Valley Futures

Submitted by Stan Ward and Joshua Schwartz

MRV/UVM Partnership
Speaker: Joshua Schwartz
4th annual partnership with UVM’s Local Community Initiatives (LCI) service-learning course, coordinated by the Mad River Valley Planning District
9/19 kick-off event at the Waitsfield Church
The course allows undergraduate and graduate students to take an active role in local projects addressing a variety of essential community issues in the MRV
The four projects selected for this edition of the LCI course: MRV Economic Development Study, MRV Electric Vehicle Car Share Analysis, MRV Arts Study & MRV Forests for the Future Project

MRV EV
Speaker: Wendy Cox
exploring the concept of a MRV electric car-car share program in conjunction with Norwich University and Middlebury College
slogan: Charging the Valley’s Future
working with UVM’s Local Community Initiatives course to Research similar electric car share systems in existence in the US or abroad;
Research and analyze financing, operation and charging infrastructure options;
Review viability of a MRV all-electric car share system; and
Recommend options to the MRV EV group for best practices and path forward.
had a display at the Bridge Street Party
Wendy has been attending the State’s electric vehicle brown bag events
working with Bruce Bentley at GMP to install one of the Plug’n Go Stations in the MRV

Pain Mound
Speaker: Eric Brattstrom
Eric and Kyle installed a woody biomass composting mound system at their home this summer with the help of Yestermorrow
Located below their chicken coop
Developed in conjunction with Gaelan Brown of Compostpower.org

CITTASLOW
Speaker: Susan Klein, MRV Chamber of Commerce
offshoot of “Slow Food”
means “Slow City” in Italian
only three towns designated in the USA, all in California
could be first on the East Coast
promote travel to the valley because of local focus and programs, marketing of what we do
formed a citizens committee, Susan Klein, Gene Fialkoff, Helen Whybrow, Adam Greshin, Karen W
50 page application, need to meet 50% of criteria, we meet 80% of criteria already
organization is pushing us hard as MRV perfect fit
job creation in Austria with this, 60 new jobs in one town
150 Cittaslow towns in Europe
Cittaslow designation is for communities which have *already* met the criteria, not ones working towards it.
exchange between Cittaslow communities – possible Rotary connection
work on tourism initiatives together to go to other Cittaslow communities around the world
group meeting being
next meeting: Sept 25 @ 1:30pm @ Wait House

FRONT PORCH FORUM
Speaker: Stan Ward, Joshua Schwartz
Front Porch Forum recently launched in Fayston, Waitsfield, Warren. Approaching 100 people in Warren and Waitsfield, around 50 so far in Fayston.
Front Porch Forum (FPF) now available through the the Mad River Valley Watershed and neighboring communities: Warren, Fayston, Waitsfield, Duxbury, Moretown, Middlesex, Waterbury, and more.
FPF in approximately 80 towns in Vermont.
Usual price of one time set-up charge of $2500 for a new community. After that revenue for FPF comes from advertising. Discounted price for the three MRV towns at $5000. Funding to meet obligation: $2500 granted from New England Grass Roots Environmental Fund by MRVPD/VFN, Town of Warren committed $500, Town of Waitsfield committed $500. Town of Fayston meeting scheduled. Rotary meeting scheduled.
Question: Can a non-profit post an event as a regular posting. Answer: Yes. Specific example of posting the Mad Dash coming up this weekend.
Discussion of third party moderation of Forums by Front Porch Forum moderators.
Discussion of connecting across town lines, that is, Mad River Valley wide information. FPF philosophy is to target smallest geographical size that has a clear identity to foster meaningful neighbor-to-neighbor connections, typically not more than 600-800 households.
ways to post across town lines: volunteers who live in different town can cross post, pay to be able to join forums at a cost of $10/month per forum.
Question: What about emergency situations? Answer: In Moretown they were getting new FPF e-newsletters 3-4 times per day during the Irene response. Right now they receive 3-4 per week.
Comment: I live in Waitsfield, but the FPF staff noticed that I live in an area where I am surrounded by Moretown, so I was invited to join the Moretown FPF, too.

MAD RIVER PATH
Speaker: Will Flender, Eexcutive Director of Mad River Path
17th annual Mad Dash this coming weekend: 5K, 10K, kids run
Mad River Path is raffling tickets for SIPtemberFest. This event is sold out.

