“Bike to School” Day – How Many Kids?
A first-hand look at “Bike To School Day” in the Mad River Valley. How many kids are there? They pedal like the wind. Go “Valley Moves!”
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“Bike to Work” Day – Our “Valley Moves” Effort!
A first hand look at “Bike To Work Day” in the Mad River Valley. Nancy Turner shares her thoughts on the experience, while balancing a half-eaten muffin in her hand. Brilliant.
Bike to School/Work Survey
Hello Friends,
Looking forward to next week’s Bike-to-Work/School and Bike to Farmer’s Market days happening on May 16 and 17th. (See blog of May 4.) We’ve put together a survey to register participation and learn a little about the particiants. Bike-to-School/Market is a part of the larger “Walk “n Roll Festival” series of events happening the same week.
I hope you’ll take a moment to fill out the survey. It’s quick and easy. From it we’ll get a sense of who is taking part, what our typical riding habits are, and what some of the motivations and limitations people deal with when thinking about riding their bicycle in the Mad River Valley. We’ll also be able to caluclate roughly how many miles people rode and how much gas was saved in the process. Please click the links below to get to the survey and survey results.
Take the survey
View the results
Valley Moves with Paintbrushes
Check out our strokes (of genius?) Photos courtesy Dave Cain.
Plant One for the Foodshelf
Here is an idea for all of you veggie gardeners…When you are planting your veggies for this season, consider adding a few extra plants for the MRV Foodshelf. The Foodshelf, located in the back of Evergreen Place, is open on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and I guarantee you that a basket of fresh tomatoes, beans, or yes…even zucchini would be welcome. Once thing that the Foodshelf has requested in the past is simple recipes to go with the various veggies they get so if you have some favorite recipes to send along with the veggies, even better!
Valley Walk ‘N Roll Festival
Five days of bicycles, sneakers and love… Helmets on, shoes tied and ready to go. May 14-18 will see the first annual celebration of all things biking and walking in the Mad River Valley. Biking enthusiasts and local clubs have teamed with Valley Moves to host a week of bicycle and pedestrian awareness and and fun events for the whole family. From film festival at the Big Picture (Wed, Breaking Away at 8 pm; Sunday The Triplets of Belleville at 2 pm and The Bicycle Thief at 4 pm) to Sunday Family Day at the Greenway, there will be something for folks of all ages to enjoy. There will be guided rides for bikers of all abilities and a guided walk on Thursday, May 15. Friday, May 16 is national Bike to Work Day with riders biking to school or work all over the country.
Don’t despair if biking to school or work is out of the question! The weekend will offer plenty of more opportunities. Join in with everyone who is biking to the Farmers Market on opening day Saturday, May 17. There will be preferred parking right next to the Sugarbush kiosk and information about biking and walking events at the Valley Moves booth.
For a complete listing of events, see the article on the festival in this week’s Valley Reporter (p.12) and check out the calendar of events (p. 17).
Tomato Starts from Knoll Farm
Helen Whybrow from Knoll Farm went a little crazy planting tomato seeds this spring and now has an overabundance of seedlings – nine different heirloom varieties. She is selling them for $2.50 each and donating the proceeds to a new foodshelf project that Ned Kelly is starting up that will serve our broader valley from Rochester to Duxbury. Stop by the farm this weekend to purchase starts.
LOCAL CURRENCY LIVES! Exciting Meeting with the ORE Folks
Greetings Valley Futures Network supporters!Local Currency action group members Steve Robbins and I met with the Onion River Exchange’s Joanna Dillon over a VG lunch last week. What follows are the highlights of our conversation, transcribed by Steve (thanks, Steve!). We are strongly considering piloting a “time bank” project for two months this July and August – if anyone is interested in being a part of it, please contact us at rob.williams@madriver.com and Steve at steve@daviddion.com.
Time Banks are an exciting way to build support for a local currency!
Meeting Minutes April 23, 2008
VFN- “Time Bankers”
Present: Rob Williams, Steve Robbins, Joanna Dillion of Onion River Exchange (ORE)
Joanna described her position as coordinator of the ORE. She began last August on a one-year program supported via Americorps. She hopes to extend for another year.
She described the concept of time-sharing as an alternative to traditional currency and related the experience of the ORE to date.
The ORE began in January, 2008 after a short demonstration / experimental period in the fall of 2007.
Joanna described software currently employed called “Community Weaver” that tracks member activities.
She related that they have found some bugs or holes in the software and from her experience, the program is not intuitive.
However, it may be the most cost-effective software currently available.
Cost to the organization is $500 / year.
Amy Kirschner of Vermont Sustainable Exchange, working on similar projects in Burlington area, is developing new software catered to the needs of time banks.
To date, the ORE has:
- 50 current members
- 120 hopeful new members
- 400 total hours exchanged
This includes several members from the Plainfield area, representing a pocket of interest or a node of exchange within the greater umbrella of ORE.
Joanna said one of the most common questions or concerns is the perception that some hours are worth more than other hours (e.g. medical services vs. yard work). She points out that the concept works best when all exchanged services are valued equally; one hour = one hour.
Further, she points out that one need not only offer services in one’s chosen profession. A Lawyer could offer legal services as well as a ride to the airport.
One of the critical, underlying premises that make a time exchange thrive is that folks must actively participate by both providing and using services. Joanna said the goal is to have an “active” balance of zero so that people are not hoarding too many hours nor owed to many.
For starters, her suggestion for folks in our area (VFN) is:
- Join ORE www.onionriverexchange.org
- $25 / person or $40 / household (or 2 hours invested?)
- Run an experiment of our own:
- 20 – 30 people participate
- 2 month duration test period
- Each person should pay in one hour and collect one hour.