Every year, Midcoast Conservancy offers Timber Frame courses at Hidden Valley Nature Center in Jefferson. Each course is a four-day, hands-on experience, where nine students have the opportunity to build a complete timber frame and participate in every step of the process from harvesting trees to raising the finished structure, working with two expert instructors to learn the basics of sustainable forestry and saw mill operation, building design principles, and hands-on building techniques for constructing a simple frame.

This spring, participants have a unique opportunity to be part of an exciting project at HVNC: the construction of a new Welcome Center. Two May Timber Frame workshops, May 5-8 and May 12-15, will be creating the framework for the Roland Barth Welcome Center that will be located just inside the gate at the preserve. All who help build it will be able to appreciate the fruits of their labor and learning for years to come.

The courses will be offered Thursday to Sunday, May 5-8 and May 12-15, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Tuition is $450 for Midcoast Conservancy and MOFGA members, and $500 for all others. Scholarships are available, thanks to the generosity of supporter Davies Allan. For information on reduced tuition, email ali@midcoastconservancy.org. Tuition includes use of all necessary tools and a Midcoast Conservancy membership. Complete information and registration are available online at https://www.midcoastconservancy.org/events. This workshop is sponsored and supported by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, Hancock Lumber and Woodmizer Sawmills.