Digital Commons Network^™

Traffic Safety Toolbox - Addressing Speeds: Final Report, James Sullivan, Dana Rowangould

University of Vermont Transportation Research Center

Reducing speeding and aggressive driving is one of seven critical emphasis areas identified in the Vermont Highway Safety Plan, which targets reductions in major crashes on Vermont highways. Vermont towns recognize the need to discourage speeding and implement countermeasures that will bring speeds down to posted speed limits, especially in transition zones from high-speed rural highways to low-speed village streets. Vermont’s villages and towns often lack the resources and capacity needed to select and implement speeding countermeasures that will be effective and appropriate for a particular context. There is a need for targeted, digestible guidance to assist these municipalities. This …

Food Resilience Toolkit, Neishaly Serrano-Cortés, Claire Whitehouse, David Conner, Robinson Rodríguez-Pérez Phd, Naomi M. Cunningham, Travis Reynolds Ph.D., Kerry Daigle, Valery Desravins, Jane Kolodinsky

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

This toolkit is intended to help community leaders and technical support professionals assess and build food system resilience in their regions. The toolkit is available in English and Spanish and in written and video format. In the introduction, we explore the concept of resilience and the Community Capitals framework and suggest possible indicators of food system resilience. In Chapter 2, we outline four tools for assessing community advantages and challenges and developing plans to address them. These tools are: asset mapping, focus groups, nominal groups, and strategic planning. While many research techniques can be deployed for resilience building, we have …

Traffic Safety Toolbox: Speeding Countermeasures Toolbox For Vermont, James Sullivan, Dana Rowangould, Erica Quallen, Danica Dytioco

University of Vermont Transportation Research Center

Reducing vehicle speeds is an important strategy for reducing the risk and severity of collisions and ensuring the safety of drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists, especially in transition zones, where rural highways with higher posted speeds (typically 50 mph) enter a village or town center. This Traffic Safety Toolbox (“Toolbox”) of speeding countermeasures is intended for use by Vermont towns with posted speeds that are not widely adhered to by drivers, whether in a transition zone entering a village or town center (roads with speed limits of 35 mph and above and functional classifications of 3 or 4), or within the …

Food Resilience Toolkit, Neishaly Serrano-Cortés, Claire Whitehouse, David Conner Ph.D., Robinson Rodríguez-Pérez Phd, Naomi M. Cunningham, Travis Reynolds Ph.D., Kerry Daigle, Valery Desravins, Jane Kolodinsky Ph.D.

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

This toolkit is intended to help community leaders and technical support professionals assess and build food system resilience in their regions. The toolkit is available in English and Spanish and in written and video format. In the introduction, we explore the concept of resilience and the Community Capitals framework and suggest possible indicators of food system resilience. In Chapter 2, we outline four tools for assessing community advantages and challenges and developing plans to address them. These tools are: asset mapping, focus groups, nominal groups, and strategic planning. While many research techniques can be deployed for resilience building, we have …

A 2022 Assessment Of Food Security And Health Outcomes During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Ashley C. Mccarthy, Farryl Bertmann, Emily H. Belarmino, Sam Bliss, Jennifer Laurent, Jonathan Malacarne, Scott Merrill, Rachel E. Schattman, Kathryn Yerxa, Meredith T. Niles

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

We conducted a Northern New England survey to understand the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security, food access, home food production, health behaviors, and health outcomes. The surveys were conducted in the spring of 2022 (April-May) with a total of 1,013 adults (598 in Maine and 415 in Vermont) responding to the survey. Key findings include:1. The prevalence of food insecurity remains similarly high to early points in the pandemic, likely driven by inflation and food prices, and long-term impacts from the pandemic. 2. The majority (62%) indicated the recent rise in food prices affected their food purchasing, …

Results Of The 2022 Vermont Farmer Conservation & Payment For Ecosystem Services Survey. Vermont Payment For Ecosystem Services Technical Research Report #3a, Alissa C. White

Reports and Policy Briefs

This survey was commissioned by the Vermont Soil Health and Payment for Ecosystem Services Working Group (VT PES Working Group) to gather farmer input on the development of payment for ecosystem services (PES) in Vermont for agriculture. In particular, the survey was intended to help set appropriate levels of compensation for participation in a soil health PES program, although additional information was gathered in the survey to inform the development of a new incentive program. The VT PES Working Group has explored the potential for a performance-based soil health PES program that would compensate farmers on the basis of environmental …

Seeds Of Resilience: Learning From Covid-19 To Strengthen Seed Systems In Vermont, Ali Brooks, Carina V. Isbell, Daniel Tobin Ph.D., Travis Reynolds Ph.D., Eric Bishop Von Wettberg Ph.D., David Conner Ph.D., Evie Wolfe

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Seeds are central to crop-based production systems, yet in the United States seeds have been largely overlooked in both research and local and regional food systems initiatives. This report seeks to address the gap in seed-related research by assessing current strengths and vulnerabilities of Vermont’s seed systems. In particular, the findings presented in this report illuminate how seed systems can maintain function in the face of external shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and how we can apply the lessons learned toward building resilience for an uncertain future due to factors such as climate change. Despite the turmoil caused by …

A Vermont Romance Turns One Hundred: Vermont's Earliest Surviving Photoplay, Martin L. Johnson, Frederick Pond

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

In 2016, a hundred-year-old film spent the year touring the northern half of Vermont, drawing audiences to refurbished opera houses and picture palaces. But the picture being celebrated for its centenary year was not D. W. Griffith's Intolerance or Lois Weber's Shoes, two of the best-known films made in 1916. Instead, Vermonters were watching what they believed to be the first feature film made in their state, the fetchingly titled photoplay A Vermont Romance.

