Resources Archives - Sustainable Woodstock

Solar

jbird24 — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 15:32:14 +0000

Solar

Solar Options

There are many options when it comes to choosing a solar installer in Vermont. Rather than link to all installers here, we recommend that you do your research and ask friends and neighbors about their experience with specific providers.

Solar Resources

Inflation Reduction Act Incentives

A Vermonter’s Guide to Residential Solar

Note: this guide was produced in 2016

Solar Energy in Vermont’s Working Landscape

A Guide to Farming-Friendly Solar

The Solarize Guidebook

A Community Guide to Collective Purchasing of Residential PV Systems
Published by the U.S. Department of Energy

Homeowner’s Guide to the Federal Tax Credit for Solar Photovoltaics

Learn More

Please contact us for more information about programs and initiatives.

The post Solar appeared first on Sustainable Woodstock.

Food Security

jbird24 — Sun, 04 Dec 2022 19:21:55 +0000

Food Security

Food Security Throughout the Upper Valley

Responding to significant demand from families wanting/needing to grown their own food, Sustainable Woodstock has increased community gardens plots by 30%, offered sliding-scale fees & cultivated new garden beds to grow vegetables for the Woodstock Community Food Shelf, which serves Barnard, Bridgewater, Killington, Pomfret, Plymouth, Reading and Woodstock.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, SW has collaborated with and supported organizations serving at the front lines to address critical needs for food and nutrition among individuals, families and organizations throughout the Upper Valley, including the Upper Valley Haven and regional food shelves in Windsor, Reading-Brownsville and Hartland. We have worked with many organizations serving diverse populations, including the Ottauquechee Health Foundation, VT Food Bank, Vital Communities, SEVCA and COVER Home Repair.

Grow Your Own Garden

In recent years, our GROW YOUR OWN GARDEN project has provided—free of charge—complete gardening kits that have enabled some 600 people of all ages, and from economically-challenged households, to establish new gardens and grow their own nutritious vegetables.

Food Security Resources

3 Squares VT

Commonly known as EBT or Food Stamps. Find out more.

CSFP

This program is available to Vermonters over 60 years of age who are income eligible. Contact the Vermont Foodbank at csfp@vtfoodbank.org for assistance.

Meals on Wheels

Call the helpline to see if you are eligible: 1-800-642-5119

The NOFA Farm Share Program

Offers support for limited-income Vermonters by paying half of a CSA share.

VeggieVanGo

The VeggieVanGo program is run through the Vermont Foodbank. These events are free and open to everyone with no registration required. You simply show up in your vehicle and pick up fresh fruits and veggies.

Your Local Food Shelf

The Vermont Foodbank has an online food shelf locator. Many food shelves now deliver, or can have someone pick up food for you.

WIC

WIC is the USDA Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. WIC provides food benefits, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, counseling and programs for pregnant Vermonters, parents and caregivers with children under 5.

Learn More

Please contact us for more information about programs and initiatives.

The post Food Security appeared first on Sustainable Woodstock.

Transportation

jbird24 — Fri, 25 Nov 2022 16:51:55 +0000

Transportation

Energy & Transportation Action Group

Sustainable Woodstock’s Energy & Transportation Action Group promotes sustainable alternatives to getting around Woodstock and the Upper Valley. We work to increase awareness of transportation options and reduce the environmental impacts of the choices we make. We also promote enrollment and active use of the Go! Vermont programs that connect commuters to opportunities for ridesharing and mass transportation.

Electric Bikes (E-bikes)

We are part of the Upper Valley E-bike Lending Library, where people can take a variety of E-bikes out for a test ride. Interested in buying an E-bike?

Visit Local Motion to see incentives.

Electric Cars (EVs)

Visit Drive Electric Vermont to find the EV that’s right for you and see incentives available.

Looking to buy a used hybrid or EV? Visit MileageSmart to see income-based incentives

Upper Valley Transportation Options

Go! Vermont

Go! Vermont is a free resource that provides transportation options for people who want to reduce the cost and environmental impact of driving.

