The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

On the road to Black Mountain Natural Area, Dummerston. © Jon Binhammer/TNC

Road to New Future

A single-parent family is excited about plans for their new home along this country road in Dummerston. The Nature Conservancy, Habitat for Humanity and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board are working together to make it happen.

A Place to Call Home

Dummerston -- Along Rice Farm Road, near the entrance to the Black Mountain Natural Area, a 2-acre parcel of land owned by The Nature Conservancy will soon provide a home for a young family.
“This is a rare thing for us to do,” said Jon Binhammer, Director of Land Protection for the Vermont Chapter. “Most of the land we conserve has ecological value, but this little piece is an infill lot that has no ecological significance. So we were glad to be able to offer it for affordable housing.”
With a grant from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board for the “dual goal project,” the Conservancy conveyed the land to Habitat for Humanity, which is overseeing the project. The land, bounded on both sides by houses, is part of the Conservancy’s 580 conserved acres at Black Mountain.
David Ryan, a Brattleboro architect and acting president of the area Habitat for Humanity, said the foundation has been poured, the septic is done, and by next spring, the finishing touches, including siding, are scheduled to be completed.
The house itself will arrive at the site in sections. A ‘50s era ranch home, it had been sitting vacant in Vernon after being bought by Vermont Yankee, and someone suggested that it could be put to use by Habitat for Humanity.
Ryan said the family, a single mother and her three young sons, are thrilled about the prospect of having their own home after living in tight quarters in Brattleboro with the three boys sharing one room. And they are especially excited about the location – a quiet country road, directly across from the West River and surrounded by the conserved lands of the Black Mountain Natural Area. “The three boys are all avid fishermen,” Ryan said.
The boys’ mother is working with Habitat for Humanity to put in 200 hours of work toward the construction of the home, which she will acquire with an interest-free mortgage.
If all goes as planned, come spring, keep an eye out near Black Mountain for three boys fishing on the West River just a stone's throw from their new home.