Yestermorrow Design/Build School

This week workshop will be a complete immersion in constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment. Students will be introduced to the basic principals of domestic wastewater treatment with natural systems and explore the major design considerations including treatment requirements, process flow diagrams, and process selection. More information

This course will take students through the processes of harvesting building materials from existing structures, design to incorporate these materials into new constructions that are adaptable and deconstructable, and finally building one or more small scale structures using reclaimed materials.  More information

Edible Forest Gardening is the conscious application of the principles of ecology to the design of home scale gardens that mimic forest ecosystem structure and function, but grow food, fuel, fiber, fodder, fertilizer, “farmaceuticals”, and fun. This workshop will offer an in-depth exploration of forest ecology, site analysis and assessment, the design process, and interaction with some of the lesser known plants that can comprise ‘perennial polycultures’.  More information

Green roofs are gaining popularity for several reasons. They are super efficient at insulating a home. They also minimize our ecological footprint by retaining and filtering water before it reaches our rivers and streams. In this course, we will explore intensive and extensive green roof systems.  More information

Join us as we explore different ways of living small!  Less is More offers ideas and design strategies that will enable you to envision and design a tiny “home,” whether it be a yurt, trailer, shipping container, cottage or beyond. More information

This innovative course in the rainforest of Costa Rica provides students with a unique opportunity to explore the design/build process using earth, straw, cob, stone, site-milled wood, bamboo, and recycled/reused materials. The class will work on a group project at the Rancho Mastatal environmental learning center or a small community project in the village of Mastatal. Students will have the chance to collaborate on a variety of design assignments.  More information

This course will teach you how to create and apply beautiful hand finished plasters and paints on many wall surfaces. It will cover, at a basic level, three principle plaster and paint mediums: clay, lime, and gypsum, and finish with plaster coats, paints, and washes of clay, lime, casein, wheat paste, mica, pigments, and other natural ingredients.  More information

This course covers the core Permaculture Design curriculum including applications of Permaculture in diverse settings, and techniques for meeting human needs that harmonize with ecological patterns.  Lectures and hands-on work will also explore:  bioregional designs, natural history of Eastern woodlands and designs that cooperate with their regeneration, evolution of agriculture, energy and nutrient cycling, watershed health, gravity spring fed water systems, tree paste for fruit trees, and selective firewood and pole harvesting to encourage maples, apples, shitake and ginseng, and the integration of animals into cultivated ecosystems.  More information

New developments in factory-built housing now make it possible to design custom, environmentally enlightened homes that meet the needs and pocketbooks of normal homeowners.  Healthy and green, these buildings can be less expensive to build and operate even while looking historic, vernacular or contemporary.  But only if you understand the entire process and work with the right manufacturers.  More information

This course will teach the principles and processes required to design in a regenerative manner. Local sites will be explored to teach students the process of living system pattern understanding and its practical application.  More information

This one week course will be an intensive analysis of the essential aspects of sustainable communities including location, energy sources, transportation and social implications.  The course will develop three community designs at once; students will self-select a focus for the last two days and present solutions for review.  More information

In the studio we will talk about tree house design issues such as site, tree physiology and species, sustainable design, tree house structures and, let us not forget, beauty! In the field component of the course, students will learn how to safely construct a tree house design in real trees. While building we will learn construction techniques, suitable materials, tree house detailing and how to build safely. Students will walk away with the confidence and understanding of how to design and build their own tree house.  More information

This course balances sessions in the classroom and on a demonstration project so you will learn to think your way through a bale house while gaining a feel for the nature of straw, clay and lime as building materials.  More information

Students will learn the fundamentals of designing and constructing a timberframe using mortise and tenon joinery. Layout techniques, tool use and sharpening, and joinery cutting methods are taught as we work on a small timberframe project.  More information

Do you want to slash your fossil fuel consumption? This workshop will enable students to begin replacing fossil fuel with renewable fuel in a variety of applications. The heart of this intensive course is the adaptation of diesel engines to operate on straight vegetable oil.  More information

Mud, earth, clay, soil – an awesome and versatile building material which can act as a thermal battery, holding heat. People have used this technology for thousands of years to bake bread and other staples. Today wood-fired earthen ovens are seen as an appropriate technology in an increasingly over-complicated world.  More information

This course is for anyone that is interested in building or purchasing and using a composting toilet. We will consider the history and philosophy of composting human waste and the science behind it. We will also examine the different types of composting toilets available on the market such as those manufactured by Sun-Mar and Clivus-Multrum, as well as designs that can be constructed by the do-it-yourselfer.  More information

