What's New at VCRD
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Bennington Community Visit - March 15th On Thursday, March 15th, all members of the Bennington community are invited to participate in a series of forums in town to share their concerns and ideas. VCRD will bring a team of federal, state, business and nonprofit leaders who will listen to residents, and will return in months ahead to the community with recommendations, ideas and support in developing action plans and funding strategies. The forum sessions for discussion on the 15th will include: Poverty; Youth; Education; Downtown; Workforce; Economic Development & Growth; Community & Collaboration; Arts, Recreation & Entertainment; and Bennington Self Image. The detailed schedule will be posted soon. For more information or to get on our email list for the schedule announcement, contact us at margaret (at) vtrural.org or 802-223-6091. |
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Video of Rep. Stevens at the Rural Economic Development Caucus, 1/25/12 Representative Will Stevens presenting to the Rural Economic Development Caucus on January 25, 2012 on the Working Lands Enterprise Investment bill: |
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Vermont Working Lands Enterprise Investment Bill Public Hearing: Dozens expected to testify tonight Four committees of the Vermont Legislature will host a public hearing on the Working Lands Enterprise Investment bill (H.496 / S.246) on Wednesday evening. Dozens of Vermonters are expected to testify in support of the bill. WHAT: Public Hearing – Working Lands bill PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: Full room of Vermonters concerned with farm and forest vitality. Committee members and other legislators. More information about the bill is availalbe here: http://vtworkinglands.org/programs/policy-councils/working-landscape/bill Both the House and Senate Agriculture committees have hearings on the bill scheduled during the week, as well. The Vermont Working Landscape Partnership (VWLP) is a non‐partisan and broad‐based effort to support local agriculture and forestry, grow and attract farm and forest entrepreneurs, and conserve Vermont’s Working Landscape far into the future. The Partnership’s members believe that all Vermonters benefit from the state’s working landscape and everyone should contribute to ensure its future. |
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Vermont Working Lands Enterprise Investment Bill Draws Support: Lawmakers and Advocates Stand Together for Vermont’s Future MONTPELIER VT, 1/12/2012 – Several Vermont lawmakers and advocates announced the introduction of the Vermont Working Lands Enterprise Investment bill on Wednesday morning in the Vermont statehouse. After a presentation to the Rural Economic Development Caucus, representatives from the Vermont Working Lands Partnership, the Vermont Woodlands Association, the Vermont Natural Resources Council, and the Vermont Land Trust, as well as several Vermont lawmakers stood together in support of the bill. Paul Costello, Executive Director of the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD), explained that the bill is the culmination of many years of research and thought by many groups. “Vermont is at a point where we can declare our leadership. Let’s raise the flag and say we will be a food systems leader,” Costello urged... Click HERE for the full press release. |
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Vermont Working Landscape Partnership press conference, January 11, 2012 Several Vermont lawmakers and advocates announced the introduction of the Vermont Working Lands Enterprise Investment bill on Wednesday morning in the Vermont statehouse. After a presentation to the Rural Economic Development Caucus, representatives from the Vermont Working Lands Partnership, the Vermont Woodlands Association, the Vermont Natural Resources Council, and the Vermont Land Trust, as well as several Vermont lawmakers stood together in support of the bill.
