Archive for April, 2008

Join the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps for a picnic dinner hosted by the Town of Norwich. The picnic is being held to honor and recognize the VYCC for all of the work the organization has put into the Bill Ballard Trail in Norwich since 2000.

The Bill Ballard trail is a critical link in the Norwich Trail System. The trail is part of Norwich’s extensive transportation and recreational trail system. It provides a safe highway access to the town from outlying areas. During the summers of 2000 and 2001 VYCC crews built parts of the trail that are accessible for bike and pedestrian traffic. In 2002 and 2003, Roving Crews built a bridge over Charles Brown Brook and several foot bridges along the trail. Partnerships with the Vermont Agency of Transportation, the Norwich Land Management Council and the Town of Norwich Trails Committee have made this project possible.

The picnic will be held at the Huntley Field/Meadow in Norwich at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 25th. For more information please contact the VYCC’s Operations Director, John Leddy, at john@vycc.org or (802) 434 – 3969 ext. 137.

The Vermont Youth Conservation Corps is proud to announce the acquisition of the East Monitor Barn Property with help from the Vermont Community Foundation. The VYCC will have two years to raise the purchase price and develop a plan for the site. The property is adjacent to the VYCC’s Leadership, Education and Training Center at the West Monitor Barn on Route 2 in Richmond.

On May 8th, at 6 p.m., the VYCC, Richmond Land Trust, Richmond Area Business Association, Richmond Historical Society and the Richmond Creative Communities are co-convening a public forum regarding this property. There will be site tours, refreshments, and an informational meeting aimed at giving the community the chance to help envision the programmatic uses for the property.

Download the event flyer or contact East Monitor Barn Project Manager Ginny McGrath at 434.3969 ext. 115 or gmcgrath@vycc.org for more information.

Patrick Kell, Grant Program Director for the VYCC, also serves as the Executive Director for the Vermont Mountain Bike Association (VMBA) and has split his time to between the two organizations since the fall of 2006.

In 2007, VMBA held a conference in Stowe for representatives from eastern ski resorts to come together to collaborate and learn ways in which to make their resorts mountain biker friendly. It was a huge success and will be repeated this year.

In the spring of 2008, VMBA will also sponsor a VYCC crew to complete trail work in the Fayston section of Camel’s Hump State Forest, and has applied for a grant to hire VYCC crews to complete trail work in the Moosalamoo region.

For more information about the Vermont Mountain Bike Association contact Patrick Kell at patrick@vycc.org or 434-3969 ext. 112. For information on how to hire crews visit our Projects page or contact Operations Director John Leddy at john@vycc.org or 434-396 ext. 137.

The Learn, Earn, and Prosper (LEAP) Program is expanding for the 2008 summer field season!

In the summer of 2007, the VYCC piloted the first ever LEAP Crew for youth who are blind or visually impaired. This four week session was a resounding success and the VYCC will be expanding the scope of the program this summer. The VYCC will continue to offer the same type of experience that was offered in 2007 for six individuals with visual impairments. This crew will live in an apartment style suite in Burlington and work with ReCycle North for the duration of the four week program.

During the second session of the summer field season, the VYCC will offer an Inclusive Crew comprised of four youth who have visual impairments and four youth who do not. For three weeks, this crew, based out of the West Monitor Barn, will work on typical Roving Crew projects which may include erosion control and bridge building in the greater Burlington area.

Special thanks to the Gibney Family Foundation, State of Vermont Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired, ReCycle North, Linking Learning to Life, Vermont Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, AmeriCorps VISTA and the Vermont Association of Business, Industry and Rehabilitation for being involved and making the LEAP Program possible.

For more information about the LEAP Program contact Matt Brantner at (802) 434 – 3969 ext. 138 or mbrantner@vycc.org.

In March, Bridge Street Café became the lead donor to the West Monitor Barn Community Fund, where they will donate 10% of the tab for every West Monitor Barn event they cater. This Community Fund will allow the VYCC to provide the West Monitor Barn to non-profit, school, and community groups at a very low cost or for free. Vermont Tent Company, who is the official rental vendor for the West Monitor Barn, has enthusiastically agreed to join this effort and will also be placing 10% of the revenues they receive from West Monitor Barn events into the fund. These two hope that many more businesses will join them.The VYCC has provided this service to the community to date, although dates fill up fast on the calendar and demand has been so high to rent the space at market rates, that it simply cannot afford to continue. This fund will make all the difference – truly keeping the West Monitor Barn a local community treasure!

If you would like to make a donation to the West Monitor Barn Community Fund or have your business join a growing list of donors, please contact Kate Villa at 434.3969 ext. 110 or kate@vycc.org.

This month the VYCC invested in a green house, with the support of the S&C Harvest Foundation and the Vermont Community Foundation, to help build the capacity of the Farm and Nursery at the West Monitor Barn property. The 26’ X 48’ structure will be used to grow seedlings in the cool months leading into summer and then serve as a hothouse for a few specific varieties during the warmest months. The CTE Spring Crew has been building cold frames in the workshop this month that will help aid in seed growth as well, and will help with the construction of the greenhouse and the preparing and planting of the half acre plot.

Aside from traditional vegetables, the crew will also be growing trial plants for new varieties of eggplant, tomato, and peppers for High Mowing Seeds this summer.

Generosity has abounded with donations of rain barrels for irrigation, a grow-light and stand for starting seedlings, and many different seed varieties for the VYCC garden this summer. If you would like to donate to the project please contact Farm and Nursery AmeriCorps VISTA Lindsay Arbuckle at (802) 434 – 3969 ext. 142 or by email at larbuckle@vycc.org.