Designing and Building a Sustainable Future
February 2010 Newsletter

30th Anniversary Year
2010 kicks off Yestermorrow's 30th anniversary!  We are looking forward to a series of anniversary events, including: a Reunion and campus work weekend (May 15-16), an American Flatbread Benefit Bake (June 11), a visioning session for board, faculty and staff (September 18), and a symposium on Best Practices in Design/Build Education (Winter 2010-11). Congratulations to Peter James for winning our 30th Anniversary logo contest!

Yestermorrow Goes Solar!
Yestermorrow and groSolar have launched a new partnership to educate property owners about solar power systems. groSolar recently installed a solar hot water system on campus as part of Yestermorrow’s master plan to implement and promote renewable energy systems and transition from fossil fuel use. Yestermorrow will host free “Solar Made Simple” educational seminars for the general public, to be held on the first Thursday of every month. 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. Upcoming seminars will be held from 6:00-7:00pm on March 4, April 8, May 6 and will continue throughout the year on the first Thursday of each month. Read more...

Woodshop Improvements
Our staff and interns have been busy at work preparing the woodshop for our Woodworking Intensive program.  Recent improvements include the addition of two SawStop table saws, a new router table, ambient air filters, clamp storage, sheet goods storage, moving a wall and cabinetry, organizing and painting.  In addition, our new wheelchair lift is now fully operational and provides access from the lobby to the woodshop making our building fully ADA-compliant.  We received generous donations of tools and equipment towards our shop renovations from a number of businesses, including Spooner's Specialties, Bessey and Woodworker's Supply.  The shop looks and feels great and our Woodworking Intensive students are now in Week 3 of their 10 week program.

Thank You 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% 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. And it looks great!

Summer Courses for UVM Credit
Yestermorrow has once again joined forces with the University of Vermont to provide college credit for select Yestermorrow courses over the summer.  This year, nineteen courses are offered between May and August through the department of Continuing Education.  Students can use AmeriCorps Education Grants and GI Bill funding towards UVM/Yestermorrow courses. Click here for a complete list of available offerings. 

Connect with Yestermorrow
Whether you're a long-time alum, or an aspiring student, we want you to stay connected to what's happening here at Yestermorrow.  Follow our blog for day-to-day happenings on campus and announcements, our Picasa galleries for photos from classes, our events calendar for upcoming happenings, our news page for recent articles, and you can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.