In these chilly months, we’ve been looking back on the work we did in 2024, and for our Vershire crew, we are happy to remember it as the summer of School Pavilions.
Three Pavilions in Three Days
Our first client was the Mount Abraham Unified School District (MAUSD) which used federal grant money to hire us to build flared pavilions for three elementary schools. This project had a very quick turnaround time from June to September, and took an impressive amount of focus and teamwork. Raising the timber frames for these pavilions was a marathon – we raised one pavilion per day, three days in a row. Our raising team became a well-oiled machine and despite being worn out by the end of day three, they managed to finish right on schedule, with minimal snafus. Quite an impressive feat! You can read more about these projects and see photos in an earlier blog post here: A Vermont Public School District uses ESSER Funds to build Three Outdoor Classrooms.
Cambridge Elementary's PTA raises money for a 40 ft Pavilion
The end of September brought us to Cambridge Elementary School to raise another gorgeous pavilion for outdoor learning space. Nestled in, next to the school’s vegetable gardens and overlooking the athletics fields, the site was screaming for a 24’ x 42’ pavilion for students, faculty, and families to gather under. The school found us through one of our valued previous clients who lives in the area. He loved the work that we had done for him and saw an opportunity and need in his community, so recommended us to the school’s PTA.
The PTA was able to raise funds for the project through Vermont’s Better Places program. Better Places is a non-competitive, community matching grant program empowering Vermonters to create inclusive and vibrant public places serving Vermont’s designated downtowns, village and town centers, or neighborhood development areas. The program provided local fundraising support and two to one matching grants to help support community-led placemaking ideas happen. Check out their adorable fundraising video, and see more photos of the finished pavilion on their Fundraising Page.
This was also a special project as we were able to work with local volunteers to help complete the structure. With the right structure and enough enthusiastic volunteers we will occasionally engage the community in portions of the raising and/or build. It felt rewarding to be working with the community members who would then in turn be using and appreciating the pavilion most! We thank our volunteers and the PTA for their support and hospitality, and for letting us be a part of their community improvement efforts. It was just the cherry on top, that coincidentally my (Carly) very own niece will be able to enjoy this beautiful space in just a few short years.
