Boulder, Colorado, 6 September - Heritage Conservation Network's 2003 series of Hands-on Building Conservation Workshops will place volunteers at historic preservation projects in Mexico, Italy, Hawaii and three other US states. Workshop participants will spend a week learning specialized building conservation techniques while working to preserve a significant cultural site.

Workshop sites and dates are as follows:

March 9-15 Allen Weathers House, Oxford, Alabama, USA; Decorative Woodwork Conservation

March 23-April 5 Cappella dell'Immacolatella, Trapani, Sicily; Stone, Fresco, and Tile Conservation

July 13-19 Asbury Grist Mill, Asbury, New Jersey, USA; Structural Stabilization and Site Conservation

July 20-26 Hulihe'e Palace, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, USA; Conservation of Coral Lime Mortar over Lava Rock

August 3-9 The Anna Perry Fiske Historic Ranch, Waimea, Hawaii, USA; Building and Site Conservation, Adaptive Reuse

September 21-27 Mission Church, Chihuahua, Mexico; Adobe and Plaster Conservation, Decorative Paint Assessment

October 5-11 Residence from late 1800s, Mesilla, New Mexico, USA; Adobe, Lime Plaster Conservation

HCN provides an expert conservationist to lead each workshop. This technical assistance combined with the dedicated work of up to ten, hard-working "apprentices" enables the group to accomplish a significant amount of work, greatly assisting the owner or sponsoring organization.

The Allen Weathers House, site of the first workshop of the 2003 series, is one of the most significant early houses in Alabama's Choccolocco Valley. Constructed in the late 1830's, the two-story, extended I-house features sophisticated interior Federal Period woodwork, believed to have been produced by Lev and Griffin Borders, known slave artisans. HCN is working with the owner to fully restore the house after it sustained extensive fire damage. This workshop is the second of several planned at the site.

Cappella dell'Immacolatella near Trapani, Sicily, is an old stone chapel built to serve agricultural workers. Although small, the structure offers participants an opportunity to work on both fresco and decorative tile conservation as well as stone conservation.

The Asbury Grist Mill is an industrial heritage site that dates from 1863; it was converted from a flour mill to a graphite mill in 1895 and represents one of the few adaptations of water power to an important twentieth century industry. Workshop participants will be working with members of the Musconetcong Watershed Association, which owns the structure and is hoping to turn it into an environmental education center.

The two workshops will be held in conjunction with the Historic Hawai'i Foundation and will give professionals and enthusiasts alike the opportunity to work with materials indigenous to the tropics and not often seen elsewhere. Hulihe'e Palace was completed in 1838 under the direction of the second Governor of the Island of Hawaii, John Adams Kuakini. The two-story structure, built of lava rock with coral lime mortar, is now a museum showcasing the life of Hawaiian royalty in the late 1800s. Workshop participants will learn to replicate the original mortar, which includes ground coral and volcanic potash among its ingredients.

The Anna Perry Fiske Historic Ranch was the long-time home and working ranch of one of Hawaii's most well-known personalities. It also illustrates the culture and lifestyle of Hawaii's paniolo, the term for the vaqueros that came from Spanish California in the early 1800s to teach Hawaiians the art of handling horses and cattle. The workshop will deal with both conservation and adaptive reuse. These two workshop sites are both on the Big Island of Hawaii.

The state of Chihuahua, Mexico, is the site of over 150 mission churches built by the Jesuits and Franciscans as they worked to spread their religious beliefs among indigenous people in the 17th and 18th centuries. Most of the churches are constructed of adobe, and many have beautiful decorative painting over plaster and on wooden ceilings. The workshop in Mexico will be the first in a series held in collaboration with Misiones Coloniales de Chihuahua. The organization's mission is to assist local residents in the conservation of their adobe churches, which are a vital component of the living cultural landscape.

Adobe is also found in the Southwestern US, and Mesilla, New Mexico, outside of Las Cruces, is known for its historic core of adobe structures. HCN and the participants in the October workshop will be helping restore one of the town's residences from the late 1800s, in conjunction with a City of Mesilla preservation initiative.

With a broad range of locations, structure types, and building techniques from which to choose, Heritage Conservation Network's workshops offer a variety of ways for enthusiasts, students, and conservationists alike to participate in a hands-on preservation project. Participants also spend time during each workshop exploring other heritage sites in the area. Full details about each workshop can be found at HCN's web site: www.heritageconservation.net/workshops.htm

The fee for each one-week workshop is US$875, which includes most meals, lodging, insurance, and workshop materials. The workshop at the Capella dell'Immacolatella will last two weeks and participants have the option of attending for one or two weeks; they also have the option of bringing an accompanying partner, who will stay with the participants but be free to explore Sicily on his/her own. Workshop fees do not include transportation to the site. There are special rates for local residents who do not require lodging as well as for members of the local heritage organization working on the project. Some workshops may have scholarships available.

Additional information about the HCN and the 2003 workshop series, including registration forms, can be found at www.heritageconservation.net or by contacting Heritage Conservation Network, 1557 North Street, Boulder, CO 80304, USA; phone: +1 (303) 444 0128; fax: +1 (775) 320 6837; or email: workshops@heritageconservation.net.

Heritage Conservation Network is a non-profit organization dedicated to conserving the world's architectural heritage.