February 8th, 2021


Healthy Roots Collaborative Gleaning Program - Over 92,000 Pounds of Food Moved

The Healthy Roots Collaborative (a program housed at NRPC) Gleaning Program released the 2020 Year In Review. Despite the pandemic and by practicing COVID-19 safety protocols, the gleaning program was able to have a successful year. The Year In Review features the total number gleaned pounds of food, frozen meals and "farmers to families" boxes delivered in 2020. The review also includes the food sites that worked with the gleaning program to distribute gleaned produce to families in the region. To access this review click HERE
      

Expanding Alburgh's Recreational Opportunities 

The municipality of Alburgh was recently awarded a municipal planning grant to re-purpose an underutilized portion of the Alburgh Industrial Park as a four-season recreational area which would could be connected to the Village Center and to an existing rail trail. Alburgh will use grant funds to develop a recreation master plan. A community survey will be distributed via mail to understand the amenities that the residents want in this recreational space. A wetlands delineation will be conducted to evaluate the conditions of the wetlands and possible recreational development. An outside consultant will develop an illustrated concept plan for this space.

The intended long-term outcomes are for this recreational space are that it will be heavily used by residents and visitors during all seasons, encouraging healthy lifestyles. The recreation area will improve economic conditions in the area by attracting residents and visitors towards the Village Center.



New Data on Employment Challenges in Northwest VT

A team of Vermont organizations and municipalities, the Northwest Team, joined forces in 2019 to participate in the Working Communities Challenge (WCC) grant competition supported by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (FRBB) and funded by the State of Vermont, and others.
 
The team's goal in the WCC was to help Northwest region residents find, gain, and sustain good
employment and achieve economic success. The team planned to accomplish this by examining the systemic issues in society, employment, and government and how equitable change can be made to support the unique needs of every individual.
 
The team saw, and still sees, the Formidable Four employment challenges as barriers to successful employment: transportation, child care, housing, and substance use disorder. Problems with internet and technology access were also identified as a challenge.
 
The team decided to survey Franklin and Grand Isle residents about employment challenges to
determine which challenge(s) was the greatest concern, discover insights into these problems, and gather ideas for solutions. This data would help the team decide where to focus. The Employment Challenges Survey received 185 individual responses.
 
The survey data report is finally complete and contains fascinating and useful insights into employment in the region.
 
You can access the Northwest Vermont Employment Challenges Survey Report HERE.


South Hero Receives a Grant to Plan for the Revitalization of the Old White Meeting House
 
The Town of South Hero has been awarded a VCDP Planning Grant to plan for the revitalization of the Old White Meeting House, a historic building located in its Village Center. Currently, the building is in need of major repairs, and is only able to be used seasonally. Funds from VCDP and the Town will be used to develop an architectural schematic design, cost estimate for renovations, and site plan. The ultimate goal of the project is to revitalize the building for year-round use as a multipurpose community space, as well as for continued seasonal use as the Granny's Attic Benefit Shop. NRPC is working in partnership with South Hero to manage the project.

This project arose from a Municipal Planning Grant the Town received in 2019. As part of the MPG, NRPC conducted public outreach regarding the community's vision for the future of the building which informed the project's goal of renovating the structure to be used year-round as a multi-purpose community space and Granny's Attic.


The Old White Meeting House (circa 1895)


Replacing Road Culverts to Improve Habitat Connectivity in Franklin County

Our EcoAmeriCorps member, Luke Briccetti, and other EcoAmeriCorps members at Franklin County Natural Resources Conservation District (FCNRCD), are working on a project to improve aquatic organism passage through road structures in Franklin County. This project aims to replace culverts that restrict aquatic organism passage (AOP), create erosion hazards, and block stream connectivity in the Tyler Branch and Trout River subwatersheds within Franklin County. This project is in partnership with both the Franklin County Natural Resources Conservation District and US Fish and Wildlife. 

A preliminary site visit on 40 structures in Montgomery, Richford, Enosburgh, and Bakersfield has already been done. Next steps are to apply for funding through the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation Watershed Grant to hire a consultant to provide technical support, and also to evaluate general project feasibility, basic cost estimates, and conceptual pre-design work. An assessment on private culverts will be done some time in the future as well. The information from these assessments will be relayed to towns to ensure that they are aware of the aquatic organism passage status of culverts when they need to replace them for hazard reasons. 

The US Fish and Wildlife are working to assemble a larger working group with NRPC and the Franklin County Natural Resources Conservation District to tackle aquatic organism passage problems across North Western Vermont. This project's timeline will go over the service time of the EcoAmeriCorps members currently involved in it but the next set of members will continue the work alongside the larger working group from US Fish and Wildlife. 

