Award Recognizes Community Partnership for Nature

Green Mountain College Students and The Nature Conservancy Honored

West Haven, VT– Students, faculty and staff, community partners, Governor Jim Douglas and former Governor Madeline Kunin gathered in Montpelier yesterday evening to celebrate the incredible achievements of student community service, service learning and civic engagement programs across Vermont. The Nature Conservancy’s Southern Lake Champlain Valley Program received an Engaged Community Partner Award from the Vermont Campus Compact for its work with Green Mountain College.

"In this region it is hard to find great applications of science for the public good, but The Nature Conservancy’s Southern Lake Champlain Valley Program is a fine exception," commented Jim Graves, Associate Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies at Green Mountain College. "More and more, they are reaching out, not just to schools like ours, but to a wider public, helping to educate citizens about good land stewardship."

The range of projects undertaken by classes and individual students while working with The Nature Conservancy is astounding. From understanding historical land use through oral history, to mapping invasive plants, investigating the feasibility of a hotline to report trash dumping, and spending over 200 hours planting native trees, the partnership between Green Mountain College students and the Conservancy is having a visible and positive impact on the land.

Natalie Coe, Assistant Professor of Biology at Green Mountain College added, "Each semester students learn to appreciate why biodiversity is key to our own survival, and why we should worry about restoring what was once native to our local ecosystem. The experience of working outdoors draws students out in ways we cannot replicate in a traditional classroom setting."

"In the broader community there is a growing desire to protect the natural landscape and its amazing diversity of life," said Mary Droege, The Nature Conservancy’s Director of Ecological Management and Restoration for the Southern Lake Champlain Valley. "Without the engagement of local citizens and the community we could not complete many of the restoration projects vital to sustaining the plants and animals found here, and long-term protection of the valley would be impossible."

Volunteer opportunities at the Conservancy are geared to providing fun, educational and important conservation activities for everyone. Field season kicks off at full speed in mid-April with native seed collection, tree planting and the control of invasive species. Summer opportunities include pulling water chestnut from the lake, assisting at the native plant nursery, maintaining hiking trails, and participating in clean-up of the Poultney River's banks on Green Up Day.

"I've volunteered to pull water chestnuts every year. It's a great way to spend a day on the water and see places I would not otherwise think to visit, " said Lynda Hutchins, a perennial volunteer from Orwell, VT. "I'm helping in my own way to protect our beautiful surroundings, and I get to meet a whole spectrum of interesting people."

From the heights of Bald Mountain to the wetlands of the Poultney River, this area is home to many rare and uncommon animal and plant species. Catch a glimpse of the shining blue tail of a five-lined skink before it scurries out of sight, and look out for peregrine falcons as they soar above the limestone cliffs. The Southern Lake Champlain Valley office was established in 1996 as a grass-roots community based conservation program. The office now accommodates five full-time staff who both live and work in the community they are striving to protect.

For more information on a wide range of exciting volunteer opportunities call Mary Droege at (802) 265-8645 ext 21.