Building with Straw Talk & Silver Student Medal

This year, as Master of the Guild, Sally set in motion a trio of talks that took place at York College. It has been a brilliant event which has also strengthened the ties between the Guild and York College, something we are keen to keep doing, as the students their are the future of the construction industry. Yesterday, saw the last talk take place; James Newton gave a very informative and interesting talk on straw bale construction.

As a student at the School of Natural Building (SNaB), James has been involved with sustainable building and permaculture for years now, and in particular is keen to promote and educate others on the benefits of  straw bale construction.

A project he is involved in currently is the community housing group, YorSpace. Their aim is to "develop low cost, cooperatively owned, environmentally sustainable homes that create & sustain a community."  With this in mind they are looking to eventually construct the homes in Straw Bale, following suit from other community housing schemes such as Lilac, in Leeds. For more information on the YorSpace you can click  here to go to their website.

In other news, last nights talk also saw Moray Weston receive his Silver Student medal for his work in Stone Masonry. During the Masters Dinner in November, Sally awarded two other students with Bronze medals. Moray could not make it that night, so it was yesterday that he finally received his medal for his outstanding work at York College. It was great to hear what projects he is now currently involved in and York Guild of Building takes pride in acknowledging exceptional craftsmen and women in this industry. 

From informative talks, furthering the involvement of students within the Guild and highlighting the outstanding achievements of those students, the talks in conjunction with York College have been a great event this year during Sally Walkers term as Master of the York Guild of Building.

To read more about the York College talks this year, click on the links below to visit the previous blog posts:

Building with Hemp

Building with Rammed Earth

Photographs