Learn the history and basics of electricity, and electrical theory, including Ohm's Law, amps, volts, and watts, and how they are calculated in simple home wiring jobs.

The class will also learn about wire, wire sizes, and some basic home wiring, including how to properly wire a switch, an outlet, a light, and a circuit breaker. The class will also get to safely explore a circuit breaker box, including the use and wiring of circuit breakers, and proper grounding, including placement of the ground wire and the ground rod.

This class is for anyone, including absolute beginners.

Enjoy learning to identify, find, and forage from the abundant beds of aquatic plants like arrowhead and lotus along the Mississippi River. We will learn to recognize these plants in the watery environments they grow in, learn what foods they offer, and when and how to collect them. We will also do a small amount of gathering from them for educational purposes. Students will leave knowing how to explore other areas of the river and gather these amazing wild foods for themselves. Be prepared for the wet and muddy adventure that this kind of harvesting entails!

These majestic and powerful animals are rarely seen at work in the developed world, but in many places they remain essential sources of power for food production, freight and everyday living. In this class you will learn how oxen are traditionally driven in the western world and have the opportunity to practice driving a trained team.

We will cover some basics of cow psychology and demonstrate and practice some training strategies with a pair of untrained calves. We will consider yoking and hitching a team and take some time to talk about ox yokes-- fit, shape and design-- and how to approach making a yoke. This class is designed to be a good starting point for anyone interested in draft animal power, whether for pleasure or for practical contemporary use in sustainable small-scale farming and land management.

In this beginner-friendly mushroom foraging class, we'll explore the autumn woods together in search of edible and medicinal mushrooms. We'll discuss mushroom identification techniques, helpful tools, and practical foraging tips. We'll be on the hunt for fall mushrooms like hen of the woods/ maitake, honey mushrooms, lion's mane, lobster mushrooms, chicken of the woods, shaggy manes, hedgehog mushrooms, puffball mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, and more! Come prepared for off-trail hiking and traversing uneven terrain. As with any foraging class, the abundance and variety of mushrooms we find in the woods is entirely up to mother nature!

In this beginner-friendly mushroom foraging class, we'll explore the autumn woods together in search of edible and medicinal mushrooms. We'll discuss mushroom identification techniques, helpful tools, and practical foraging tips. We'll be on the hunt for fall mushrooms like hen of the woods/ maitake, honey mushrooms, lion's mane, lobster mushrooms, chicken of the woods, shaggy manes, hedgehog mushrooms, puffball mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, and more! Come prepared for off-trail hiking and traversing uneven terrain. As with any foraging class, the abundance and variety of mushrooms we find in the woods is entirely up to mother nature!

Curious about relief woodcarving? This relaxed, hands-on class is for you! You’ll get an 8”x10” basswood block and use of all the tools needed to learn the basics of relief carving. With step-by-step guidance from the instructor, you’ll practice making cuts on the back of the board and then carve your very own piece on the front. Kevin’s approachable style and years of experience make it easy to learn and fun!

Curious about electric vehicles? In this class co-taught by DFS photovoltaics instructor, Jon Passi, and Vernon County Energy District President, Al Bus, we'll tackle questions most drivers have: how EVs stack up against gas cars, how they handle long trips, and what to expect in winter conditions. You’ll get a brief history of electric vehicles and a practical overview of today’s hybrid and all-electric models, including pricing.

We’ll take a closer look under the hood (and beneath the floor), exploring how EVs are built, how their systems work, and what to know about battery lifespan and replacement. You’ll also gain insight into everyday EV ownership, from charging at home to finding stations on the road. Plus, see an electric vehicle up close during a live demonstration.

Couch2Cabin is a three-hour live demonstration of how we cut and assemble a dovetail log cabin using a chainsaw and dovetail cutting jig. During the demonstration, we’ll walk through the process of laying out and cutting the dovetail joinery, fitting the logs, and stacking the walls as we work on a full dovetail cabin.

Fall is a time of great abundance in the world of wild plant foods and foraging. We will explore the nuts, fruits, taproots and tubers, mushrooms, seeds, greens, and more from this time of year and learn how to find and identify the plants that offer them. We will dig into processing methods with some of these foods and learn about preparation and storage for winter. We will have a full day of forays, education, and discussion, while gathering some of fall's abundance throughout the day for participants to take home. We will enjoy a delicious and largely wild lunch prepared by Tamsen Morgan.

"Chip Carving" is an ancient form of wood-surface decoration. It can be applied to wood surfaces both practical and decorative. Examples can be seen on jewelry, Christmas ornaments, boxes, furniture, door frames, spoons and more! In this class each student will have guided practice, then choose/create a traditional Rosette pattern to complete their own Chip Carving artwork.

