This Commentary is by Denise Smith, Executive Director of the Vermont Council on Rural Vermont (VCRD). VCRD has been serving the needs of Vermont’s rural communities for over 30 years, facilitating community-led, place based conversations to help communities envision their collective future. Ask anyone how many towns there are in Vermont and you’ll hear a…
Through the “New Haven Comes Together” process, the community came together to identify and prioritize goals, foster local leadership, connect to resources and develop and realize achievable action plans. Through 3 public meetings, community members chose two priorities for action, and signed up for task force groups to move them forward. The new task force…
The Climate Catalyst Innovation Fund supports local innovative climate projects for which a small grant could have a meaningful impact at the community level. In this round, $60,500 in grants ranging from $500 to $4,000 were awarded to 17 local projects developing solutions that move Vermont closer to its climate and energy goals. Funded projects…
The Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) announces the call for Climate Economy Resilient Communities participants for 2026. Through the program, VCRD supports three to five communities each year working on local climate action solutions that help increase climate resilience, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lower energy use, and/or strengthen the local climate economy. Since launching…
