“Reading is dreaming with open eyes.”
Have you always thought about creating your own little library? If so, this workshop is for you!
Feel free to join, regardless of your level of woodworking skills. We will help you craft a little library by the end of the day, ready to install when you leave Wintergreen.
We will provide all kinds of architectural salvage and raw materials for your library, but you should also feel free to bring your own.
In keeping with our other woodworking workshops, we will work with simple tools (hand tools and a couple of battery operated tools). Bring your imagination and we will provide the rest!
WORKSHOP OVERVIEW
| 9:00 AM – 9:30 AM | Arrival | |
|---|---|---|
| 9:30 AM – 10:00 AM | Welcome and opening | |
| 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM | Design, selection of materials, beginning of assembly | 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM | Lunch |
| 1:00 PM – 3:45 PM | Continuing work on the little library—more building? Finishing touches? Painting? | |
| 3:45 PM – 4:00 PM | Wrap up, group photo, and departure |
We’ll start the day with introductions and some brainstorming about how to create the little library of your dreams. We will use all kinds of materials as the libraries take shape.
After a break for a delicious Wintergreen signature lunch, we’ll continue to work on the libraries, including a discussion of how to mount them and maintain them when they are installed.
Make it a planter… or a living roof, like the ones at Wintergreen. Metal and cedar shingles are also possibilities! Or recycle an old plastic sled. We’ve even seen them made out of mini-fridges and toaster ovens! (OK, maybe that’s not quite Wintergreen’s brand, but you never know…).
ABOUT THE FACILITATORS
RENA UPITIS is a self-taught carpenter. Her first major renovation project of an old stone school house was in 1984, and she has been learning ever since! She designed the lodge at Wintergreen and played a major role in its construction, including stuffing hundreds of straw bales into the walls. She studied with Rob Roy in 2006, where she first learned about cordwood construction and living roofs, techniques she has incorporated in many Wintergreen buildings.
Rena also likes to make simple and functional furniture, including willow benches, festival chairs and… yes… little libraries! Her creations are both whimsical and rooted to the earth. She loves teaching and treats the building process as a creative interaction of materials and function.
LUKE HOWIE has worked at the intersection of experiential education, nature connection, and ecology for the duration of his career. As a place-based educator, he loves to learn from the land and those who know it best.
Luke completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto and his BEd at Trent University. He has an AQ in Outdoor Experiential Education from Lakehead University and his Forest and Nature School Practitioner Certification from the Child and Nature Alliance of Canada.
Prior to joining Wintergreen Studios as Program Director in the Fall of 2023, Luke led outdoor education programming at the Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto for nearly a decade. He now lives on an old farmstead in the Frontenac Arch with his family. On the farmstead, he has developed many skills, including carpentry skills. He looks forward to working along with the workshop participants as we all learn from one another.
COST & REGISTRATION
This workshop is limited to 10 participants. Payment in full is required upon registration.
SALE! If you sign up for more than one building workshop, you’ll get a 15% discount when you enter the code BUILD at checkout. The other two workshops in the series are Build a Bench (April 12) and Festival Chairs (April 26).
OPTION 1 Little Library Workshop ONLY
$175 + HST includes instruction and use of tools, materials for a little library to take home, and a gourmet lunch.
If registering for more than one person, please enter the number of tickets as the “Quantity” and you will be charged accordingly.
HST is included in the checkout price.
OPTION 2 Saturday Overnight + Little Library Workshop
$365 + HST includes instruction and use of tools, materials for a little library to take home, dinner on Saturday night, breakfast on Sunday morning, and choice of Saturday night overnight accommodation.
If registering for more than one person, please enter the number of tickets as the “Quantity” and you will be charged accordingly.
HST is included in the checkout price.