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After last year’s devastation we’re learning and getting stronger by supporting our mutual aid networks. We are still learning about the impacts and understanding the extent of the damage of last nights storm. Every dollar donated will support our local community. Please share widely!
Link: https://bit.ly/GreensboroAssociationDonations
The Funky Fourth Parade: 10 AM Saturday, July 6st. Grand Marshal Clive Grey and the graduating Class of Lakeview Elementary will lead the menagerie down Breezy Avenue. The parade will feature bagpipe virtuoso Bill MacEisner, the legendary HoneyBee Steel Band, the Bread and Puppet Theater, Greensboro Ladies Walking Society, dogs, horses, cows, small & big-time politicians, weird floats, mega farm equipment plus our own The Road Crew and Fire Department.
Community Picnic: 11:30 – Bring Your Appetite. The parade will transition into the community picnic on the lawn of the Town Hall. Free sandwiches, grilled sausages /hot dogs, Kingdom Creamery cones plus Church Lady home-made cookies will be served(as long as they last).
Dessert & Art Auction: 12 Noon. As the picnic winds down, slick-talking Tim Nisbet assisted by Vanna White-Robinson will hawk Greensboro’s finest home-made heirloom desserts and local art pieces to benefit the Hardwick Area Food Pantry. Additional desserts and art pieces will be available for bidding on the accompanying Silent Auction tables.
**Dessert & Art Donations: They should be delivered to Greensboro Town Hall : Desserts- Saturday morning prior to the 10 o’clock start of the parade. Art donations- Anytime the week prior to the auction. For more info, call John Schweizer @ 802.533.9289 or Dave Kelley at 802.586.2588
Music & Dancing at Highland Center for the Arts: 5:30 PM. The Radio Rangers will ignite the evening air with their sound and energy. Mini-golf, outdoor games, Sugar-on-Snow plus family fire pits will be open to all on the HCA lawn. The Radio Rangers concert is free of charge (donations welcome). Picnic dinners and libations will be available for purchase. In case of rain, music will move indoors.
The Greensboro Funky Fourth Committee
REGISTRATION ONLINE STARTING MAY 1 ($15)
DAY OF RACE REGISTRATION $20 (CASH ONLY)
The 13th Annual Caspian Challenge Road Race is scheduled for Sunday, July 28, 2024 at the Ballfield In Greensboro, the corner of Lake Shore Road and Breezy Avenue. The race consists of the classic 6.8 mile loop around Caspian Lake and an out and back 5K Walk/Race. Prizes for both races and refreshments for all.
Join us for a morning of fun, exercise and community support. All proceeds from the event go to the Caspian Lake Adult Swim program. The registration fee online is $15 through July 27, and $20 on day of race. Day of race registration begins at 7:15 a.m. and ends at 8:15 a.m. sharp. No fee for those under 13. Minimum age to participate in the 5K is 7.
Eric Hanson, Race Director – [email protected].
On Friday 26th and Saturday 27th April a volunteer team led by the Watershed Stewards of Greensboro (part of the Greensboro Association) and Orleans County Conservation District planted close to 400 trees in Greensboro Bend at the property of Pierrette Lyman. Mrs Lyman had asked for a Streamwise Assessment to be completed on her land in early 2023. Her property abuts the Lamoille River and was significantly impacted by the floods of July 2023. As she had already had her Streamwise Assessment, the Watershed Stewards and Orleans County Conservation District were able to respond quickly with a grant from the “Trees for Streams” program to obtain the trees and schedule the planting early in 2024. The team planted 391 Silver Maple, Tamarack, Willow, Elderberry and Dogwood trees. These trees will help protect Mrs Lyman’s property from future flood events and also improve the water quality in the Lamoille River. Over the two days we had 29 local volunteers participate including representatives of the Barton Girl Scouts Troop. Smith’s Grocery in Greensboro Bend kindly donated food and drinks to provide welcome sustenance to the volunteers.
