Calendar
Annual Meeting
From VT Digger:
Contact:
Shelby Girard, (802) 223-7222, [email protected]
Rural Vermont will launch “Groundswell”, a statewide community conversation tour on February 22nd at the Tunbridge Town Hall, followed by stops in Putney, Rutland, Shaftsbury, Burlington, and Craftsbury Common throughout March and April. All events are from 5:30-8:30pm, free, and open to all. RSVP and apply for farmer and childcare stipends at www.ruralvermont.org.
Rural Vermont’s Community Conversation Tour will engage communities in dialogue about land use, livelihood, food, and the future of Vermont. At each of the Tour stops, Rural Vermont farmer-leaders and staff will present a vision for an agricultural economy in Vermont that delivers health and vitality to farmer, eater, soil, environment, and community alike.
Attendees will be invited to identify priorities, barriers, and pathways to systemic change at the individual, community, and statewide levels. Rural Vermont will use the results from all Tour events to shape its plan for moving Vermont towards this shared vision for a just agriculture and economy which serve all Vermonters and the land we inhabit.
Tour events will be punctuated by a light dinner provided by Rural Vermont, music and cash bar/BYOB at select locations, and ample time for socializing with friends and neighbors. Farmer and childcare stipends are available, on a limited basis, to make it easier for farmers and families to participate.
Rural Vermont recognizes the urgency of the crises we face and envisions a future where Vermont farmers thrive while nourishing their communities with nutrient-dense food grown from healthy animals and living soils, where profits stay local and support small businesses, where farmers are incentivized to adopt regenerative practices that sequester carbon and fight climate change, and where every Vermonter can determine what food is best for their family to eat.
The time has come to transition Vermont’s agricultural economy to one in which success is not measured solely in gallons, pounds, or dollars extracted from the land, but also by the health and vitality of all its stakeholders: Farmers, consumers, businesses, crops, animals, and soils. We cannot wait for Washington or Montpelier to begin this transition; we must act now to create a vibrant future for all.
Rural Vermont’s “Groundswell” is made possible with lead support from Action Circles and Chelsea Green Publishing; and additional support from Bob White Systems, the Farmhouse Group, Farm to Ballet, Grow More Waste Less, Hunger Mountain Co-op, Miss Weinerz, NOFA-VT, Rutland Area Farm & Food Link, Skinny Pancake, Vermont Compost Company, Vote Hemp, and Weston A. Price Foundation.
For more information, including the full schedule of events, and to RSVP, call (802) 223-7222 or visit www.ruralvermont.org.
Since 1985, Rural Vermont has been amplifying the voices of farmers and advocating for a fair food system through education, organizing, and advocacy.
Thursday, March 2, 2017
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Hotel Coolidge: The Vermont Room
39 South Main Street
White River Junction, Vermont
Please forward this invitation to anyone you think would be interested.
View the flyer here: Listening Tour Flyer
Dr. Cameron Wake
University of New Hampshire
Research Professor, Institute for the Study of
Earth, Oceans and Space
Josephine A. Lamprey Professor in Climate and
Sustainability, UNH Sustainability Institute
Thursday March 2, 3:30 pm
Filene Auditorium, Moore Hall
Free and Open to the Public
Cameron Wake leads a research program investigating regional climate change through the analysis of ice core records and historical and instrumental data. Cameron also helps lead Climate Solutions New England, a collaborative effort to secure healthy, prosperous, and sustainable communities through the pursuit of integrated solutions that include building energy self-reliance and weather resilience. His collaborative research on several regional climate assessments in the northeast United States has been shared with municipal, state, and federal agencies and representatives, has been covered widely in the media, and has been cited by several as motivation for policy action. In recognition of his engaged scholarship around the issue of climate change, Cameron was awarded the UNH Faculty Award of Excellence in Public Service in 2010.
Read more: https://www.eos.sr.unh.edu/Faculty/Wake
Co-Sponsored by the Department of Earth Sciences, the Sierra Club Upper Valley Group, and the Dickey Center for International Understanding
Michal Kravčík , a distinguished hydrologist and climate expert from Slovakia, and recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize, has an urgent message for America as well as the rest of the globe: All of us, not just the “experts,” must take action by soaking up the rain in soil and plants, which release cooling cloud-forming vapor to fall again as rain, to restore critical land-based water cycles. Otherwise we will experience worsening drought, heat waves and other climate woes, including floods and severe storms. Dr. Kravčík is a seasoned world lecturer who will touring North America in March and April 2017, presenting natural, inexpensive solutions for restoring more livable landscapes and weather patterns. For anyone, lay or professional, concerned about water supplies, land use, or climate, this will be time well spent.
