Twenty-three students from the University of Michigan’s Green Building class spent the month of May building a new, sustainable structure by hand at the University of Michigan Biological Station.

The “Green Building” class, taught by Associate Professor Joe Trumpey, spent the entire semester learning about designing and building environmentally friendly and sustainable structures. Then in May, the class went to the Biostation to construct a 400 square foot ‘Straw Bale House.’ The building was made from locally-sourced straw and adobe and is located on a hill that overlooks Douglas Lake. The students also wrote a grant to have solar panels installed at the site which will be used for the building’s electricity. The project, from foundation to roof, was completed in one month.

The Green Building class is part of a new Transforming Learning Program, which is part of the Transforming Learning in the Third Century grant program funded by the University of Michigan. The University of Michigan Biological Station is located at 9133 Biological Road in Pellston, Michigan.

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