Everyone Eats
 
In the dwindling days of 2020 with CARES Act funding coming to an end, scores of inquiries were placed to community organizers: Is Everyone Eats ending? When will it come back online? The partners of Vermont Everyone Eats are thrilled to announce that this valuable program will start coming back online! Starting the first week in February, The Healthy Roots Collaborative (a program housed at NRPC) will be organizing and distributing fresh and frozen meals from 6 local restaurants to 14 distribution sites in Franklin & Grand Isle Counties, including food shelves, community centers, senior centers, and long-term care facilities.
 
Everyone Eats program purchases to-go meals from local restaurants to feed Vermont communities. Vermonters across the state have celebrated how the program creatively provides economic support to restaurants and their employees, new revenue opportunities for Vermont farmers and food producers, and nourishing meals served with dignity and care to those seeking assistance. In 2020, Everyone Eats funded over 530,000 meals, injecting $5.3 million into local restaurants and nearly $500,000 to Vermont farms and food producers. To see the 2020 final report for the Chittenden/Franklin/Grand Isle Hub visit: HERE
 
The Healthy Roots Collaborative will continue to act as a link between restaurants and local purchasing as well as making sure meals are reaching the most vulnerable members of our community. As of January 28, the ACCD program is planning on continuing Everyone Eats through June 30 so long as Vermont is under a state of emergency and FEMA continues to reimburse the State. For more information please contact Christine Porcaro CPorcaro@nrpcvt.com



Franklin Grand Isle Counties Hub Hero's Welcomes Everyone Eats Meals


In Good Taste Eaters Guide

In lieu of Healthy Roots' traditional In Good Taste event, this year we have developed an In Good Taste Eaters Guide  featuring our growers and makers. In a time where we are not always able to connect with people face-to-face, we hope that this guide will help to connect you to some great Franklin & Grand Isle County producers!

Check out all the amazing
In Good Taste Growers & Makers!





A new, free guide produced for the Vermont Public Service Department will help homeowners navigate the process heating and cooling their homes with clean energy. 

About twenty percent of Vermonter's heating needs are met local cord wood or wood pellets and over 25,000 cold climate heat pumps have been installed in Vermont. However, nearly eighty percent of Vermonters still heat their homes by burning fossil fuels which contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, are a drain on the local economy, and can worsen air quality. To align their interests in renewable, clean, and local energy with their home energy needs many Vermont homeowners are looking to transition to clean heating technologies. This guide provides information and guidance on how to make that transition. 

The guide is available to view energysaver.vermont.gov or download as a pdf at www.bit.ly/35NaoEf.



NNECAPA Webinar Series: Main Street After COVID-19

There's been a lot of discussion about helping small downtowns in the short term, but what happens after that? What will help Main Street survive, adapt, and thrive after the pandemic?

Jeff Levine will present the findings and recommendations of his recent study outlining strategies for the next five years and beyond, as identified by small business owners and downtown planning organizations in six small cities in the northeast.
Jeff Levine, AICP, Levine Strategies

This webinar will take place on Thursday, March 11, 2021 from 1pm to 2:30pm.

To register click here


Under Executive Order 02-20, the Vermont Racial Equity Task Force was directed to examine structures of support for racially diverse populations; review current state and federal law on hate speech and freedom of speech; study and present options for encouraging Vermonters from diverse, marginalized, or underrepresented racial and ethic groups to run and serve in public office at all levels. 

Vermont's Racial Equity Task Force has released its most recent report, focused on free speech and public office. You can find the report HERE


Climate Council Seeks Sub-Committee Nominations

The Vermont Climate Council, charged with implementing Vermont's Global Warming Solutions Act is seeking nominations for sub-committee members. Sub-committee members should be prepared to devote 4-6 hours per week over the coming months and have a particularly relevant expertise for a sub-committee. Sub-committee members should share an important viewpoint on the issues, bringing demographic, geographic and other balance to the conversation. The Council is inviting members of the public to nominate sub-committee members through this survey. It has also been posted on the Climate Council website

It will be open until Friday, February 12 at 9:00 pm. The Council will use these nominations to appoint up to 6-8 individuals for each sub-committee. The five sub-committees include:
 
* Rural resilience and adaptation
* Cross-sector mitigation
* Just transitions
* Agriculture and ecosystems
* Science and Data


Northwest Regional Planning Commission
Address: 75 Fairfield Street, St. Albans, VT 05478
Phone: 802.524.5958      Fax: 802.527.2948     Website: www.nrpcvt.com