Our Mount Mansfield Union and Champlain Valley Union year round school crews are very close to completing a large project on the West Monitor Barn property that began this past summer. The final steps in the construction of an on-site composting toilet are almost complete. The structure is designed to serve the eight lean-tos on the Monitor Barns property which are frequently used by our Crew Leaders & Corps Members during trainings or when they are working on projects in the area. The toilet will also be available for hunters and others from the general public using the land.

The VYCC Champlain Valley Union High School (CVU) Crew has been hard at work this fall. The crew’s start date was September 3rd, and they have taken part in some exciting projects around the local area.

So far they have:

-Participated in watershed conservation projects with the Montpelier Parks and Conservation Commission
-Completed a trail clearing project on local nordic ski trails
-Worked on land stewardship projects here at the VYCC West Monitor Barn campus, which included sumac removal by the East Monitor Barn and cover crop planting in the garden

These students have also helped Maple Wind Farm harvest vegetables. Maple Wind Farm has been a strong educational partner of VYCC’s. VYCC swaps work on the farm for time on their ropes course, use of their farm equipment, and their advice for productive vegetable growing. It is a wonderful partnership!

As for the rest of October and November, they will be continuing land stewardship work at the VYCC, beginning with the VYCC Trail System and specifically the trail past the lean-tos. Their main focus will be drainage and erosion control, as water needs to be successfully guided off the trail, and drainage dips need to installed.

To learn more about the fantastic CVU School Instructors, Hillary and Matthew, click here.

The VYCC has wrapped up its summer season but that doesn’t mean the work is completed! September 15th marked the first day of the Conservation and Community Leadership Program fall calendar. The fall season launched with a crew headed to Greensboro to complete trail work at Barr Hill and Long Pond Natural Areas in partnership with the Freeman Foundation, the Greensboro Conservation Commission, and The Nature Conservancy. Over the next few weeks three CCL fall crews will complete 14 weeks of conservation projects around the state.

School is in session for our VermontFutures School Program Crews! The VYCC is now operating five school crews throughout Vermont. Partnerships with local schools include The Center for Technology – Essex, Mount Mansfield Union High School, Lamoille Union High School, Woodstock Union High School, and Champlain Valley Union High School. Over 50 high school students from around the state will be participating in the School Program this year completing projects in agriculture and natural resources in and around their home communities.

Visit the School Crew Leaders webpage and learn more about the amazing people leading these crews!

The Montpelier Community Crew spent the first two weeks of their seven week session at Food Works at Two Rivers Center in Montpelier this summer doing a variety of work projects. They have been planting trees, bushes, and herbaceous plants along the riverbank to help control erosion and have also constructed raised bed container herb gardens, removed brush and undergrowth in the outdoor teaching kitchen, and participated in garden maintenance and upkeep on the Earth Garden and Herb Garden. In addition, the crew has gotten their hands dirty helping to plant, weed, compost, and participate in many other farm chores around the Center. They have also had the opportunity to work with an experienced team of timber framers in restoring the first floor of the historic barn there, originally built in 1836!

To learn more about the crew’s work at Food Works at Two Rivers Center, join us for the Montpelier Community Crew’s Open House Presentation on August 13th.