Stringlines: Thoughts from Pete Ryder, Board President

Posted January 15, 2020
There are as many ways to build great stone walls as there are colors in the rainbow. From lacy singles in the Aran Islands to squat bulky consumption walls in New England. Loosely stacked round glacial outwash to the incredible joinery of the Incas. Two-tiered Galloway walls to the fascinating geometric patterns of Majorcan walls…. […]



The Stone Trust partners with the Windham Regional Career Center to train wallers

Posted January 13, 2020
It's pretty clear from our professional members  that wallers love the work and that there's lots of work out there. It's also part of our mission to build a professional pipeline. So we couldn't pass up the chance to connect The Stone Trust expertise to local high school students, incumbent workers, and professional contractors through [...]