TFG Events & Workshops

Community Building Project: Monitor Barn (Vermont)


Background

The Vermont Youth Conservation Corps (VYCC) is one of many conservation corps across the country. Founded in 1985 and located on a 400-acre campus in Richmond, Vermont, VYCC offers paid service positions to young adults (ages 15-26) who work on small teams to tackle high-priority forestry, carpentry, outdoor recreation, agriculture, and other projects throughout Vermont and neighboring states.

In any given year, VYCC will offer approximately 200 Corps Member positions to young adults wanting to work outdoors, be part of a tight-knit team, and roll up their sleeves in hopes of making our communities and landscapes healthier and more resilient. The VYCC mission is to take action and build community by working and learning together with the land.

VYCC is fortunate to have several historic buildings on its campus. In 2005, VYCC completed restoration of the West Monitor Barn. Nearly twenty years later, they have begun restoration on the nearby East Monitor Barn.

About the Project

This is a heritage rehabilitation project and will bring together a small team of four instructors and twelve volunteers to focus on timber frame conservation practice. The subject is one of the well-known Monitor Barns of Richmond, Vermont, a very large barn of 4 stories and 54’ x 112’ and 9 bays. The whole building is being lifted to allow for the repair and replacement of some of the lower-story timbers that are the subject of this workshop. The workshop is being held at the Monitor Barn and is scheduled for 7 days, starting Saturday, July 8, and concluding on Friday, July 14.

Participants are requested to arrive on Friday, July 7, and be prepared for the workshop to begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday, July 8.

Participants will be provided with three meals a day by the VYCC team, starting with breakfast on Saturday, July 8, and ending with lunch on Friday, July 14. Meals prior to or after this period are the responsibility of participants.

Camping is available on the monitor barn campus starting the night of Friday, July 7. Participants must have their campsites packed up by the morning of Friday, July 14. Please note: Camping the night of the 14th is restricted due to other activities, but may be possible by special arrangement only. If you want to stay on for any reason, please contact Eliot Lothrop with your request.

The East Monitor Barn in Richmond, Vermont, was built in 1901 by Charles Miller, a prolific framer who built many large barns in the area.  It is a gable front bank barn, with all four levels accessible from the outside by grade or by ramp.  Hay was brought into the building by horse, on loaded hay wagons that would travel up the high drive ramp on the back end of the building.  The hay would then be pitched down to the haymow below, filling the upper half of the barn entirely with hay.  From there, it would be thrown down through chutes to the cows on the stock level below and their manure shoveled into the basement, where sleds would be sitting to be dragged out into the field once full of manure. 

Over time, the building has been pushed downhill by a heaving of the back foundation wall, which is a full two stories tall.  In order to remedy this, the building is going to be jacked up in the air from that height, and the lower two stories brought downhill to be plumb with the upper stories.  There are extensive timber repairs and replacements needed throughout the building, with the majority of the sills and post bottoms in need of major attention.


Call for participants

The Guild seeks four instructors to lead the project. One instructor position will be the lead instructor. Applications for instructor positions will be accepted via email; please submit all inquiries and applications to TFG's Community Building Projects Program Director Steve Lawrence and Communications Director Allison Aurand. You can find all requirements and job description for the lead instructor position HERE.

The deadline for instructor applications is June 6, 2023. Please note that instructors must have commercial general liability insurance.


Volunteers

We also have positions for 12 volunteers for this event. Participants will perform hands-on timber frame repair and preservation under the direction of the instructor team. Because of the small team and the hands-on nature of this project, it will be best suited to those with construction experience who want to learn more about the conservation and rehabilitation of timber frames. There will be limited novice positions available, and we need to ensure a balance of skills on the team.

You must be a Guild member to participate! (Join the Guild HERE.) Please note that volunteer applications do not guarantee acceptance. We may have more applications than positions, so please do not make travel arrangements until you've received notification of acceptance. The deadline for volunteer applications is June 29, 2023. We will endeavor to confirm your acceptance ASAP and hopefully well before the deadline for applications.

Please contact Project Director Steve Lawrence with questions: projects@tfguild.org or 250-701-2585.

Registration has concluded on Jul 7, 2023.

Event Details


  • Dates
    Jul 7, 2023 - Jul 14, 2023
  • Vermont Youth Conservation Corps
    1949 E Main St
    Richmond, VT 05477
    United States

    833-862-7376

    info@tfguild.org

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