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UCR Palm Desert Campus

Natural Building Class

Next Class TBA

  • Who: DiHG Eco-Prise and University of California Riverside, Palm Desert Campus
  • What: Add benches to Shed, Interior/Exterior Plaster, Seal Earthen Floor
  • Where: North side of University Building B at Cook Street and Frank Sinatra Drive in Palm Desert, CA
  • When: TBA
  • How: Sign up today to take a 2-day natural building workshop
Sign up Today

The Plan

Materials Yard 5 Walls

The Vision

UCR Materials Yard Design Plan

The Elements

Wall Materials: Clay, Sand, Straw

Pavilion Materials: Locally Grow Bamboo

Plant List: Chilopsis linearis, Fouquieria splendens, Encelia farinosa, Epilobium canum, Spaeralcea ambigua var. rugosa, Baileya pleniradiata,

One Wild Precious Life
What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life...?
- M. Oliver

We have several orgs involved in the umbrella project including UCR Palm Desert, DiHG Eco-Prise, Inc., UC Naturalists, UC Climate Stewards, UCCE Master Gardeners, Riverside County Department of Waste Resources and more.

1 Year - 5 Builds - 45 Students & Counting

We are growing a community of people who want to participate in all things sustainable. Students are encouraged to teachers and become community leaders. Please join us ?

Cob Wall March 20, 2022

March 2022

Stacking Foundation Wall
Cob Mixing Demo
Sifting Clay for Plaster
UCR Cob Workshop March 2022

April 2022

Jessie, Kristina, Erin, Nick

October 2022

Our October students finished the wall and applied an earthen plaster over the entire structure.

Tina Plastering bench
October Cob Group Day 3
Finished Wall #1 October Cob UCR

February 2023

Digging Rubble Trench
Sunday Final Group
End of day 11 group shot
Cobin Almost Done

March 2023

April NB Group by Shed
Palletable Cobin Shed
Part 1 TicTok
Part 2 TicTok

October 2023

Oct 2023 Build 2 Web
Oct 2023 Build 3 Web

This is an ongoing natural building project that is preparing us to establish a permaculture demonstration site on the campus. Upcoming workshops, will include adding a second coat of plaster to the interior and exterior of the shed, finish the earthen floor with boiled linseed oil, build benches on the exterior east and west walls and replaster the wall that was damaged by Tropical Storm Hilary. If we have time and enough students, we will start building the north wall, adding to our materials yard enclosure.

Upcoming Builds - TBA

UCR - Palm Desert, CA
LC - Palm Springs, CA
RCRCD - Riverside, CA
PDS - Sky Valley, CA