For more information please visit Voices of Water for Climate, a project of Biodiversity for a Livable Climate at https://bio4climate.org/vow/ or contact tour coordinator Jan Lambert at [email protected] or 603-477-9947.
March 7, 2017 8-3:30 ,at the Sheraton Hotel, 870 Williston Road, Burlington VT.
The course, Procurement Under FEMA Awards: Requirements for Recipients and Sub recipients When Procuring Services and Supplies with Funding under Stafford Act Grant Programs, is designed for State, Local, and Tribal emergency management personnel, and private non-profit entities who procure services that may be reimbursable under the FEMA program. https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/96773
March 8, 10 am – noon at 171 Bridge St, Hartford VT. Room 2
Please RSVP to [mailto:[email protected]]
Please also feel free to distribute this to anyone who could benefit from the course.
Meeting agenda for Wednesday March 15, 2017 VTrans District 4 Garage
9:30am – 11:00am
1) Introductions (9:30am)
2) Gravel Gradation – Todd Eaton, VLR Circuit Rider (1.5 hrs)
Todd will go into discussion of gravel gradation, sieving and material components.
3) Field season (culverts, road erosion, traffic speed studies) – Rita (10 mins)
4) Meeting Adjourn
Please RSVP to Rita ([email protected] or call 457-3188)
Location:
VTrans District 4 Garage – 221 Beswick Drive, WRJ, VT Phone: (802) 295-8888
Directions:
From Exit 11 of I-91 (WRJ), go north on US5, right onto Sykes Mountain Ave, right onto Beswick Drive (McDonald’s corner).
The Vermont Agency of Transportation has selected a new park and ride facility site at Exit 3 on I-89 in Royalton.
They are holding a public meeting to obtain public input on the conceptual design. Please attend and provide your input.
If you are unable to attend and have comments/questions, please contact Wayne Davis, VTrans Park and Ride Manager at 802-828-5608 or at [email protected].
Meeting agenda for Tuesday March 21, 2017 VTrans District 4 Garage
9:30am – 11:00am
1) Introductions (9:30am)
2) Gravel Gradation – Todd Eaton, VLR Circuit Rider (1.5 hrs)
Todd will go into discussion of gravel gradation, sieving and material components.
3) Field season (culverts, road erosion, traffic speed studies) – Rita (10 mins)
4) Meeting Adjourn
Please RSVP to Rita ([email protected] or call 457-3188)
Location:
VTrans District 4 Garage – 221 Beswick Drive, WRJ, VT Phone: (802) 295-8888
Directions:
From Exit 11 of I-91 (WRJ), go north on US5, right onto Sykes Mountain Ave, right onto Beswick Drive (McDonald’s corner).
Each program opens with great light food fare from Black Krim Tavern and offers an opportunity to post – and promote – organizing actions that people are committed to act on; an opportunity to launch new ideas, recruit participants and/or inspire deeper engagement… anything that strengthens local capacity and stronger, interconnected communities.
- March 22: The film, “The Economics of Happiness” and dialogue with filmmaker Steven Gorelick (the film offers an overview of why the current global economic model is failing the vast majority of humanity… and then offers positive, dynamic localization actions seen on six continents)
- March 29: “Know Your Farmer — Feed Your Farmer” – a celebration of our local food system and farmers (for one night we turn the tables and the eaters feed the farmers; also many great stories from farmers we know and live music)
- April 12: “Local Dollars, Local Sense” talk with Gwen Hallsmith of Vermonters for a New Economy (actions that we can take at local and state level, including a state bank commission and much more about localizing money exchange and investment)
- April 19: “Slow Democracy” with presenter Susan Clark (author of Slow Democracy; what is the scale at which democracies work well… and how to keep them vibrant)
- May 10: “Learning from Our Local Past” with Camden Walters and Euclid Farnham (what can we learn from our past that can help us relocalize our communities)
- May 24: To be Announced
Organized by BALE (Building A Local Economy) in partnership with Local Futures, Vermonters for a New Economy, Sustainable Woodstock, Rural Vermont, Alliance for Vermont Communities, Peace & Justice Committee of Bethany Church, and Feast & Field Market.
Supported by the New England Grassroots Environment Fund, Larsen Family Fund, Sustainable Future Fund of the Vermont Community Foundation and Catamount Solar Community Grants.