The Stone Trust

Instructor Spotlight: Martin Beevers Martin Beevers (Tennessee) grew up in Derbyshire, England and is very much a product of the field walling tradition there. The ancient dry stone walls are still an important and working part of rural life . A fascination with them grew at an early age but it was only in his late thirties that the interest led him to pursue it as a career. He moved to Nashville, Tennessee in January of 2020. An area of the United States that has its own tradition of Dry Stone walls dating back to the early 1800’s. He is owner/operator of Old England Rock Walls, a state-licensed business specializing in historic preservation. He is a certified instructor at the Stone Trust and runs the Stone Trust Tennessee in the Kingston Springs area of Nashville. Martin holds Level 3 (Advanced) DSWA-GB Certification. Martin will host a 2-Day Intro and Cheek Rebuild Workshop on March 15-16 at the Stone Trust TN: https://lnkd.in/exc2ar8d

March Workshops at the Stone Trust Tennessee Get a head start on the walling season as the weather warms up in Tennessee. Learn the basics of dry stone walling at a 2-Day Introductory Workshop or learn how to finish the end of a wall at the Cheek Rebuild Workshop. Come to the Stone Trust TN at The Land on March 15-16 to learn from professional wallers, like Level 3 Waller Martin Beevers. Learn more: 2-Day Intro: https://lnkd.in/eGb2KVgG Cheek Rebuild: https://lnkd.in/eBfBYDqr

Instructor Spotlight: Kim Coggin Kim Coggin (Pennsylvania) is a dry stone artisan who has a true love for the craft of dry stone walling and masonry, as well as for teaching. Kim combines knowledge and experience of her craft with her passion to help others to create learning opportunities that create lasting memories. Kim was instrumental in creation of the women’s programming at The Stone Trust and has previously served on the board of directors as vice president. Kim holds a Level IV Master Craftsman Certificate from the DSWA and is a Certified Stone Trust and DSWA Instructor. Together with her husband Jerry Coggin, they operate the Stone Trust PA at Laurel Stoneworks, an indoor/outdoor facility created to offer learning opportunities year round. Check out the workshop and certification opportunities through the winter at the Stone Trust PA: https://lnkd.in/exc2ar8d Learn more about Kim Coggin and Laurel Stoneworks: https://lnkd.in/eP5eqPtz

New England Women Learn Traditional Craft of Dry Stone Walling at 1-Day Women’s Intro In April and November, the Stone Trust Center hosts a weekend of workshops including a Women’s 1-Day Introduction to Dry Stone Walling and a 1-Day Introduction to Dry Stone Walling. Both workshops offer the same curriculum and teach the same five basic principles, but the women’s workshop allows women to come to an environment where they might feel more comfortable learning, since dry stone walling is a male-dominated world. Women’s workshops also offer the chance to learn from a handful of certified women wallers in North America. Read more: https://lnkd.in/etSPutFq

Master Class: “Punta Nati: Saving Heritage” – (part 1) by Sean Adcock and Mela Sánchez Gómez In Spring 2013 Stonechat 28 visited Menorca, Borut Juvanec took us around the corbelled structures on the island whilst I adapted Frederique Mahieu’s leaflet about the Espai paret seca – the dry stone wall space that she built in Líthica, Pedreres de s’Hostal on the outskirts of the capital Ciutadella. In the summer of 2014 to commemorate my long-suffering partner (the ubiquitous wall measurement aka Brenda) passing a significant landmark in years I treated her to a trip to Menorca. We met up with Frederique who showed us around Lithica and then took us to see the stone buildings known as barracas and pont de belar between Ciutadella and Punta Nati which had featured in Professor Juvanec’s article. Stunning, amazing, everything I had imagined, as it turns out it was well worth treating Brenda. Obviously I had no ulterior motive at all. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eg2BHEsw

Stone Trust Center VT Teaches Basics at 1-Day Introduction to Dry Stone Walling The Stone Trust Center in VT hosts two consecutive one-day introductory workshops at the beginning of November each year. Just as the days grow shorter, you come to learn the five basic rules of dry stone walling. You return home able to mull over what you’ve learned as you contemplate projects to begin in the spring. This year, sixteen people filled the 1-Day Introduction to Dry Stone Walling on a Sunday, learning the five basic principles in just a day. The group started out by taking down a section of wall and sorting the stones by size. In order to learn about the structure of a dry stone wall, it is valuable to take down a wall and see how it was built, and how to make it better. The next step and most of the day would be spent rebuilding the wall, stone by stone. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e5vhCnkf

West Townshend Stone Arch Bridge restored, reopened with 'joy' by Chris Mays, Brattleboro Reformer After five years of planning and fundraising, the Follett Stone Arch Bridge was carefully restored in five months and reopened to the public. "We're really excited that we got this project completed," Brian Post, owner of Standing Stone LLC, said at a well-attended ribbon cutting ceremony on Sunday. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eeP6z7xw

Rock Talk Podcast Member Forum Take-over November 6, 2024, 7pm to 9pm Featuring Dan Morales-Walsh, Matt Nunn, Stew DeVaney, and Matt Mastromarino An open forum for Stone Trust members to discuss with the guys from the Rock Talk Podcast about all things rocks. Topics include: All things walling related All things small business related Collaborating with others on projects Growing in the industry Separating your business from others Dos and dont's in the stone industry Hammers and tools Machines that increase productivity If you are a Stone Trust member, you can register here: https://lnkd.in/eGWaaA7k

Test Day Grows the Stone Trust MN Instructor Pool Notes from Site Champion, Dan Peterson: It was an unseasonably warm day at the Stone Trust MN for the test event October 11th with temperatures in the high seventies. The warm weather is a change from past test events in October, when Minnesota weather is usually cold with chances of snow. We had three candidates test for Level 1 Certification and three candidates test for Level 2. I am pleased to say that everyone passed, and two of the level 2 candidates are planning on pursuing their Stone Trust instructor certification. I am glad the instructor pool is growing in our region. I personally know one of the Level 1 and all of the Level 2 candidates, and it is great to see their progress and improvement in the craft! Read more: https://lnkd.in/eCFqrbQU

Instructor Spotlight: Jordan Rowell Jordan Rowell (Maine) is a DSWA Level II Certified Waller and Certified Instructor with the Stone Trust. He is the owner of Flint Mountain Works LLC, a dry stone walling business based in Western Maine. Jordan’s biggest passion is building community in the outdoors, and he looks forward to doing that by welcoming new students and prospective wallers into the Stone Trust community. Jordan will be teaching the 1-Day Introduction to Dry Stone Walling on November 3rd at the Stone Trust Center. Learn more about Jordan: https://lnkd.in/enFjuHdk