Do it themselves

This is one of the 150 hands-on courses offered every year in design, construction, woodworking, and architectural craft with an emphasis on sustainable design and green building. Classes are as short as one day and - for the truly committed - as long as three-week intensives.

Kate Stephenson came to Yestermorrow as an intern nine years ago and is now its executive director.

“I’ve seen a lot of changes,’’ said Stephenson. “Ten years ago, we had about 250 students come through here each year. Today we have about 1,000.’’

She attributes this growth to a combination of things. “The school is maturing and offering a wider variety of curriculum,’’ she said. “And green building is becoming more part of the public conversation.’’

Indeed, Yestermorrow’s commitment to innovative and sustainable design strategies and natural building is a direct descendant of Vermont’s Design/Build movement of the mid-1960s to mid-’70s.

The Design/Build movement evolved when a group of architects from Yale and the University of Pennsylvania moved to the area and began building free-form, improvised plywood houses on a hillside they dubbed “Prickly Mountain.’’ Many of the houses they built are still standing, and can be easily viewed without invading anyone’s privacy from Loop Road off Prickly Mountain Road above Warren. (A warning: Loop Road is unpaved and rutted in places, making for a bumpy ride. I lost a hubcap in my travels. Make sure your vehicle can handle it.)

In 1990, after years of renting space, the school purchased a vacant inn on a 38-acre property along Route 100 between Waitsfield and Warren. Since then, the staff, faculty, and students have transformed the former Alpine Inn into a multi-use space with about 10,000 square feet of classrooms, design studios, offices, dormitories, library, woodshop, kitchen, and dining facilities.