Tri-Valley Transit

Tri-Valley Transit connects the people and places of Addison, Orange, and Northern Windsor Counties of Vermont with their network of community transportation alternatives.

Amtrak

Amtrak is committed to increasing their energy efficiency by improving operating practices and conservation measures as well as reducing emissions.

Learn More

Please contact us for more information about programs and initiatives.

The post Transportation appeared first on Sustainable Woodstock.

Education

jbird24 — Sat, 19 Nov 2022 21:18:02 +0000

Education For Children and Families

Creatively Engage Children and Nurture a Connection to the Environment

Teachers and families are always seeking new ways to keep children healthy and actively engaged in meaningful educational pursuits.

Below you will find great resources for providing children with creative educational activities and experiences.

A Sunny Educational Activity & Fun Facts

Portions of A Fun Sun Activity and Fun Facts adapted with permission from the author’s books: Catch the Wind, Harness the Sun: 22 Super-Charged Science Projects for Kids, and Keepers of the Earth: Native American Stories and Environmental Activities for Children (with Joseph Bruchac). (Activities for Keepers of the Earth were illustrated by artist Carol Wood, who also works as a Lister for the Town of Woodstock).

The Real Corona

OK, kids – You’re hearing a lot about the coronavirus. Are you ready for something that’s UP and on the bright side?

Let’s learn about the sun’s corona. Although you can’t look directly at the corona because that would damage your eyes, here are a few fun facts and activities about our home star.

A Fun Sun Activity

Stroll to the Sun – It would take 109 Earths, placed edge to edge, to reach across the face of the Sun. And if you had a bag as large as the Sun, you could fit one million Earths inside. For this activity you will need:

popcorn or peppercorn 1/8th-inch in diameter (representing our Earth)
yellow ball or balloon 13.25 inches in diameter, or a round piece of cardboard cut to this size and painted yellow (representing our Sun)
outside area measuring 121 feet long
measuring tape to mark distance

Find a long, fairly level place outside in or near your yard. Use the measuring tape to mark a line 121 feet long. Have someone walk to the far end of this line while holding the ball, balloon or yellow disc representing the sun. Have someone else stand at the near end of the line holding the peppercorn or kernel of popcorn representing Earth. At a scale of 1 inch = 64,000 miles, this is how large our Earth and Sun would look compared to one another, and this is how far the distance would be between them.

Now everyone – Walk the entire distance between the miniature Earth and Sun, and you will have walked 93 million miles!

FUN FACT #1

At times, when a person is being very active, someone says, “You’re a regular ball of fire.” But no one can hold a candle to the Sun. At its center or core, the Sun’s temperature is 28 million°F. At this great heat the atoms of hydrogen join together to form helium, named after the Greek name for the Sun, Helios. Energy is created every time hydrogen joins to form helium. This is the force that drives the Sun’s energy. Even though 600 million tons of hydrogen change into helium every second, there is still enough hydrogen left for the Sun to last another 5 to 6 billion years!

FUN FACT #2

When we catch a brief glimpse of the Sun, we see the 200-mile-thick layer called the photosphere, which is about 10,000°F. Sunspots are about 2,700°F cooler than the rest of the photosphere, so they appear darker. Some individual sunspots are wider than the diameter of Earth. They can last for anywhere from a few hours to a couple of months, and they can produce violent explosions called solar flares. A large solar flare can last for a few hours, interrupt satellite communications on Earth and generate enough energy to power the entire United States for 100,000 years. Sunspot activity is at a low point in 2020, and won’t peak again until about 2023.

