The second annual Alternative Gift Fair, Give the Gift of Giving, sponsored by Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, will take place Thursday, December 6th at Contois Auditorium, located on Church Street in Burlington. “Shoppers” will have the opportunity to honor friends and family with a gift to one of the 27 local non-profit organizations who will be there, including the VYCC, and a hand-written card will be sent to the person for whom it is a gift, letting them know that a donation has been made in their name.

We hope you will join us for this inspirational event that captures the true holiday giving spirit at its highest level. Read the flyer, and mark your calendars for this special event!

If you can’t make the event, but would like to make a donation to the VYCC on behalf of a loved one this holiday season, please click here, and we will send them a beautiful handwritten card featuring a snow covered West Monitor Barn to advise them of your gift!

This month the Mount Mansfield Union High School Crew, based year-round at the West Monitor Barn, completed trail work on the main trail leading to our lean-tos. Due to frequent traffic and a steep slope the trail had been eroding steadily during the summer and fall months.

The crew rerouted a portion of the 200-yard section, built a bridge, re-vegetated the bank, and completed some benching where they cut into the backslope of the trail. In preparation for next spring’s training and activities at the barn, the work was completed this fall in an effort to prevent future erosion. “The work that we did will benefit all of the VYCC staff and crews, as well as the Richmond community that comes to use our trail,” said MMU Instructor Sarah Hays. “Hopefully it will keep some muddy feet out of the barn this fall, too!”

Special thanks go out to Sarah and her co-instructor Zac Gilhooley. Interns on the crew include Mike Bessette, Thomas Cude, Victoria McKinstry, Kailey George, Joey Goodroe, Gavin Holt, Travis Leppanen, Paschal Perrotte and Kristina Wright. Thanks for all your hard work!

If you would like to sponsor a project for one of our school crews in the Richmond or Hyde Park area, please contact John Leddy at john@vycc.org or visit our Projects webpage.

Dan Biron of Lee, New Hampshire, donated 200 pairs of hiking boots to the Corps this month. Dan works for Hi-Tec Sports PLC, the UK-based global sports and outdoor company, where he designs and tests footwear. Dan’s partner, Eileen Anderson, is the mother of Christopher Berube, a Roving 14 Corps Member in 2007. These boots will be used by Corps Members, many of whom may not have a pair of their own. After the season they will be returned to the VYCC Boot Library for future Corps Members to use. Thank you Dan for your generous donation!

To make a donation of any kind please visit our Ways of Giving webpage or contact Director of Development Kate Villa at kate@vycc.org or 434 – 3969 ext. 110.

A group of students, staff, administrators, and parents from U-32 and Montpelier High Schools, School to Earth, as well as statewide partners including local farmers, the VYCC, Vermont Technical College, and Food Works, has been awarded a $10,000 Outdoor Classroom Grant from Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation. The Sustainability Collaboration will use these funds to further develop their sustainability education program by building a greenhouse at U-32 high school, enhancing Montpelier High’s existing greenhouse to include irrigation and solar electric monitoring, and expanding garden patches at each school.

The Sustainability Collaboration is in the process of developing a combination of academics, work and service-learning that will enable students at both high schools to earn a diploma with a specialization in sustainability. This past summer the VYCC supported eight students from U-32 and Montpelier High School as part of a Community Crew with a focus on sustainability projects. The crew worked on building the Cross Vermont Trail for alternative transportation, as well as invasive species and erosion control along the Winooski. The crew attended VYCC’s Leadership Retreat in July; the students on the crew initiated and developed a Sustainability Fair that took place in October, 2007.

To learn more please visit the full press release. If you are interested in forming a Sustainability Collaboration in the Woodstock, Montpelier or Burlington area please contact Kat Coons at kcoons@vycc.org or 434 – 3969 ext. 147.