MRV TRAILS COLLABORATIVE
Speaker: Joshua Schwartz
Projects
Inventory of trails
New Mad River Valley Trail Map. Great new map, last updated in 2004. Purchase at Chamber $5 for paper foldable, $12 for laminated for wall hanging. Benefit: All map data held by MRV Trail sCollaborative. Mad River Glen and Ole’s able to get GPS data from this project and are both now able to create detailed maps. MRG creating hiking trail map, Ole’s detailed ski trail map.
Working with Chamber to update recreation trails on www.madrivervalley.com
Maintenance and improvement of trails. Applied for VYCC to do work: 16 weeks of work done in summer 2012 including projects at Chase Brook Forest, Blueberry Lake, Scrag Town Forest, Catamount Trail, etc. Four weeks of trail work queued up for next summer

EVENTS/INVITATIONS
Susan and Karl Klein have invited people to an Open House at their home to view their Suncommon installation. Refreshments will be served. 10/6, 2-3:30, at 1439 Kew Vasseur Rd, Fayston.
Livingstone Homestead Rebuild – Number Nine Road, MRVAS funding

Tags: Announcements, Arts and Media, Energy, Transportation, Uncategorized by Joshua Schwartz
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Tags: Announcements, Energy by Joshua Schwartz
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The fourth installment of the MRV Renewable Energy Series will take place on Tuesday, 11/15, 7 PM at the Big Picture Theater. Biomass will consist on four presentations followed by Q & A.

• MRV Biomass Analysis | Cecilia Danks, PhD & Susannah McCandless, PhD. Cecilia and Susannah will summarize the work of the Community Biomass Project, a partner project of UVM, VT Family Forests, and the National Forest Alliance. For the past few years the CBP has focused on opportunities for increasing the sustainability of the MRV’s local wood supply as part of an overall goal of achieving energy independence in heating and power generation. Results of wood consumption and forest practices in the MRV will be presented.
• Harwood Union Forest Project | Kimberly Coleman, UVM. Kimberly will share a variety of forest education and mapping projects focusing on Harwood’s 180 acre forest. This project sprang out of the Community Biomass Project and is a partnership between teachers, staff, and UVM. More info here.
• Biomass Heating Systems | David Frank, Sunwood Biomass. David will provide an overview of biomass heating systems, from chips to pellets.
• Heating Homes & Greenhouses with Compost | Gaelan Brown, Compost Power Network. Gaelan will talk about the Jean Pain Method of woody biomass compost – heating with wood without burning wood.

The final event in the series will be Energy Conservation, Efficiency, & Weatherization on December 13th.

These talks continue the dialogue of energy in the Valley through structured, information-based public discussions exploring a range of issues related to the Valley’s energy future. Summaries of all events and copies of presentations are available at www.mrvpd.org.

Tags: Announcements, Energy by Joshua Schwartz
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The third installment of the MRV Energy Series will take place on Monday, 10/24, 7 PM at the Big Picture Theater. Financing Energy Projects & VT’s Energy Plan will consist on three presentations followed by Q & A.

• Marianne Tyrrell, Esq., Fellow at VT Law School, will provide an overview of financing options for residential energy efficiency improvements. Mrs. Tyrrell co-authored the recently released Financing Residential Energy Efficiency in VT, an investigation of financing tools and procedures that can enable lenders to accelerate the pace of home energy improvements.
• Peter Adamczyk, Energy Finance & Development Manager with VT Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC), will explore one financing option for green improvements: Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE). PACE provides energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements for residents funded by taxable municipal bonds  and repaid via ones property tax bill. Waitsfield is one of the “quick start” towns in this new and exciting program.
• Elizabeth Miller, Commissioner of VT Department of Public Service, will talk about energy programs at the state level as well as the draft Vermont Comprehensive Energy Plan (CEP). The CEP addresses Vermont’s energy future for electricity, thermal energy, transportation, and land use. This is a great opportunity in advance of the CEP’s 11/4 public comment deadline.

The last two events in the series are Biomass & Hot Water (November 15th) and Energy Conservation, Efficiency, & Weatherization (December 13th). These talks continue the dialogue of energy in the Valley through structured, information-based public discussions exploring a range of issues related to the Valley’s energy future. Summaries of all events and copies of presentations are available at www.mrvpd.org.

Tags: Announcements, Energy by Joshua Schwartz
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The Mad River Valley Planning District’s second installment of its five-part Mad River Valley Energy Series takes place on Tuesday, September 20th – 7 PM at the Big Picture Theater. Residential & Community Solar brings professionals in the renewable energy field to speak on different aspects and opportunities for solar in the Mad River Valley. Fayston resident Gaelan Brown will provide an overview of solar with Photovoltaics 101. This will be followed by a discussion of the MRV Community Solar Farm project via the Mad River Valley Energy Network co-operative. Last, James Moore will provide a description of VPIRG’s Solar Community Program, which is making its way to the broader MRV in 2012. All are invited to this free community event.

Subsequent events will be held monthly through the end of the year: Financing Energy Projects (October 24), Biomass & Hot Water (November 15), and Energy Efficiency (December 13). These talks continue the dialogue of energy in the Valley through structured, information-based public discussions exploring a range of issues related to the Valley’s energy future.

Tags: Announcements, Energy by Joshua Schwartz
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Tags: Announcements, Energy by Joshua Schwartz
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On Tuesday, January 25th, 7-9 PM at the Waitsfield Elementary School Library, come out and hear about the Smart Grid. VT has received substantial funding to develop a comprehensive Smart Grid system, consisting of electric meters that communicate in real time – high speed information and communication technology that change the way utilities operate and how customers interact with them. The result is greater reliability, operational efficiency and customer choice. VT received $69 million in federal grants last year, matched by the utilities, resulting in a $138 million total investment, to be installed state-wide in 2012. Presentation from Robert Dostis, Leader of External Affairs and Customer Relations at Green Mountain Power and the former Chair of the Vermont House Natural Resources and Energy Committee.

