Archive for May, 2011

Vermont watersheds have a friend in the VYCC. This year, Conservation Crews will again complete important water quality projects by restoring riparian buffers, controlling erosion, and developing education materials thanks to an agreement with the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation.

The funds will also be used to increase our ability to identify and design watershed projects in partnership with the state’s regional Watershed Coordinators and communities throughout the state. This year’s project sites include Allen Brook in Williston, the Lamoille River in Hardwick, and the Hinesburg Town Forest.

For more information on these watershed projects or on hiring a VYCC crew, contact Keegan Tierney at 802.434.3969 ext. 141 or Keegan.Tierney@vycc.org.

The VYCC was recently honored with a Connecting Citizens to the Land award by the US Forest Service. The 20-state regional award recognized the VYCC, the Vermont Mountain Bike Association (VMBA), and the Green Mountain National Forest (GMNF) for expanding opportunities through collaboration. These organizations worked together to restore and expand access in the Moosalamoo National Recreation Area of the GMNF.

VYCC crews played a critical role in this partnership. In 2010, crews camped at the head of the Leicester Hollow Trail for eight weeks, and constructed new trail sections to replace the trails washed out by the flood of 2008. The trails built by the VYCC crews are reminiscent of Civilian Conservation Corps trail work still evident 75 years later in the GMNF and around the nation.

The trail work the crews completed was not only technical, but also physically exhausting. Imagine hiking three miles each way to and from your jobsite daily for eight weeks. Tired yet? Now picture the actual work you’ll be doing there: moving boulders weighing up to 1,000 pounds each with simple rock bars and then creating yards of one-inch cobble by hand. Exhausted? Well, with hard work, perseverance, and a whole lot of sweat and muscle, the VYCC crews did just that – they completed trail sections that leave even the most casual visitors in awe of their skills, dedication, and tenacity.

The VYCC is excited to be part of this project which will continue this summer, and we greatly appreciate the ongoing support provided by the GMNF and VMBA.

This July, the VYCC will host a week-long camp called Grab the Torch – Leadership, Ethics, & Philanthropy. Thirty-five students, ages 16-21, will learn about philanthropy: what it is, how it works, and, most importantly, how they can incorporate philanthropic values into their own lives to truly make a difference in the world.

The Vermont Commons School, the Vermont Community Foundation, and the VYCC are partnering with Grab the Torch to develop, host, and promote this innovative and inspirational camp. Throughout the week, campers will meet with leaders from renowned national and Vermont-based companies and nonprofit organizations, including Google, Charity Navigator, Shelburne Farms, and the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum.

Do you know a young person who would be interested in this great camp? There are still open spaces as well as scholarships. For more information, visit the Grab the Torch website or email GrabTheTorch@vycc.org.

The VYCC is thrilled to announce that we have been awarded a multi-year Vermont Women’s Fund grant to develop and offer conservation programs for young women. The Vermont Women’s Fund (VWF) is the state’s only grantmaker soley dedicated to investing in Vermont women and girls by supporting programs that provide the tools they need to build strong, healthy, empowered lives.

To achieve greater impact with their grantmaking dollars, the VWF conducted extensive research in 2010, including a statewide listening tour, to learn more about the barriers to economic well-being facing the women and girls of Vermont. As a result, the fund has launched a new multi-year grantmaking initiative targeting young women between the key transitional ages of 15 and 25 with the goal of building increased economic security for them once they become adults.

The VYCC will be joined by Vermont Works for Women and the Rutland Region Workforce Investment Board as Strategic Partner grantees for this new initiative, with each organization receiving $20,000 a year for up to three years. In addition, the VWF’s annual round of grants will be focused on this new body of work. To learn more about the findings from the VWF’s listening tour and their new grantmaking initiative, please visit their website.

If you know of a young woman who would contribute great things to a VYCC crew, please contact Eliza Kenigsberg at Eliza.Kenigsberg@vycc.org or 802.434.3969 ext. 130.