A New Life for a South Hero Gem: Boardwalk Rebuild at Rec Park Will Improve Access

The first official workday on the boardwalk rebuild at the South Hero Recreation Park was particularly special. It was a sunny September afternoon, just after school got out at Folsom Educational and Community Center. At the entrance of the Park, South Hero Land Trust Director of Programs, Guy Maguire, circled up with our first volunteer crew. Along with five middle schoolers and SHLT board member Bob Buermann, Don Pierson joined us to begin dismantling the existing boardwalk... READ MORE>>

A Warm Welcome: Summer Interns Join SHLT Staff

We are excited to welcome two interns to South Hero for the summer, through the University of Vermont Rubenstein School’s Perennial Internship Program. These students will be learning about the unique way South Hero Land Trust combines land conservation, environmental education, and stewardship of the land while supporting our programs through on-the-ground work. We hope you will enjoy connecting with Naomi and Parker as you explore South Hero’s trails, check out our gardens, or join us at an event.

Naomi Cocker is our Outdoor Access & Stewardship Intern. Studying for her BS in Natural Resources, she is a member of UVM’s Timbersports team. She has hands-on experience in ecological restoration, through work as Invasive Species Technician for the Mad River Valley Conservation Commissions. Her studies have fostered a strong belief in the importance of providing access to the outdoors for all ages, abilities and perspectives. She recently started birding and looks forward to starting her life list! Naomi will be leading our trail stewardship efforts this summer, and working on projects to increase the accessibility the outdoors.

Parker Rouse is our Environmental Education & Stewardship Intern. Studying for his BS in Applied Ecology, he also completed…(READ MORE>>)

Breaking Bread Together: Farmers & Food Producers Gather for Annual Dinner

In April we said Thank You! to Grand Isle County farmers and food producers at a dinner hosted with the Grand Isle and Franklin County Natural Resources Conservation Districts and Healthy Roots Collaborative. It was a lovely evening with farmers at Snow Farm Winery with food from Two Heroes Brewery. Local farmer Nick Lane had the following to say:

“The farmer dinner was a nourishing reminder that we cultivate more than just crops - we grow communities…(READ MORE>>)

Local Community Learning Emerges through Winter Wednesday Workshops in South Hero

Not many libraries would be open to having a butchery workshop on their ground floor or painting among the stacks. But the Worthen Library (along with the Healthy Roots Collaborative) has been our co-conspirator for the last five years in bringing land and food-based fun to the community throughout the winter months through our Winter Wednesdays series.

As Guy Maguire, our Director of Programs, says, “we can conserve all the habitat we want, but conservation is ultimately empty if there isn’t a group of people who care for and who want to be stewards of that land.” Christine Poracro, Farm & Food Business Coordinator for the Healthy Roots Collaborative, adds “giving people the opportunity to connect with each other, local food, nature, art, and community has created a vibrant network that contributes to the health and vitality of our community year-round.”

Over the course of three months, some amazing local folks shared their passions and we learned …(READ MORE>>)

Pardon our Mess:
Forest Restoration in Progress + Boardwalk Rebuild Beginning

Protecting the Future Forest

Earth Day marked the beginning of our 2nd year of active restoration work at the South Hero Recreation Park, the public trail and forest adjacent to Folsom School. Volunteers and staff got muddy together grubbing out old growth honeysuckle plants and fixing plant protector tubes on last year’s plantings. On Green Up Day, more volunteers came to plant another 70 native trees and shrubs, and remove more invasive plants.

With the invasive emerald ash borer firmly established in the Islands, our goal for the project is to replant native trees and shrubs under the ash overstory while removing invasive species so there will be a generation of young native trees to take the place of the dying ash.

We are also using this site as a demonstration project—a place where… (READ MORE>>)

Connecting on the Water

South Hero resident Cathy Webster has been helping people with physical disabilities get out on the water for the last 8 years. Inspired by one of her physical therapy clients, who dreamt of finding a way to return to paddling, Cathy created an Adaptive Kayaking Program that is now one of the programs of the Northeast Disabled Athletic Association (NDAA).

South Hero Land Trust and Cathy share the belief that nature is for everyone, which is foundational to the new partnership between SHLT, North Branch Nature Center (NBNC), and NDAA. Starting this year, we piloted a series of 4 naturalist-guided inclusive kayaking events, during which SHLT and NBNC staff joined kayakers to explore and learn about the plants, birds, turtles, and… (READ MORE>>)

Filling their Plates with a “Fresh Rainbow” from the Folsom Food Forest

This May, SHLT staff met local 3rd and 4th grade students in the Folsom Learning Garden and finally let them do the one thing they always ask to do: get some shovels and dig a bunch of holes. While fun is always a goal in the garden, we dug these holes for good reason: to assess the soil in different parts of the garden and determine the best spot for the Folsom Food Forest.

Last winter, SHLT staff worked with Folsom teachers Dani Holm and Megan Branon to apply for the Vermont Garden Network’s Fruit and Nut Tree Grant… (READ MORE>>)

Innovations in Forest Stewardship Bring Hope for our Islands Ecosystems

Since the last ice age, South Hero’s landscapes have changed quite a lot. The land where we live now was once a seabed; then forests and meadows; then cleared for sheep and dairy farms. Most recently, some of the forests have grown back, alongside development of new houses and roads. And now, with the arrival of the invasive emerald ash borer, our landscape is poised to change dramatically again.

Ash trees make up an estimated 40-60% of all the trees in Grand Isle County, a higher percentage than any other county in Vermont. With 95-99% of all ash expected to succumb to this invasive insect, we are poised to lose half our County’s mature forests in the next 10-15 years. This will be a “landscape level ecological upheaval,” to borrow a phrase from Nancy Patch, Grand Isle County Forester. It will also have devestating cultural impact for the Abenaki people, whose lives have been entwined with the ash beginning with their creation story. But there is much we can do to save our forests… (READ MORE>>)