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.

The other week we had 'Treemendous York' give a talk for the Guild.  Treemendous York consists of a number of experts and enthusiastic individuals representing the community and working together to plant trees throughout the City. Below is more information about the groups activities within the community. 

After the success of the first Rammed Earth Talk at York College, Andrew Jarman from Native Architects, was invited back to give the talk to the students.

One of Sally's main goals as Master this year, is to involve more young people in the activities of the Guild, and her series of talks at York College are turning out to be a great link to the younger generation. Andrew gave another great talk and once again we'd like to thank the people at York College for inviting us back once again. 

Next up in the York College series of talks is Native's James Newton, who will be giving a talk on straw bale construction, in April.

Below are some photographs of Andrew and the students.

Among election woes and shock, last night also marked the start of a series of talks held by the York Guild of Building at York College. It was an excellent event, with Rachel Trend from Native architects giving a presentation on the benefits of using hemp as an alternative building material. 

We'd like to thank everyone who attended the talk and of course thank Rachel for preparing and presenting the talk itself. 

Below are images from the night, Rachel and our Master Sally Walker and everyone discussing the topic of Hemp.

Last Thursday, the annual York Craftsmanship awards took place at Bedern Hall. We saw a great turn out, with both familiar and new faces turning up to the event. This and the number of great entries for this years awards was an encouraging step towards the future of craftsmanship in York, and we would like to thank everyone who was involved in the event, on and leading up to the night.

​One of the most notable winners of the night was Dick Reid, who took home the Master's Award for his work on restoring the column heads in York Art Gallery.
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More photos from the night will be uploaded shortly, but for now there is a link below for the presentation from the night, and a few photos showcasing some of the entries.