If you are interested in scheduling a Streamwise Assessment of your property please contact [email protected]. A Streamwise Assessment recommends steps a property owner can take to enhance their land and mitigate flood risk where their land abuts a river. It also gives a property owner access to additional resources to help them with the recommended improvements.
Photo 1: Members of the volunteer planting team with the property owner Pierrette Lyman (third from right)
Photo 2: Watershed Stewards Jed Feffer and Chris Steel with Jen Thomson of Smith’s Grocery
Photo 3: Ted Sedell of Orleans County Conservation District coaching some of the younger volunteers.
Photo 4: The volunteer planting team at work
The Greensboro Association is soliciting digital images of artwork that contain themes or subjects from Greensboro, the Northeast Kingdom, and/or Vermont. One image will be chosen to be featured as the cover of the 2024-25 Greensboro Association member directory.
The Greensboro Association publishes a directory of members every two years. This directory is available at Willey’s Store, and is purchased by a wide number of local and seasonal residents.
Please read the GA Directory Cover Request for Submission carefully for submission requirements. The submission deadline is April 25, 2024. Submissions should be sent to [email protected]. All artists are encouraged to participate, although we give preference to local Greensboro and NEK artists and/or members of the Greensboro Association.
In the summer of 2021, JoAnn Hanowski, co-chair of the Greensboro Association’s Lakes and Environmental Stewardship Committee, authored a Caspian Lake petition to the Department of Environmental Conservation to reclassify the lake and watershed to A1 from its current classification of B1. Caspian Lake qualifies as an A1 lake based on its current relatively low phosphorus level. As an A1 lake, if Caspian faced an increase in phosphorus or other environmental issues, it would automatically qualify for dollars to implement projects to improve water quality and protect our lake. JoAnn and her team collected nearly 500 signatures for the petition, and it was submitted in December 2021. It was determined to be administratively complete and underwent technical and legal review.
A public hearing on the petition was scheduled but has since been canceled due to an antiquated 1986 prohibition on new septic systems with a design flow greater than 1000 gallons/day. When this prohibition was enacted, it was assumed that forbidding new septics of that size would prevent the construction of inns or very large houses. However, today’s new single wastewater system technologies can replace and out-perform multiple old systems, yielding net positive impacts on water quality, thus making the 1986 prohibition a barrier to cleaner waters. In addition, anti-degradation rules currently being developed will better address concerns over development than the one-size-fits-all septic size prohibition. Nevertheless, the House Environment & Energy Committee is uncomfortable removing the 1986 prohibition due to development concerns; the Governor has put all lake re-classification petitions on hold until a replacement bill can be passed. Katherine Sims has submitted a bill (H84), which addresses this issue, has the full support of the DEC, requires no additional funding, and was passed by the Senate in 2023.
What can we do? Caspian Lake needs you to write a letter to all members of the House Environment & Energy Committee (listed below) asking them to take up S.146 (this is similar to H.84 per Katherine Sims) since they have passed this in the Senate. The bill needs to pass in the House this session (end of May) or will have to go through both the Senate and House again next year.
Here is an example letter:
Dear—
I am writing to encourage you to quickly pass S. 146 this legislative session.
The Greensboro community worked incredibly hard in 2021 to gather signatures for a petition to re-classify Caspian Lake to A1. We received a public hearing date but have now learned that the petition is on hold due to concerns over a 1986 septic regulation.
We are confident that new wastewater system technologies, developed since 1986, will give full protection of the water quality in the Caspian Lake watershed when approved under the antidegradation rules. We are also comfortable with our current zoning by-laws, lakeshore protection rules and anti-degradation laws to make informed decisions that will protect our A1 waters from excessive development.
Passing S 146 this session will allow the re-classification process for Caspian Lake to be successful, and will further protect our lake.