FUN FACT #3

Surrounding the photosphere is another, somewhat hotter layer of the Sun called the chromosphere, which is 1,000 to 2,000 miles thick. Finally, like the skin on an apple, comes the corona, in which the temperature shoots up to more than 1 million°F. Superheated gases from the corona rocket off into space as charged particles called the solar wind. The reddish chromosphere and the corona’s whitish streamers are only visible during a total solar eclipse, a time when the moon passes between the Sun and Earth and the Sun is blocked out wherever the moon’s shadow falls. (The Sun’s energy can damage eyes and cause blindness, so don’t ever look directly at the Sun, even during an eclipse.)

FUN FACT #4

The Sun is more than 93 million miles away, but we can feel its heat and light as if it were close by. Just how far away is the Sun? If there were a road that led from Earth to the Sun, your family could climb into the car and drive there. But the ride is going to take a while. Let’s say that, on the road to the Sun, the driver brought the car up to 70 miles per hour and set it on cruise control for the whole ride, 24/7. At that speed, if no one stopped to eat or to take a bathroom break, and the drivers rotated so that you never had to slow down or stop, you would arrive at the Sun in 152 years. How long is that? If your family had begun such a journey back in 1865—the last year of the U.S. Civil War—you would have finally reached your destination in 2017!

Resources

Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS)

At-Home Education Resources for lesson ideas, outdoor and indoor activities, virtual animal encounters and more! Visit the VINS Nature Center in Quechee, Vermont for in-person, place-based educational experiences.

Upper Valley Teaching Place Collaborative

Offers place-based ecology education homeschool resources.

Vermont Education and Environment Network

A diverse and extensive list of resources for parents and educators.

Four Winds Nature Institute

Offers a wealth of resources for schools and families to connect children wtih nature.

Sullivan County Conservation District

Provides resources for educators.

NASA Climate Kids

A website featuring age-appropriate information, games, activities, videos and more to help children understand energy, climate change and its impacts on planet Earth.

The Community Campus

The Community Campus has a beautiful barn-like space with learning coach to mentor your kids through the curriculum given by WCSU without being tethered to their electronic device. Kids enjoy recess on the best sledding hill in Woodstock and hikes to the National Park from the school’s backyard. National Park programming provided! Health & Safety protocols addressed. Located upstairs in the Rainbow Playschool in Woodstock, Vermont.

National Wildlife Federation

Includes Virtual Classroom Resources on topics ranging from birds and biodiversity to energy and endangered species.

Children & Nature Network

Online resources on FINDING NATURE and staying connected to the natural world.

Naturally Literate

Naturally Literate is a booklet made to inspire people of all ages to get to know their natural environment just a little bit better.

Chewonki

Provides an extensive menu of nature and environmental lessons and videos for children and families.

Learn More

Please contact us for more information about programs and initiatives.

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Recycle and Reuse

jbird24 — Sat, 19 Nov 2022 19:23:37 +0000

Recycle and Reuse

How to Recycle Almost Everything

Sustainable Woodstock urges everyone to recycle and compost as many materials as possible. This saves valuable landfill space and energy, and helps make the transition from a wasteful, consumer-oriented lifestyle to one that is more sustainably in balance with the ecological capacity of the planet.

The following documents provide comprehensive guidelines to help you recycle more easily and efficiently:

Greater Upper Valley Solid Waste Management District A-Z Guide

Materials Prohibited in Landfills

Saving Food Scraps for Local Farms

Why Recycling is Important

Woodstock Area Waste Haulers

Vermont Universal Recycling Law (ACT 148)

Sustainable Woodstock helped to prepare homeowners and businesses for the implementation of Vermont’s universal recycling law, Act 148. Act 148 requires residents and businesses to improve recycling practices over time.

Learn more about updates and current requirements of Act 148.

View ACT 148 Timeline

View ACT 148 Summary Sheet

Reuse: Even Better Than Recycling

What can be better than recycling? Use only what is needed, choose and value things made out of wood and other long-lasting natural materials that will endure through time, reuse things made out of plastic, metal and glass for other purposes and recycle the disposable materials that are still hard to avoid in today’s marketplace.