This event is rescheduled from 1/12/11 due to weather.

Tags: Announcements, Energy by Joshua Schwartz
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Last night’s energy discussion, Energizing Our Valley’s Future: What Do We Know?, presented by the Mad River Valley Planning District, was a great success. The 45 people in attendance gained a broader understanding of energy consumption in the MRV and learned about a tool developed specifically for Vermont focused on exploring our renewable energy options. The event was taped by Mad River Valley Television and will be shown on Waitsfield Telecom Public Access Channel 44.

Attached below are the slideshows presented by Joshua Schwartz of MRVPD and Mike Brouillette of VCGI. It is hoped that the info contained within the presentations will enhance existing energy conversations and serve as a basis for additional renewable energy development scenarios. The calculations for ground mount solar offset are just an example – folks are encouraged to run the numbers for different renewable technologies and different thresholds (eg. 10% offset vs. 100% offset). The comment section of this blog post can serve as a place to share feedback, provide additional info, and list questions that could help us gain a better understanding of our energy landscape.

MRV Energy Presentation JDS (PDF)

MRV Energy Presentation REAVT MB (PDF)

Tags: Energy by Joshua Schwartz
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What might our community look like when we can no longer count on large quantities of cheap fossil fuels? What can we do now that will preserve what we value, prepare us for this inevitable change, and create the better future we desire?

These and other questions will be discussed at a community presentation and discussion of Transition Towns to be held on Tuesday, June 1st at 7 pm at the Waitsfield Elementary School. The public is invited and the event is free.

Transition is a grassroots, community-based movement that began in Great Britain in 2006 and has quickly spread across the globe. Its aim is to build community resilience in the face of such challenges as peak oil, climate change and economic crisis. Five residents of the Mad River Valley (Stan Ward, Gaelan Brown, Jasna Brown, Ben Falk and Bill MacClay) will share their knowledge and experience of working with the Transition movement and similar initiatives in the Mad River Valley, help participants explore the relevance of this model for the valley, and discuss possible next steps.

Topics to be addressed will include: What is a Transition Town? What have been some of the accomplishments of other Transition Towns? How might this model help us promote sustainable development in the Mad River Valley? And what are some specific projects that could be done?

Proposed projects include but are not limited to:

• A community-funded commercial kitchen and food-processing plant that is open to anyone to use, similar to the “Vermont Food Venture Center” being built in Hardwick;
• A community-funded slaughter-house and meat-packaging/distribution center;
• A community-funded composting operation, including a household compost pick-up service added to the local trash collection system, and compost sold to local farmers and gardeners at low cost;
• A renewable energy co-op to organize group-net-metering wind and solar projects;
• A firewood CSA system to support local loggers and ensure affordable, local firewood, perhaps including a community investment in wood processing equipment; and
• Community-funded tree-farms for fruits, nuts, and mushrooms (edible landscape).

This event is sponsored by the Valley Futures Network and the Carbon Shredders. For additional information contact Jill Arace at 496-9974 or jarace@gmavt.net.

Tags: Announcements, Energy, Transition Towns by Joshua Schwartz
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Based on the success of this past fall’s MRV focused UVM course, Local Community Initiatives, instructor Chip Sawyer is planning a second round in the fall of 2010. Now is the time to start planning the course, and more importantly, brainstorming potential projects.

The UVM course Local Community Initiatives is a service-learning course that allows undergraduate and graduate students to contribute to community projects in the Mad River Valley.  This course will be held in the fall of 2010.  The course was very successful and valuable for both students and Mad River Valley residents, alike, in the fall of 2009.  The final project reports are available at the Mad River Valley Planning District website at http://www.mrvpd.org/DocumentsLibrary.php.

Please see attached the course description and the list of expectations for students and project partners.

During the first weeks of the course, the students will choose from among 3-5 projects in the Mad River Valley.  Now is the time for interested community members to propose projects.  The projects will be compiled by the Mad River Valley Planning District and the Valley Futures Network.  A steering committee made up the of the course instructor, the Executive Director of the Mad River Valley Planning District, members of the Valley Futures Network, and other Mad River Valley community members will consider the projects submitted and choose a list to be proposed to the students.

Projects will be chosen based on:

• the likelihood of a project to be completed by students in the fall and winter of 2010;
• the learning potential that a project presents to the students and community partners;
• the extent to the which the project will contribute to efforts and partnerships going forward; and
• the impact that the project could have upon the Mad River Valley.

The deadline for projects is March 15th.

UVM Project Submittal Form Fall 2010.doc

List of Projects (originally compiled for Fall 2009 class)

Tags: Agriculture, Announcements, Energy by Joshua Schwartz
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