Sincerely,
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY
2023-2024
Chair: Rep. Amy Sheldon, Middlebury
Phone (802) 828-2228
Vice-Chair: Rep. Laura Sibilia, Dover
Phone (802) 384-0233
Ranking Member: Rep. Seth Bongartz,
Manchester
Phone (802) 828-2228
Rep. Paul Clifford, Rutland City
Phone (802) 828-2228
Rep. Kate Logan, Burlington
Phone (802) 828-2228
Rep. Kristi Morris, Springfield
Phone (802) 885-2949
Rep Avram Patt, Worcester
Phone (802) 223-1014
The Greensboro Association is soliciting digital images of artwork that contain themes or subjects from Greensboro, the Northeast Kingdom, and/or Vermont. One image will be chosen to be featured as the cover of the 2024-25 Greensboro Association member directory.
The Greensboro Association publishes a directory of members every two years. This directory is available at Willey’s Store, and is purchased by a wide number of local and seasonal residents.
Ninety very eager cross-country skiers took to the ski trails of the Northeast Kingdom on Saturday, Feb 10th to participate in the non-competitive 2024 Tour de Greensboro. Participants included a strong contingent of local skiers along with others from CT, ME, NH, MA, and NY. They all had one thing in common, to challenge themselves by skiing a full 25km loop on some of the most beautiful ski trails in the Northeast while enjoying the comradery of fellow skiers. For those skiers not quite up to the task, they could opt to do a 15km loop.
A spring-like day with temperatures in the 40’s welcomed skiers as they gathered for instructions from event organizer Jim Fredericks. The course layout, which included 2200’ of climbing included some Highland Lodge trails combined with those of private landowners. Expertly groomed classic track conditions were provided by the Craftsbury Outdoor Center and private landowners. The midpoint of the Tour included a break for hot cider and donuts, along with a warm fire.
Thunder chased some of the skiers at the end of the tour, but all reached the finish safely thanks to a large volunteer safety patrol. Karl Stein from the Hardwick Emergency Rescue Squad led a team of volunteer Greensboro Association members with Wilderness First Aid skills. GA members also helped skiers park their cars, registered them on arrival and return, and made sure everyone had hot cornbread and chili along with Jasper Hill Farm cheese at the ski hut.
The Tour de Greensboro would like to thank all its volunteers and sponsors who made this event possible, including Toko US, Lumi Experiences, Highland Lodge, Willey’s Store, Jasper Hill Farm, and Connie’s Kitchen.
Proceeds from the Tour de Greensboro will be donated to the Greensboro Association, whose mission is to conceive, advance and support village initiatives and organizations that enhance the Greensboro community and protect Caspian Lake and its surrounding environment.
The Greensboro Association has been awarded a nearly $22,000 grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program that will allow for the creation and maintenance of a decontamination station to be located at the Caspian Lake boat launch area. The station will provide hot, pressurized water to clean watercraft before entering the lake, preventing the spread of Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) into Caspian Lake. This decontamination station will enhance the already successful Greeter Program that the Association helps staff each season. This generous grant is supported by an additional $4000 from the Greensboro Association’s Lake Reserve Fund.
“We have been fortunate to have maintained enough protection to keep Caspian free of known invasives to date,” says Stew Arnold, GA Caspian Lake Protection Chair. “Milfoil fragments can be found by inspection yet more of the invasive species are microscopic in nature thus our protection will be greatly enhanced by the decontamination station.”
Caspian Lake is one of the most pristine lakes in Vermont, and its watershed is at the headwaters of the Lamoille River Basin, which feeds into the Lake Champlain Basin. The Greensboro Association and local community have supported programs to stop the spread of AIS for over 50 years, and participated in AIS prevention and identification training, the Vermont Invasive Patrollers Program, and the VT Public Access Greeter Program since their inception. In addition, the GA has been conducting water quality sampling for over 30 years, monitoring tributaries for the past 5 years, and participating in Loon Nesting Conservation for 7 years. Caspian Lake Greeters inspect 1200-1600 watercraft each year at the boat launch, and will now be able to direct risky watercraft to this new station instead of sending boat owners 30-45 minutes away to properly decontaminate their boats. Many of those boats come from Lake Champlain or Lake Memphremagog basin lakes, which are considered vector lakes for AIS. The addition of this new decontamination station will help ensure that Caspian Lake remains free of AIS for many years to come.
