Welcome to the July 30, 2009 issue of E-News.

In this Issue

	As One Summer Session Comes to a Close, Another Begins
	VermontFutures School Program Doubles in 2009!
	Crew of the Month: the Richmond Community Crew
	The Beautification of the West Monitor Barn Property
	Welcoming the Newest Addition to the Monitor Barn Farm
	Denim & a Few Diamonds 2009
	Farm Partnership - "Moo"-ving Forward
	24-Hour Community Crew Experience
	On the Land
	Nature Trivia
	Boots, Boots, and More Boots

Faces Behind Our Success

Kris Smith

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As One Summer Session Comes to a Close, Another Begins

On Saturday, July 18th, Corps Members, Crew Leaders, and proud families from the first VYCC summer session gathered at the West Monitor Barn for our First Session Closure. After four weeks of hard work restoring trails, streams, historical sites, natural areas, and wetlands, they celebrated accomplishments and swapped fun stories. Each crew gave a final presentation before saying goodbye and going their separate ways. But, to stay connected, we are working on the VYCC Facebook page. Click here to see the our Facebook page and to join the group!
 

On Saturday, July 25th, Crew Leaders met new Corps Members at the West Monitor Barn for the Second Session Start-Up. Over the next four weeks, these crews will be out in the communities and woods of Vermont while working on projects similar to those of the first session.
 

Congratulations to all of our first session Crew Leaders and Corps Members and best of luck to those in the second session!
 

And, a special thanks to our Program Staff for making this is the best year yet!

VermontFutures School Program Doubles in 2009!

The VYCC is pleased to announce that we are increasing the VermontFutures school program from five crews in 2008/2009 to ten crews in 2009/2010. Last year we had 50 students enroll and this upcoming year we expect to enroll over 120.

We would like to welcome new school partners at the Bellows Free Academy in St. Albans and the Barre Technical Center. The Barre Technical center will enroll three crews of 12 students from schools throughout Washington County, including Cabot High School, Twinfield Union School in Plainfield, U-32 High School in Montpelier, Montpelier High School, Spaulding High School in Barre, and Harwood Union High School in Moretown. And, a warm, midsummer welcome back to returning partners Lamoille Union High School in Hyde Park, the Center for Technology in Essex, Mount Mansfield Union High School in Jericho, Woodstock Union High School, and Champlain Valley Union High School in Hinesburg. As you can see this quickly growing program is taking root throughout the state. To learn more, please call or email Christina Goodwin at 802.434.3969 x144.

An expanded school program Management Team is busy preparing to welcome twenty-one School Instructors and 120 new Corps Members.

Crew of the Month: the Richmond Community Crew

Community Crews offer Corps Members the opportunity to make a positive impact by completing projects in and around their local community. The Community Crew based out of our very own West Monitor Barn is one of the VYCC's most diverse crews yet. It is a 12-person crew, with one Corps Member from Middlebury, two being former MMU VermontFutures students, and seven from the Himalayan nation of Bhutan. To learn more about their Crew Leaders, Kasie and Chris, click here.

The crew alternates between working in the VYCC garden and creating and restoring trails on the VYCC Property. The produce they harvest from the VYCC Garden goes to local food shelves. On Thursdays half of the crew works at the local Maple Wind Farm plot where they help with weeding, harvesting, and preparing produce for their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).

If you are interested in meeting this crew and/or volunteering in the VYCC garden, please contact Erin Seward, Farm Coordinator, at 802.434.3969 x145.

The Beautification of the West Monitor Barn Property

Master Gardener, Susan Adams and Board Chair, Caroline Wadhams Bennett, have worked hard on landscaping the grounds of the West Monitor Barn. Thanks to their green thumbs, the VYCC landscaping is now full of color and life (instead of just rocks...).

With a focus on planting native species, Susan and Caroline have not only donated their time, but also flowering plants, annuals, and perennials. Please join us in thanking them for all of their efforts and time in helping to beautify this wonderful Barn!

If you are interested in holding an event at the West Monitor Barn, please visit our website www.monitorbarn.org.

Welcoming the Newest Addition to the Monitor Barn Farm

The VYCC received 50 baby chicks from Maple Wind Farm in Huntington that the Richmond Community Crew is now raising. The chickens are meat birds, or broilers, and will grow for 8 weeks. The crew will assist with the processing and thus make an important connection between the food on our tables and the effort that goes into growing and processing it.