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Vermont Rural Jobs Bill Considered in Statehouse: Vermont Working Lands Enterprise Investment Bill Sets a Course for a Strong Future MONTPELIER, VT – The Vermont Working Landscape Partnership will announce the introduction of a comprehensive rural economic development bill that calls for significant state investment in working lands enterprises. A coalition of groups supporting the bill will gather with bill sponsors to announce the bill’s introduction and consideration in the Vermont statehouse. Coalition members and bill sponsors will speak and answer questions. WHAT: Announcement about bill introduction and consideration Click the attachment below to read the full press release. |
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Mentorship Program Pairs Elementary Students with High School Mentors for Game Development and Website Building– Sign Up Now December 19, 2011 ~ Digital Wish has partnered with Microsoft to bring two different after-school programs to Vermont towns participating in the e-Vermont project. There’s one program for Microsoft Kodu game development and another for Microsoft Expression web design. These after-school programs will be coordinated by Digital Wish staff and run by local high school mentors in the 24 e-Vermont elementary schools. High schools and tech centers located near any of these towns are invited to sign up a team of student mentors. Click HERE for a website with details or read the press release below. |
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Vermont Communities in a Digital Age February 16
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Video: Revitalizing Vermont’s Rural Economy Campaign Launch
Videos of the press event on October 18, 2011. Speakers include Roger Allbee, Christa Alexander, Peter Condaxis, and Marie Audet. |
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Working Landscape Action Plan Report
The Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) launched this broad-based partnership as a way to focus efforts to keep our farm and forest economy healthy and prosperous. Read the report online by clicking the link, or for a print copy please contact VCRD at 802 223-6091 or info[at]vtrural.org. |
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Morristown Community Visit Report Available
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Video ~ Vermont's Working Landscape: Keeping it Vital
VWLP’s video, Vermont’s Working Landscape: Keeping it Vital, looks at the difficulties facing our farm and forest economy as well as the opportunities the state can pursue to reverse alarming trends. Narrated by Chris Graff with original music from Colin McCaffrey, the video includes stunning photography and trend line graphs to help tell the story. If you'd like to present this to a group and prefer a DVD, request a copy by email: info@vtrural.org or phone: 802-223-6091. (Video Credits) |
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Join the Vermont Working Landscape Partnership
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Key Findings of the Summit on the Future of Vermont's Working Landscape Participants at the Summit on the Future of Vermont’s Working Landscape on December 10 2010 shared their commitment to advancing the enterprise that serve as the foundation for the future vitality of rural lands and rural communities. Five afternoon breakout sessions reviewed the five point Vermont Working Landscape Partnership Action Plan and offered their advice to improve it and initiate a campaign to implement it. This Summit report attempts to categorically summarize the key ideas expressed. It will be used by the Vermont Working Landscape Partnership Council as a starting point for the improvement of the plan and a guide to advance its implementation. |
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Fairfield Community Visit Report Available
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e-Vermont Selects 2011 Communities
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Join us at the Citizens in a Connected Age Workshop, Sat. March 5, 9am-4pm
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Marlboro Community Visit Report Available
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Values, Vision and Unification in Addison Northwest Supervisory Union This report synthesizes the discussion from public forums in the Addison NW Supervisory Union on the Renewal of Public Education for the 21st Century. The inputs were presented to the ANWSU Board, the School Boards of the Supervisory Union, and the people of the five communities that make up the union: Addison, Ferrisburgh, Panton, Vergennes, and Waltham as they prepare for a vote on whether to unify their school boards. Read the report. |
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Job Creation and Retention Platform Vermont Economic Development Partners worked together to identify doable, cost-effective and measured ways to advance economic activity that will create jobs and that can be initiated in the short term. This diverse group identified key recommendations for Vermont leaders to consider this year. Read the report. |
(Montpelier, VT) – The e-Vermont Community Broadband Project is working across Vermont to help communities solve local issues with 21st century tools. On February 16 e-Vermont will host Vermont Communities in a Digital Age to highlight some of the projects taking place and bring leaders and learners together to share what they have discovered so far. Visit 
Vermonters and visitors value our working landscape for all its scenic, cultural, economic, environmental and recreational benefits. However, if alarming trends are not reversed it will vanish within a generation. So will Vermont's distinctiveness, its core brand for tourism and attracting business, and many of the key values that unify the state. VCRD is building a new non-partisan and broad-based partnership to support local agriculture and forestry, grow and attract farm and forest entrepreneurs, and conserve Vermont’s Working Landscape far into the future. Over 320 people have already signed on to this Partnership. 
MONTPELIER, VT – The e-Vermont Community Broadband Project will bring digital tools and in-depth internet training to 12 additional rural communities in 2011. The twelve, announced today, will benefit from the expertise and resources of e-Vermont’s statewide partners as the local groups develop ways to take full advantage of the Internet for creating jobs and innovative schools, providing social services, and increasing community connection. These towns join the first 12 pilot e-communities, selected in spring 2010...
Lyndon State College. Registration Fee: $12. This workshop is for ALL Vermonters who want to learn strategies and skills for using Internet and software applications. Learn about website communication tools; social media – strategies for incorporating it into a business, government or personal life; troubleshooting technology; data security; marketing a business online; Google applications; weighing the risks and benefits of online financial transactions; digital storytelling for educators; and best practices for e-government websites. For more information and to register for this event: 
We completed our 3-month Community Visit process in Marlboro. 