After two days in Reading in May and June 2025, the town and their love for their school captured the heart of VCRD’s Jessica Savage, Director of Programs and Strategic Initiatives. So she wrote this love letter / opinion piece sharing her reflections. The Town of Reading Has My Heart: Small Schools, Big Questions…
The Town of Lunenburg, like many rural Vermont towns, has several villages and hamlets nestled within its borders: the villages of Lunenburg and Gilman and the hamlets of West Lunenburg, South Lunenburg and Mill Village. Residents and visitors traveling through are treated to quintessential Vermont scenery with historic buildings, open spaces, sweeping vistas, cemeteries, bandstands,…
The first cohort of the Village Trust initiative (VTI) has gotten off to an energetic start. Since launching in April 2024, the communities of Benson, Braintree, Greensboro Bend, Lunenburg-Gilman, Reading, West Fairlee, and Wolcott have been gathering community input through events, surveys, and facilitated conversations to lay the groundwork of an impactful community-driven project for…
The Village of Enosburg Falls wanted to go green and show care for their local environment, and after learning about the Climate Catalysts Innovation Fund Village Manager John Dasaro took the opportunity to bring an EV charger to town. “We wanted to show that we care for our environment and had been looking for options…
Just one year later and Milton community members are ready to celebrate the work behind them and plan further action for the year ahead. Over 180 community members in Milton participated in the Milton on the Move Community Visit process that began in the fall of 2021, facilitated by the Vermont Council on Rural Development…
A few weeks ago, the Working Lands Coalition hosted a celebration to honor the ten-year anniversary of the Working Lands Enterprise Initiative – a program dedicated to supporting farm and forest businesses across Vermont. The celebration, held at the State House with food and live music, saw an overflow crowd of founders, friends, and champions…
Sometimes, it’s not about fixing the problem. It’s about changing the conditions that created the problem in the first place. In other words, sometimes changing the underlying system to create a better future. And the eight Vermont Working Communities Challenge (WCC) Teams are doing exactly that kind of systems change work. The Working Communities Challenge…
It’s around this time of year when people start counting the things they are thankful for: family, friends, and health, so today at VCRD we’d like to share the top five reasons that we find ourselves thankful for rural Vermont. Communities Vermont is made up of 252 towns and cities – each with a unique…
At the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD), we are passionate about the importance of local leadership and supporting individuals and their communities to build a positive future for Vermont. Democracy requires that each of us step forward in service to each other. Most of the time, especially in rural communities, local leadership involves a…
Identifying a community need and leveraging local partners and resources to address it was an exciting piece of the puzzle for the Ilsley Public Library in Middlebury. With new ideas, partners, and local funding, the Library has helped make it possible for visitors, friends, and neighbors to explore Middlebury and Addison County on the library’s…