Raising a few chickens can be the easiest way to grow your own meat. Chickens are easy to start and relatively cheap to raise. They have a short lifecycle and can be kept on a small plot of land. To bring this process to a happy conclusion, however, the would-be poultry grower must be ready to butcher as well.

This half-day class will teach the basics of chicken anatomy and meat sanitation and provide hands-on experience with killing, scalding, plucking, and gutting. Plus, you’ll go home with your own freshly butchered chicken, ready for the oven!

Drums are among the oldest and most widely used musical instruments, dating back nearly 7,000 years. Drums have also long been an important part of ceremonies and cultural gatherings all over the world.

In this workshop you will learn how to “birth” a deer or goat hide drum and mallet. You will cut your own drum skin and lacing from a prepared hide which will be laced around a hardwood frame. There will be several raw hides to choose from, so you may choose who calls to you. While the hides are clean, they will be wet for workability, and the process of cutting your own lacing can be tiresome for the hands. Be prepared to get a little dirty. We will be helping and supporting each other through this process.

Join herbalist Linda Conroy for this fun hands-on herbal medicine-making class. During this day-long class, we will make a wide array of remedies that you can add to your home apothecary. We will make syrups, oxymels, throat sprays, gargle, tinctures, lozenges, infusions, tea, salves and much more. Everyone will leave with recipes, remedies that we make in class and instructions on how to work with each herb.

In Value Your Voice, you will discover the power of your voice in this transformative workshop. You will dive into the mysterious world of singing and claim your right to vocal confidence and clarity. Learn voice science strategies to elevate your everyday voice use, accompanied by intentional yoga asana, mudra, and pranayama to support both your body and mind. Join our workshop community as we explore traditional yoga mantras, singing together and stepping into solo singing with newfound authenticity. Whether you're a seasoned singer or a beginner, this workshop promises to empower your voice and enrich your life.

Join herbalist Linda Conroy for this fun experiential class. We will learn about herbs that can be applied topically to heal the skin, to relieve pain and heal sprains and strains. We will make infused oils, salve, lotion, poultices, topical sprays, washes, and much more! Everyone will leave with recipes and remedies that we make in class.

This class will build knowledge of our local wildlife, as well as skills needed for seeing more of their lives - both in personal encounters and in observation of the sign and tracks they leave us. These skills of awareness are useful in a variety of nature-based hobbies, from photography to hunting, and/or simply for connecting and learning more about our local wilderness through observation.

After enjoying the Basics of Clawhammer Banjo with Brennan Henry, students will leave with a fresh perspective on playing their banjo in an old-style! Topics will include the history of banjoes, fundamentals of strumming and drop-thumbing, music theory for the banjo, advanced techniques for playing up-the-neck, alternative tunings, and being able to play fast reels, great waltzes, and more…

A windmill is both a rural icon and a time-honored method of pumping water - one that is still a viable method today.

This class will introduce you to windmill parts and types, and the basics of constructing a foundation for the tower. The class will have access to Jon's Aeromotor 403 B windmill, which operates as his main water pump.

Are you curious about alternative energy or photovoltaics and want to know more? Would you like to put solar panels on your house or property? Are you curious about conserving energy, and the costs of alternatives?

This course will give you practical, real-world, and background information on solar panels, solar electricity, and various PV systems. Each class participant models their own solar project, and collects all the information they need to finance, construct, or manage their own solar project. The class comes with a take-home DIY manual that can be used with any solar setup, and also includes lists of resources. There will be a tour of existing working systems, installation basics for roofs and racks, and a means for estimating costs of parts and installations on all systems. Class includes a fifty-page DIY PV booklet.

Kolrosing is an ancient form of wood surface decoration. Thin lines are incised into wood and a powderized substance, such as ashes, coffee grounds or cinnamon, is rubbed into the lines. Oil is applied to the wood, suspending and sealing the substance, creating colored patterns on the surface that are smooth to the touch.

Unlike woodcarving or woodburning, Kolrosing is not removing wood, but spreading the wood and filling the grooves. The technique is easy to learn and is commonly used to decorate wooden spoons and other utilitarian objects.

Acorns have long been a staple for many cultures around the world, and an excellent example of how forests have long provided for our human kind. This half-day program will teach participants how to process acorns they have gathered into nutritious food by one of two leaching methods. We will learn efficient cracking, shelling, milling, leaching, and some good ways to use the final products.

The Long-stitch has been used as far back as the 14th century as a stationary binding and as a temporary binding for books with more elaborate (and expensive) futures.