But A Vermont Romance is not a conventional feature picture. None of the people who appeared in the film had previous movie acting experience, …

Vermont Seed Saver And Producer Survey: 2020 Summary Report, Susanna Baxley, Carina Viola Isbell, Daniel Tobin

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

This report summarizes findings from a 2020 survey of seed producers in the state of Vermont. This survey, which was part of a larger research project aimed to characterize Vermont seed systems, aimed to identify areas of opportunity and concern for seed producers across the state. Data collected include types and valued characteristics of planting material produced from food crops in the state, information on motivations, challenges, and preferences that non-commercial and commercial seed producers perceive in their production of planting material, sourcing and distribution of planting material, forms of exchange that exist between seed producers and the community, and …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On The Local Food System: Early Findings From Vermont, Emily H. Belarmino, Farryl Bertmann, Thomas Wentworth, Erin Biehl, Roni Neff, Meredith T. Niles

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has affected people worldwide, disrupting food access and security. To understand how food systems and security are impacted during this pandemic, an online survey was launched in Vermont from March 29th - April 12th, 2020 (less than a week after the Governor’s Stay Home/Stay Safe order). A total of 3,219 Vermonters responded, and nearly half provided written comments in response to open-ended questions about worries or general remarks. This brief summarizes survey findings and respondent comments relevant to the local food system, specifically local farms and direct-to-consumer sales, home food production, foraging, hunting, and fishing. …

The Impact Of Coronavirus On Vermonters Experiencing Food Insecurity, Meredith T. Niles, Farryl Bertmann, Emily H. Morgan, Thomas Wentworth, Erin Biehl, Roni Neff

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Key Findings

1. Respondents experiencing food insecurity were more likely to be people of color, female, live in households with children, and live in larger households.

2. 84.2% of respondents who experienced food insecurity at some point in the year before the coronavirus pandemic remained food insecure during the early days of the outbreak.

3. The majority of respondents experiencing food insecurity are not utilizing food assistance programs.

4. ⅔ of respondents experiencing food insecurity are already buying different, cheaper foods or eating less to make their food last.

5. ⅔ of respondents experiencing food insecurity with a job had …

Food Access And Security During Coronavirus: A Vermont Study, Meredith T. Niles, Farryl Bertmann, Emily H. Morgan, Thomas Wentworth, Erin Biehl, Roni Neff

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Key Findings

1. Respondents reported a 33% increase in food insecurity since the coronavirus outbreak began in Vermont (from 18% to 24%).

2. 45% of respondents with jobs experienced a job disruption or loss.

3. Respondents said the most helpful actions for meeting their food needs would be increased trust in the safety of going to stores and more food in stores.

4. Respondents worried most about food becoming unaffordable and running out of food if they were unable to go out.

5. Vermonters are using a variety of strategies to adapt: a majority of respondents are at least somewhat …

Employment And Food During Coronavirus, Meredith T. Niles, Farryl Bertmann, Emily H. Morgan, Thomas Wentworth, Erin Biehl, Roni Neff

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Key Findings

1. 45% of respondents with jobs experienced some type of job disruption or loss. 19.7% had a reduction in hours or income, 9.3% had been furloughed, and 15.5% had lost their job since the coronavirus outbreak.

2. 38.5% of respondents experiencing job loss or disruption since the outbreak were classified as food insecure.

3. Respondents experiencing job disruption or loss were significantly more likely to be already implementing food purchasing or eating changes and concerned about food access compared to those who did not experience a change in employment.

4. Respondents with job disruption or loss were significantly …

Are Wolves Welcome? Hunters' Attitudes Towards Wolves In Vermont, Usa, Nelson Grima, John Brainard, Brendan Fisher

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International. The forests of the north-east USA were once home to the Wolf Canis lupus, a species that played an important role in the ecology of this region. However, wolves were eradicated from the region more than a century ago, altering the species composition of the landscape and driving cascading changes in this ecosystem. Outdoor recreation is a major component of the economy of this region, and outdoor recreationists, including the hunting community, have a strong influence over decision-making related to policies on natural resources. Given their powerful position, …

Payment For Ecosystem Services: Incentives To Support Environmental Quality & Farming In Vermont, Stephen Posner, Taylor Ricketts, Eric Roy

Reports and Policy Briefs

Environmental quality is an ongoing concern in the Lake Champlain Basin. Vermont farmers are in a unique position to manage land in a way that maintains and improves environmental quality. A payment for ecosystem services (PES) program for Vermont would both support the economic vi- ability of Vermont farms and incentivize farmers to improve water quality and soil health. How- ever, conceptual and practical implementation challenges remain.

Deepening Ties Between The Pontifical Catholic University Of Peru And The University Of Vermont, Fred C. Pond, Laurie Kutner

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Building relationships between university libraries The umbrella affiliation agreement between the University of Vermont and PUCP, in effect since 2010, initially focused on the subject areas of biomedical technology and instrumentation. However, as relationships on the two campuses were built and strengthened, other collaborative opportunities beyond the original focus emerged, including with Engineering, Public Administration, and the Libraries. Kathia Hanza, director of PUCP Libraries, expressed interest in facilitating our return in March 2016, to focus on development of library research guides as a mechanism to present library resources in contextually meaningful ways. When we did return in March, it was …

Promoting Vermont Films In Vermont's Libraries: Presenting Freedom & Unity - The Vermont Movie In A Small Vermont Library, Fred C. Pond, Nora Jacobson

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

This poster reviews steps taken to screen a recent Vermont movie (over a two month period, in six parts) at the Tunbridge (Vermont) Public Library, in an effort to promote Vermont films, at the same time provide provide programming for libraries.

The filmmakers and librarians initiated post-screening discussions on topics explored in the film, with the goal of engaging audiences on local issues.

A review of the audience attendance, funding and recommendations for future collaborations is included.