Comprehensive responses to climate change and resource depletion require the development of resilient biological and built systems that are adaptive in the face of shifting conditions. This course highlights strategies for creating and managing integrated building and landscape systems that can function in an age of climate extremes and increased energy costs.  More information

Fresh water is essential for healthy human communities and may come in abundances or significant shortages.  In this class we will take a water-focused approach to landscape design and planning.  This course will build on Permaculture principles to explore solutions for multiple water issues.  More information

This is an intensive two day workshop explaining the benefits and limitations of green building materials. This course will examine green materials choices for nearly all aspects of the home including: roofing, cabinets and flooring, siding, wall coverings, wall systems, framing, plumbing and more. Environmental impact, life cycle assessment, and indoor air quality ramifications will all be discussed for the various building materials.  More information

Using case studies of green communities and buildings – including your current or dream project – this course will explore strategies for adding social, economic and environmental value to a site, building or community. We will assess the green DNA of locations and buildings, and apply biodynamic planning and design tools to demonstrate practical and cost-effective approaches to greening the built environment in different bioclimatic settings.  More information

There are about 125 million existing homes in the U.S. representing the most significant and yet challenging opportunities to save energy and reduce our carbon footprint. But how do we approach green remodeling differently than new construction? This course, led by green building expert Peter Yost, will use the new web-based tool, GreenBuildingAdvisor.com, to make the comprehensive case for green remodeling.  More information

This course will teach the design and construction of greenhouses. A survey of structural principles, material limitations, macro/micro environmental design principles, enclosure options, and existing greenhouse archetypes will lead each student toward a schematic design that responds to their own particular criteria for a greenhouse.  More information

Want to make your home more energy efficient, healthy, and comfortable? Working with an energy auditor can be complicated if you aren’t familiar with the process. Come learn about the building science these “house doctors” use, whether you are a DIYer or just want to decipher exactly what an auditor will tell you. We will explore the building envelope, insulation, windows, heating, cooling, ventilation, indoor air quality, and other topics.  More information

Passive House is a German approach to building design and construction that has resulted in some of the lowest energy use buildings in the world. Buildings need to meet strict criteria of energy usage, including total primary energy, and must be tested to be extremely airtight. More information

Designing and developing sustainable community is about more than just buildings.  Buildings often last only 25 to 50 years before they need substantial re-investment, but sustainable economic, social and cultural fabric creates communities that will choose a sustainable future for generations to come.  More information

Approaching landscape design from the ground up, students will learn how to analyze a site considering soils, slopes, sun and shadow, access and circulation, drainage, etc. Site development, house-site place-ment, and materials will also be covered.  More information

Finishing walls with natural, nontoxic products imparts a number of benefits to a building, whether you are working on a plastered strawbale wall, or interior gypsum wall board. The ingredients are simple and safe, the process is creative and fun, and the possibilities are endless! In this course, we will look at the art, science and practice of making your own paints, washes, and other finishes with clay, lime, casein, wheat paste, mica, sand, pigments, oils and other natural materials.  More information

Rain gardens retain and reuse rainwater from rooftops, driveways, or parking lots to prevent adverse stormwater impacts. In this class, students will learn the principles and design techniques for planning, building, and maintaining a small-scale rain garden.  More information

This weekend workshop will help you rethink wastewater. Using one of Yestermorrow’s existing facilities as a case study, students will redesign its wastewater system from the groundwater up. In two days we will cover system analysis, site investigation, permitting, treatment options, design basics and material selection. The course will also cover design history and current design theory.  More information

Root cellars and other means of passive food storage are simple and effective ways to reduce carbon footprints, monthly bills, grid dependency, and increase your food security.  More information

This workshop will present the basic design, theory and methods required to maximize the solar potential of your present or future home.  More information

This two-day workshop will cover the basics of design and construction of super-insulated and zero net- energy buildings. These “green” buildings not only reduce our carbon footprint by saving energy, but are also extremely comfortable, quiet and healthy.  More information

This day-long workshop covers wind power on a macro scale in the morning and moves to residential and community scale applications in the afternoon. The morning section will include; wind power basics, world resources, technology types, economics, policy, transmission, regulation, portfolio discussion and regional siting, with a focus on utility scale wind projects.  Wind power

As urban populations worldwide continue to grow amidst the convergent crises of energy depletion, climate change and economic uncertainty, it is critical that we redesign our cities to provide for more of their residents’ needs.  More information

Turkic yurts have sheltered people since Heradotus wrote histories 2000 years ago. The Mongolian people simplified the Turkic design, using straight wall rods and rafters. This design is the simplest, most sustainable and easiest to build version of the yurt possible.  With minimal woodworking skills, a home of complex and magical beauty can be made at an amazingly modest cost.  More information