Instead of always buying “new,” seek out places that offer an array of quality second-hand goods that have plenty of use left in them. In outlets, one can often purchase high-quality second-hand goods and antiques that are much less expensive and will last far longer than new mass-produced items.

Local and regional resale outlets include:

Bridgewater Thrift Store

Located in Bridgewater, VT

Encore Designer Consignment

Located in Woodstock, VT

Listen Thrift Store

Located in White River Junction, VT / Lebanon, NH / Canaan, NH

Revolution

Located in White River Junction, VT

The COVER Store

Located in White River Junction, VT

Learn More

Please contact us for more information about programs and initiatives.

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Composting

jbird24 — Sat, 12 Nov 2022 20:32:22 +0000

Composting

Upper Valley Composting Options for Residences and Businesses

Vermont’s new composting law became effective on July 1, 2020, mandating that everyone keep food scraps out of the trash and manage their compost wisely. Sustainable Woodstock has researched composting in the Upper Valley, where farms and businesses offer the following options for food scraps and composting.

Composting Resources

Please check provider websites for collection details, location and hours, keeping in mind that most services require a fee.

WeRecycleFood.com

Offers options for either weekly drop-off or residential curbside pickup in Hartland, Norwich, Woodstock and Hartford (Quechee, West Hartford. White River Junction and Wilder), as well as in New Hampshire (Etna, Hanover, Lebanon and West Lebanon). Drop-off customers can swap their 5-gallon food scrap buckets once per week, during normal business hours at the Hanover, Lebanon and White River Junction CO-OP food store locations.

Willow Tree Community Compost

Offers compost drop-off service, as well as weekly and bi-weekly compost pickup for the Vermont towns of Hartford Village, White River Junction and Wilder.

The Sandberg Farm

Located in East Corinth, Vermont, The Sandberg Farm runs a compost pickup service for restaurants and schools. They also sell eggs and finished compost. Visit their facebook page to learn more.

Cat Buxton

Cat Buxton has worked with the towns of Strafford, Thetford and West Fairlee, and Willow Tree and Sunrise Farm to help close the loop locally by connecting those scraps with local farms or composters. She has worked with the Food Cycle Coalition’s On-Farm Compost Project (with Farm to Plate) to help close the loop in Vermont by connecting existing or new small compost sites that can remain under the ANR regulatory threshold for solid waste management.
Watch Cat’s YouTube webinar on Backyard Composting 101
Learn more at www.growmorewasteless.com

A.B.L.E. Waste

Offers drop off of residential organic waste at their Saturday morning “Fast Trash” locations at the Bridgewater Town Garage (8am-12noon) and on Route 12 across from Hartland Fire Station (8am-11am). They also offer commercial pickup.

Casella Waste Systems

Offers curbside food scrap pickup to its residential clients through partnerships with other compost haulers.

Music Mountain Compost

Services the greater Rutland, VT Area along with Central and Southern Vermont. They offer bi-weekly compost pickup for $20.00 a month.

Town Transfer Stations

Vermont now requires Town Transfer Stations to have compost barrels to collect residents’ food scraps, including meat and bones. Some charge a fee.

Hartford VT Transfer Station accepts food scraps from users with a facility permit (windshield sticker) or a day pass.
Lebanon NH Landfill “Got Food Scraps” Program composts on site to produce the daily landfill cover they need, accepting residential food scraps as well as scraps from the college and hospital cafeterias.

Composting at Home

Greater Upper Valley Solid Waste Management District

Resources for home composting, and can assist with purchasing at-home compost bin.

Vermont Agency of Natural Resources

Extensive list of options for composting food scraps, resources, regulations and considerations.
Issues and management options to be aware of when Composting in Bear Country.

Our sincere thanks for suggestions shared by Cat Buxton, founder and director of Grow More, Waste Less; and Ham Gillett, Program/Outreach Coordinator, Greater Upper Valley Solid Waste Management District and Outreach Coordinator, South Windsor/Windham Counties Solid Waste Management District.

Learn More

Please contact us for more information about programs and initiatives.

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