Over the course of July, Brattleboro Union High School (BUHS) students built a dry stone wall in the CAVE (Culinary Agriculture Vocational Education) garden at the Winston Prouty Campus.

They did so with support from UVM Extension 4-H Educator Camille Kauffman and Extension Food Systems Intern Lex Singh, and with guidance from community volunteer and dry stone walling extraordinaire Dan Snow.

From start to finish, the project took about 24 total hours. The students build the 10-foot wall with nothing but stone (mostly schist), no concrete or mortar, just gravity, physics, and careful craftsmanship.

The wall gave students a chance to learn the science and skill behind one of the oldest building techniques that is so prevalent in the landscapes of Vermont. Each morning, students spent two hours hammer-trimming and carefully fitting stones together. While building, they learned the lessons, both physical and spiritual, that dry stone walling has to offer: setting your future self up for success, the gift of patience, and team work.

A dry stone wall made of slabs of rock stacked into a rectangular shape. It sits along the edge of a garden.
The near-final wall. Photo by UVM Extension. 

This hands-on experience exposed students to geology, physics, math, engineering and landscape design. They explored how weight is distributed, why proper stone placement creates stability, and how to blend function with beauty.

This stone wall project reflects the mission of BUHS's off-campus CAVE program, which provides students with a combination of workforce development, social-emotional learning, and academics through agriculture and food systems. The project has also created a permanent feature for the CAVE garden that future students and visitors can enjoy for a long time.

The CAVE program extends special thanks to Dan Snow, a BUHS alumni himself and a nationally-recognized dry stone wall builder, for generously volunteering his time and sharing his knowledge with students throughout the project.

Three people sit and bend over around flat stones on the grassy ground in the shade of a tent.
Brattleboro Union High School students learn to hammer trim stone for the wall. Photo by UVM Extension.

We welcome the community to visit the CAVE garden, take a seat on the new stone wall, and enjoy the view overlooking the beautiful southeastern Vermont valley.

The CAVE garden and kitchen program is part of the Oh YEA! 4-H Grows True Leaders project. With funding from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, UVM Extension 4-H and community partners like Brattleboro Union High School are providing food systems education and learning how youth development programs can serve more young Vermonters.