Stew Arnold reports, “Plans have the decontamination station built in the second half of this coming Spring and fully operational by the Summer season start in June.”
All the Caspian Lake LWAP information is available for your viewing on the Storymap site.
What is a Lake Watershed Action Plan? A Lake Watershed Action Plan is an assessment and planning tool which identifies the greatest threats to the lake ecosystem, including impacts on water quality and wildlife habitat from stormwater runoff and from altered, cleared, or converted shorelands. The assessment combines a lake’s condition of shoreland, tributaries, drainage ditches, wetlands, hydrologically connected roads, and working landscapes in an individual planning guide that prioritizes restoration and protection actions for that specific region.
**If you are new to Microsoft TEAMS please allow 10 minutes before the start of the meeting to get TEAMS set up and ready for use.
Tuesday, Jan 16, 5:00 PM (EST)
Months after massive flooding devastated the region in July, and with ongoing weather threats that have carried into 2024, the Greensboro Association continues to support local organizations assisting those most impacted with funds raised through its Community Relief Fund.
In its 90 year history, the Greensboro Association has distributed grants to local organizations whose efforts serve those directly within the greater Greensboro community. But the summer 2023 flooding saw the greatest need in recent memory, and many in our local communities continue to struggle with food insecurity and basic living and housing needs. Together with members and community donations, the GA raised over $80,000 in the weeks following the July floods to aid in recovery efforts and continues to accept donations. Because of the Greensboro Association’s deeply connected relationships with local organizations, businesses, and community members providing vital services throughout our community, it has been able to direct the monies raised to those most affected in our local community and those for whom other resources, including state and federal emergency funds are not available or sufficient. Recent flooding and climate swings continue to create instability this winter, increasing the unmet needs of many in our community.
“These most recent GA grants reflect the longer-term needs of our community supporting the next phase of recovery and resiliency, strengthening our community to mitigate future disasters. The Grants team is also coordinating with others in the Northeast Kingdom in order to view all area needs, and encourage coordination between organizations,” said Cathy Irwin, President of the Greensboro Association.
Recipients of the latest rounds of grants include Greensboro United Church of Christ, Smith’s Grocery, Center for an Agricultural Economy, Hardwick Area Food Pantry, Neighbors in Action, The Civic Standard, Greensboro Land Trust for Porter Brook Trail repair, Northeast Kingdom Organizing, and the Kingdom United Resiliency & Recovery Effort, which is a new entity formed to manage the long term recovery work in the NEK in coordination with FEMA and other regional, state, and federal partners. Funds will be used for things like construction materials to support ongoing infrastructure and housing repairs in the area, food and meals for those in need, and individual needs of those directly impacted by the disaster.
“Food security, housing, transportation, mental and physical health, safety, child care, social isolation and connection are all things our communities have been grappling with. The recent floods and ongoing climate swings have continued to exposed the vital needs in our community and we [the GA Grants Committee] feel fortunate to be able to partner with such a dedicated array of organizations and community volunteers who are working to address both immediate needs while also strengthening our local systems and networks,” said Naomi Ranz-Schleifer, co-chair of the GA Grants Committee.
We are pleased to announce that the second annual Tour de Greensboro registration is filling up fast. Do not delay registering for this special event to be held on Saturday, February 10. It will consist of a 25km, classic ski tour on some of the most scenic trails in the northeast, starting and ending at Highland Lodge.
Event sponsors include Toko US, Lumi Experiences, Highland Lodge and Willey’s Store.
We are limiting this to 120 skiers, so don’t wait, sign up today. All entries will be non-refundable but may be transferred to another person via skireg.com.
Embrace the winter and sign up for the second annual Tour de Greensboro. This event, to be held on Saturday, February 10th, will consist of a 25km, classic ski tour on some of the most scenic trails in the northeast. Start and end at Highland Lodge where we will have some chili and fixings and a post-ski bonfire. Go fast or take your time to savor a mid-tour hot cider and donuts. All proceeds will benefit the Greensboro Association. We are limiting this to 120 skiers, so don’t wait, sign up today. All entries will be non-refundable but may be transferred to another person via skireg.com.