We are hoping to donate some of the chicken to local food shelves, and it will also be used during our staff trainings and VYCC events.

Denim & a Few Diamonds 2009

On Friday, October 9th, 2009 the VYCC will host our annual Denim & Diamonds event!

We are adding carrots to our karats! Join us for an evening full of local food (including produce from the Monitor Barn garden), area entertainment, dancing, games and trivia, and fine company in support of Vermont’s leading youth and conservation organization. Additional information about the event can be found online at www.vycc.org or by contacting Breck Knauft at 802.434.3969 x110.

Farm Partnership - "Moo"-ving Forward

We have some new residents on our land this summer…COWS! In partnership with Maple Wind Farm (located in Huntington), we have converted our 20-acre field from corn to pasture and we are currently hosting 44 beef cattle from Maple Wind.

The cows are raised using a rotational grass-fed grazing system that will enhance the fertility of our field for future vegetable production, not to mention producing healthy, organic beef for local consumers!

24-Hour Community Crew Experience

Last weekend saw the 2nd Annual 24-hour Leadership Retreat at the West Monitor Barn. Community Crews from St. Albans, Woodstock, and Montpelier converged to experience VYCC life crew in a whole new way. Daytime hours were spent planning service projects that will take place on August 15. Ideas that came from this retreat:

• Hosting an ‘International Day’ to draw attention to the value of different cultures, while  educating about invasive species;

• Conducting a river clean-up of the Winooski complete with artistic sculptures created out of the salvaged trash;

• Hosting a Youth Awareness day that will expose youth in the Woodstock area to opportunities within their communities, especially the VYCC.

As night fell, the focus turned toward teambuilding and developing a sense of place. Environmental education, games, a campfire and an epic night hike filled the hours. Best of luck to all crews with their planning and implementation and a giant thank you to all Headquarters Staff who provided great energy for this event.

On the Land

For the past month, a unique group of interesting and talented Corps Members has worked on our 400-acre property. Seven members of this crew, led by Chris Mendenhall and Kasie Enman, are originally from Bhutan and have come to us through the Northlands Job Corps. The remaining two Corps Members are graduates of the VYCC’s VermontFutures school program.

The crew spends many hours repairing and improving trails in our lean-to area and tending to our garden - they will be with us through the middle of August. One of the highlights of this crew’s summer was a visit from nine students from the University of Vermont’s (UVM) Land Stewardship (LANDS) Program. Students enrolled in this UVM program spend their summers working on technical land stewardship projects throughout Vermont. Our crew of young people took the lead and were able to teach their “elders” some of the tools and techniques of trail building and repair. This exchange with older college students was a great source of pride for our Corps Members. Later this summer, the LANDS Crew will return to introduce our crew to the kind of work they do, specifically working with our Corps Members to complete a mast tree inventory on our property.

Nature Trivia

NATURE TRIVIA

FROM LAST MONTH: If you have forgotten last month’s trivia, click here to view June’s E-News. A POISONOUS animal is one that has a toxic substance in the tissues of its body, while a VENEMOUS animal is one that is capable of injecting venom. For example, rattlesnakes and bees are venomous (they can be eaten by other animals with no ill effects), while red efts and monarch butterflies are poisonous (they will make a predator sick if eaten).

THIS MONTH’S TRIVIA is a fishy one! Some rainbow trout are migratory (they live in the ocean or a large lake and return to freshwater streams to breed) while others are non-migratory (they spend their whole lives in freshwater streams). What is the term used to describe a migratory rainbow trout caught in a stream or lake during its return from the ocean or a large lake for breeding?
 

Boots, Boots, and More Boots

Boots, Boots, and More Boots
The VYCC is the proud recipient of a large donation of new, unused boots, sneakers and sandals for the second year in a row. The donation was made by Dan and Eileen Byron of Lee, NH. Dan is an executive in the footwear industry and generously coordinates this contribution to the VYCC each year.

The boots are used by VYCC Corps Members who need protective footwear while working on their project sites, and the sneakers and sandals are donated to Corps Members who may not be able to afford new footwear. Eileen's son, Chris Berube was a VYCC Corps Member in 2007 and will return again for the 2009 season before heading to culinary school in Rhode Island in the fall.