Community Meeting: Planning Pollinator Corridors in VT

Description

The Vermont Ecosystems Working Group Invites you to a community meeting to explore the possibilities for creating Pollinators Corridors in Vermont

• When: Thursday June 27th, 10:30am -1:00 pm

• Where: Temple Sinai, 500 Swift Street, South Burlington, VT 05403 (802-862-5125)

• For more information: Natasha Duarte at 802-373-6499 / Natasha@CompostingVermont

Agenda:

10:30-10:45 Meet and Greet

10:45-10:50 Call to Order (Natasha Duarte)

10:50-10:55 Welcome (Rabbi David Edleson)

10:55-11:00 Welcome (Joan Lenes, former VT Representative from Shelburne)

11:00-11:15 Invited Speaker: Vt. Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman

11:15-11:30 Q&A (moderated by Joan Lenes)

11:30-11:45 Introduction to the Gund Institute’s Apis Fund (Charles Nicholson)

11:45-12:00 Introduction to the Ecosystems Working Group (Natasha Duarte)

12:00-12:45 Round Table discussion & Brown Bag Lunch (Frank Guyer)

12:45-1:00 Concluding Remarks (Natasha Duarte)

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Ecosystems Working Group Steering Committee members:

Dr. Anju Krivov (UVM, Community Development and Applied Economics): 978-870-5729

Beret Halverson (UVM, Extension Master Gardener/Master Composter Program): 802-656-1777

Natasha Duarte (Composting Association of Vermont): 802-373-6499

Frank J. Guyer/Geier (3Bs and C non-profit): 802-355-1976

*The Ecosystems Working Group meets 3 times / year: January, June, October

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OTHER IMPORTANT INFO:

This event is free but pre-registration is required so we know how many people to expect.

Sponsors and volunteers are needed; Donations welcome! Please contact Natasha if you are interested.

Free Community Food Scrap Composting Training in Charlotte

The training is free and open to the public. Please register at https://forms.gle/XUm8grD7pwnsxFWPA

When: Saturday, May 11 from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm, followed by an optional tour of the CCS Community Compost shed

Where: Charlotte Library, 115 Ferry Rd, Charlotte, VT 05445

Community composting offers a local option for recycling food scraps and garden/yard materials, putting these valuable resources to good use, and keeping them out of landfills. You can help build healthy soils, right where you live!  Small compost systems can be established at homes, in neighborhoods, at community gardens, CSA’s, farms, or schools, or at other locations, such as churches, senior centers, Town Halls or libraries.  Residents will learn about collaborative composting (it can be easier than solo home composting!), and how using compost products can benefit their community.

This training is designed to help people and communities determine the composting system that will best meet their goals for collecting and composting food scraps. Participants will gain the knowledge to: choose the best system for their site; manage composting basics; safely collect food scraps; accumulate and store carbon sources; communicate “work flow” with family or fellow composters; and more.

Training Overview:

• The “what” and “why” of community composting

• Community-driven goals

• Compost system options, siting, set up, winter preparation

• Composting basics: inputs & outputs, system management

• Gathering needed materials: sourcing, quality, community engagement & training

• Discussion and Q&A

• Hands-on exercises

For more information, contact: Natasha Duarte, natasha@compostingvermont.org or 802-373-6499

Refreshments will be provided; please bring a brown bag lunch, water bottle, and drink mug.

Sponsored by Northeast Recycling Council, Composting Association of Vermont, Town of Charlotte, Charlotte Library,Champlain Valley Cohousing; with funding from a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant.

Webinars: Phosphorus Movement and Compost Use in Stormwater Management

In February2019, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, the Composting Association of Vermont, and the Lake Champlain Sea Grant Institute, hosted 2 webinars discussing phosphorus movement in soil and water, and uses for compost as a soil amendment and in erosion control and stormwater management.

The recordings of the two webinars are below. For more information, please contact Natasha.

Phosphorus in Soil and Water: Important Concepts and Emerging Questions

Presenter: Dr. Eric Roy, University of Vermont (2/12/2019)

Update your understanding of how phosphorus interacts with soil, water, and the various best management practices being employed today. We begin with a look at the chemistry of phosphorus and how it changes based on surrounding physical and biological conditions. For example, what’s the difference between total, dissolved and particulate phosphorus, and why does this matter? How do soil characteristics affect the storage, leaching and movement of this nutrient in the watershed? What about compost and the role of healthy soil?

We then explore broader topics like a region’s phosphorus budget over the long term. How can we better store imported phosphorus, and what questions do we have about the long-term effectiveness of various strategies we rely upon? What are the prospects for exporting phosphorus?

The Science of Compost and Innovative Uses for Soil Amendment, Erosion Control and Stormwater Management

Presenters: Geoff Kuter, Agresource, Inc. and Britt Faucette, Filtrexx, Inc. (2/26/2019)

Broaden your understanding about compost and better ways it can be used to improve water quality and soil health.  We review the science of compost and the soil it amends, including how it impacts nutrients like phosphorus.  We then explore effective strategies and techniques for using compost in a variety of applications, such as to prevent erosion, contribute to site stabilization, remediate compacted soils, establish vegetation, and manage stormwater within various GSI installations. Particular attention is paid to minimizing the risk of leaching phosphorus back into the water.

This webinar also discuss larger concepts as related to compost, such as the pros and cons of meeting Vermont’s goals for diverting organics from landfills and how this relates to limiting phosphorus loads within a watershed.

Due to some technical difficulties during the second webinar, we ran out of time during Britt’s presentation. For those interested, here is a pdf of his full slide deck.

The Soil Series: Grassroots for the Climate Emergency

Where: Bethany Church, Randolph
When: Wednesdays 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM

A collaboration between Building A Local Economy (BALE) and Vermont Healthy Soils Coalition (VHSC)

Calling all land managers, farmers, gardeners, seed savers, citizen scientists, conservationists, town planners,  educators, healers, and advocates! Join us for a series of critical conversations about soil health and how we can become response-able to meet the climate emergency we face with confidence.

There will be great food provided before and, following powerful panel dialogues guided by VHSC members, audience discussion on topics of food, soil, water, health, climate and hope. Together, we can explore what is possible in rehabilitating Vermont’s soil health to hold our landscapes and communities together.

Suggested donation $5 (donations not necessary).

Each program features a social half-hour with great food provided by Black Krim Tavern, Randolph

Schedule of events:

• February 27: Ground to Body: Soil Health & Human Health
  Speakers: Didi Pershouse, Grace Gershuny, Michael Denmeade

• March 13 Shielding Soil with Plants and Animals
  Speakers: Tatiana Schreiber, Graham Unangst-Rufenacht

• March 20 Storytelling Panel
  Speakers: Katherine Oaks, Maddie Kempner, Sha’an Mouliert, Cheryl Herrick

• March 27 Building the Soil From the Ground Up
  Speakers: Juan Alvez, Jessica Ruben, Cat Buxton

• April 10 Social Mycelium: the Fiber of Community Resilience
  Speakers: Mindy Blank, Simon Dennis, Chris Wood, Henry Harris

• April 24 A Soil Sponge to Cool the Planet
  Speakers: Judith Schwartz, Jan Lambert, Henry Swayze

For details on individual events, visit www.vermonthealthysoilscoalition.org