The Greensboro Community Garden has made good progress this Summer with the help of the $500 GA grant. In May we held our first community outreach event in collaboration with the Greensboro Free Library. Doug and Kayleigh, co-owners of Breadseed Farm in East Craftsbury gave a presentation on “Maximizing the Harvest” – sharing tips and techniques on how to follow no-till, organic practices to grow bountiful, great tasting, produce. It was a hybrid event but most of the 26 attendees turned up in person to enjoy the social gathering following the presentation with cheese kindly donated by Jasper Hill and kombucha by Becky Arnold.
Planting Day in early June was a huge success, with a demo of how to use a broadfork for “no-till” aeration of the soil, and a plentiful supply of compost from Black Dirt Farm. We were able to buy two hi-rise water sprinklers as well as no-kink, lightweight hoses using the GA grant funds, which was super helpful for ease of getting the seeds and seedlings established. All the bugs in June and the rains in July did not deter the Garden from growing, nurtured by an active group of 12 core volunteers with additional supporters. Harvests have been plentiful, with over 100lbs of produce donated to the Hardwick Area Food Pantry to date.
Additionally, we formed a new collaboration with Smith’s Grocery in Greensboro Bend during August, which has been very well received. Over 50lbs of produce was donated during the month, stocking the chiller cabinet in the store on a Friday with fresh vegetables harvested from the Community Garden. In addition, volunteers from the Community Garden collaborated with Rural Arts and the Bend Revitalization Initiative to supply salad and veggies with dip at the Basketball Skills Event at the Bend Community Park in early August.
Other community events have included: participation in the Funky 4th pie auction, with two savory donations from Community Garden lead volunteer, Jenny Bales; and supporting the Greensboro Farmers Market, especially on Kids Day, with a “Veggies Rock Hunt” activity.
We will continue to harvest our produce as long as it lasts for donation to the Food Pantry. In addition, we plan to wrap up the season with a community workshop on mushroom growing, discuss a collaboration with the “Grow Your Own” program sponsored by the Center for an Agricultural Economy, and planting garlic in the Garden.
Many thanks to our lead volunteers: Jenny Bayles, Heidi DeBrino, Carol Calcagni, Joan Feffer, Alison Gardner, Cathy Hansen, Beth Meacham, Sara Slater, Liz Steel, Emily Stone, Ed Sunday-Winters and Fan Watkinson.
Please plan to attend the Caspian Lake Watershed Action Plan Community Input Meeting on Augst 30 at 5:30 p.m. at the United Church of Christ Fellowship Hall in Greensboro. There will be a review of the field assessment results and you will hear about the project ranking process that identifies the best potential restoration projects for our watershed.
The town of Greensboro is working on updating their Local Hazard Mitigation Plan and would appreciate your input through the short survey below. Thank you!
In addition, there will be a public meeting on August 10 at 6 p.m. at Fellowship Hall at the Greensboro United Church to review the Hazard Mitigation plan. Alison Low from NVDA will lead the discussion and plan going forward. All are welcome.
The 2023 Annual Meeting of the Greensboro Association will be held on August 3 at 4:00 pm at Fellowship Hall. We sincerely hope many of our members will be able to attend to hear about the great work of the GA this past year. If you are unable to attend in person, a zoom link can be found below.
After the business meeting, our first speaker Lauren Jenness, New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC) Environmental Analyst, Lake Champlain Basin Program, will share information about the GA’s participation in the Stream Wise Program, which the GA will soon be starting. If you live on land on the feeder brooks into Caspian Lake or Greensboro Brook, or on the Lamoille River or its tributaries in Greensboro Bend, getting a Stream Wise assessment can help you take the best possible care of your stream side property.
Following Lauren’s presentation, Kent Hansen, chair of Greensboro’s Planning Commission, will share what the Planning Commission has been working on over the last year and what proposed Zoning Bylaw changes are coming up.
The agenda for the Annual meeting can be found here.
Last year’s minutes can be found here.
