Conservation Program crews learn timber frame skills to build a storage and shelter shed for Food & Farm Program crews. 

VYCC’s Food & Farm Program was managing a big challenge: while production fields are on the westernmost edge of campus, all the program’s storage was on the far east side of campus. That meant the tractors, wheelbarrows, hand tools, the place where Members drop their personal belongings—everything was on the exact opposite side of campus from where farm work happened. To walk from the storage spaces to the production fields takes a solid 10 minutes. No structures near the production fields also meant there were no shelters or shade structures nearby; on hot days or sudden thunderstorms, crews had to dash to the West Monitor Barn for cover. The storage spaces we did have didn’t have heated space for tractors, limiting our team’s ability to perform routine maintenance and small repairs during winter months when time is available for those tasks.  

Fortunately, one of the skill areas VYCC’s Conservation Program helps Members develop is carpentry. Our team has the tools and skill to design and guide a crew in building a new structure. VYCC secured grant funding to run an Advanced Build crew on our own campus.  

 A crew with one Leader and five Members began work in the spring, using the ground floor of the East Monitor Barn as a workshop. Over 17 weeks, they cut and notched all the lumber for a five-bay timber frame structure. Once all the pieces were ready, they moved out to a prepared pad which includes a concrete slab for one bay which will be heated for winter machine maintenance. The frame went up quickly, and the crew was soon on the roof installing rood materials; then siding.  

The shed will be ready for service in the 2025 season!