This simple multi-section structure allows for a virtually unlimited number of pages and is well-suited for sketchbooks, notebooks and journals. It is also a popular structure for artists' books as the spine lends itself readily to decoration…

Coptic Bookbinding was developed by the Egyptian Copts in the 2nd century A.D. and represents the earliest known form of a true codex. This multi-section, non-adhesive binding features an exposed spine which reveals the decorative, braid-like sewing of the binding -- commonly known as a chain stitch. These books lay flat when opened, making them easy to write in and an ideal candidate for journals and notebooks. This class will include a brief introduction to material considerations and each participant will bind a book to take home.

This one-day course is a beginner-friendly introduction to the rich traditions of willow basketry. Students will explore the fundamentals of crafting a classic round basket, working with cured willow to learn essential techniques such as creating a round base, twining, staking up, waling, bordering, and finishing. While the hands-on focus is on working with prepared materials, the course also includes discussion on how to process and prepare willow for future projects. Each participant will complete a small to medium-sized basket and receive detailed informational materials to support their continued learning and independent practice in the art of willow basketry.

Explore the creative possibilities of this traditional skill as you design and complete a coiled basket using pine needles and sweetgrass. Herbalist Linda Conroy will guide and instruct you on how to coil and stitch a simple basket as well as integrate other materials into your basket, such as black walnut hull, pine cone, beads, and more.

Join home cheese maker and traditional food aficionado Linda Conroy for this fun class. We will begin the day making cultured milk and cream products including kefir, yogurt, and piima (a Scandinavian cultured cream). We will then transform these into fresh cheeses, like paneer cheese, feta, and mozzarella. Everyone will take home cultures, cheese, rennet, and recipes. The class includes a lunch full of delicious homemade cheese.

Become a part of the hallowed Wisconsin tradition of deer hunting and learn how to take advantage of an abundant local source of all-natural meat. Local hunters will harvest a number of healthy deer for the class and students will learn how to skin and de-bone the animal, as well as how to identify, process, and preserve steaks, stew meat, and meat for grinding…

Rendering your own tallow can be an extremely rewarding endeavor, whether using it for food, body care, or both. In this class, we will discuss the many nutritional benefit of incorporating these fats into one's diet. We will learn how to render tallow and other animal fats, how to cook with them, and how to turn tallow into several body care items (which make great DIY gifts for the holidays!) including tallow balm, lotion bars and homemade makeup/beard balm and more.

A full day of making soap. We will cover the myriad ways to add herbs for your soap, as well as how to make a creamy, moisturizing farm-fresh bar of goat milk soap. This class will cover the qualities of the herbs we can add, for their healing and moisturizing qualities and 3 approaches to soap making: hot process, cold process, and hand milling. In addition to making soap, we will learn to felt soap as well as add loofah sponges for exfoliation as well as additional nourishing skin qualities. This is a comprehensive soap-making class, that will offer a foundation for making soap with the best ingredients from the field, forest, and farm. Participants will leave with many bars of soap to cure at home, a recipe guide and skills for a lifetime.

"Chip Carving" is an ancient form of wood-surface decoration. It can be applied to wood surfaces both practical and decorative. Examples can be seen on jewelry, Christmas ornaments, boxes, furniture, door frames, spoons and more! In this class each student will have guided practice, then choose/create a traditional Rosette pattern to complete their own Chip Carving artwork.

For generations, people of German ancestry in the ridge country near La Crosse have made what they call “woosht” or “ bauerwurst,” which simply means “sausage” in German. These are large pork/venison ring sausages which are stuffed into natural casings and smoked in a backyard smokehouse. Come and be a part of a joyous early winter tradition and go home with some delicious homemade charcuterie. A great first class for beginning sausage makers.

Winter reveals a wealth of information about our local landscapes and their natural communities to the knowledgeable observer. When the conditions are right, we can clearly observe the topography of the land, springs and watercourses, trees, shrubs, the composition and history of our forests, activity and presence of wildlife, and even herb communities. In this day-long exploration we will become more knowledgeable and observant by learning to survey these aspects of the Kickapoo Valley Reserve. We'll discuss how other beings adapt, survive, and even thrive in the wintertime in the Driftless Region.

This will be an immersive experience in the winter woodlands, learning to be comfortable in winter conditions, learning outdoor skills to meet our needs in this season, and enjoying the rare beauty of this time. We will hike out into a wild area near the Wisconsin River, interpreting species of herbs and trees and their offerings of food and firewood, and finding and learning from signs of our active winter wildlife. At midday we will learn about fire-making, cooking on the fire in winter, winter camping and site selection, safety and more. We'll discuss sourcing materials, traveling the winter landscape, and sheltering in an emergency, all while getting to know our landscape in winter. A moderate amount of physical fitness will be important for this experience to cover uneven terrain and potentially snowy conditions.