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YOUTH NEWS

Barnet student wins

A painting by Barnet’s Ezra Goss won Best of Show in the 2023 Junior Duck Federal Stamp Design Contest Vermont competition. Judging was held at the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium on March 29 . Goss, a student at the Lyndon Institute, submitted a painting of a Common Merganser. Vermont’s Best of Show artwork will now compete in the Junior Duck National Stamp Design Contest. Goss’s artwork will be included in an exhibition touring the United States over the next year.

The conservation and design program is organized each year by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. He teaches students in grades K-12 about wetlands and waterfowl conservation. The art contest is modeled after the Federal Duck Stamp Contest for adult artists. Students create original works of art showing North American ducks, geese, or swans in their natural habitats. First, second, third and honorable mention prizes are awarded in four age categories.

AROUND VT

butterfly survey

The Vermont Center for Ecological Studies is recruiting volunteers to help search fields and swamps, mountains and meadows, and their backyards to help document the status of Vermont butterflies.

Butterflies were largely a mystery in Vermont prior to the completion of the first Vermont Butterfly Atlas (2002-07). Twenty years later, the second atlas will detect changes in butterfly populations and provide information for environmental policy and management. Vermont is home to more than 100 species of butterflies, with several new species discovered by butterfly watchers since the latest butterfly atlas, including the largest butterfly in North America, the eastern giant swallowtail.

Visit val.vtecostudies.org/projects/vermont-butterfly-atlas to learn more and join the survey.

build pause

During the spring fish spawning season, the Department of Environmental Conservation would like to remind Vermonters that construction projects allowed for lake encroachment (such as shoreline stabilization or projects that disturb the lake bed) in public lakes and ponds they are generally not allowed from March 15 to July 1.

Examples of lake encroachment construction projects not allowed during this period include adding in-water fill for shoreline stabilization (such as riprap or levees), rebuilding boathouses, or dredging. Examples of projects that can potentially move forward during this time period include the installation of piers, floats, rafts, buoys, and regular repairs or maintenance to existing encroachments.

Any project proposing work at, below, or beyond the mean water level of public lakes or ponds may require a lake trespass permit. After July 1, permitted construction projects may resume or begin.

For more information, visit the Permit Navigator, email [email protected], or call 802-490-6133.

improved website

The Department of Health has launched a newly designed website to improve the ability of Vermonters to access important public health information. The web address will remain the same, healthvermont.gov, as will most of the content on the site, including current web pages and links. The changes incorporate feedback from users and community partners and align the website with current technology and web browsing habits.

Reported improvements are that the site is easier to use, the layout is easier to read and find key resources, the improved search function works better for mobile devices and screen readers. It also helps Vermonters find information in languages ​​other than English, with links to professionally translated materials and Google Translate.

BUSINESS

goat dairy

This spring, free tours of five goat dairies will be an opportunity to meet with goat dairy farmers and hear from UVM Extension dairy specialists on barn and parlor design, herd health, milk finances goat farming, grazing, value-added production considerations, and related issues. Sessions are open to goat dairy farmers, farm service providers, and anyone considering starting a goat dairy or transitioning from a cow dairy farm.

All sessions will take place from noon to 2 pm Refreshments will be provided. Dates and locations are April 19, Joneslan Farm, Hyde Park; May 10, Bridgman Hill Farm, Hardwick; May 23, Tup’s Crossing Farm, Orwell; May 26, Ayers Brook Goat Dairy, Randolph; May 31, Blue Ledge Farm, Salisbury.

Visit go.uvm.edu/goatdairytours to register for one or more farm tours. To request a disability-related accommodation to participate, please call 518-810-6431 or email [email protected] two weeks in advance.

manure spread

Vermont’s winter manure ban ended April 1, but with another snowy march bringing challenging field conditions, the Vermont Agency for Agriculture, Food and Markets is issuing a spring stewardship reminder for Vermont farmers and custom manure applicators. The Required Agricultural Practices outline that manure may not be applied to fields that are frozen or covered in snow, nor to fields that are saturated, likely to runoff, or are conducive to any other movement off-site, regardless of the recommendations of the nutrient management plan. Trends in Vermont weather provide the possibility of increased flooding and require farmers and custom manure applicators to remain vigilant during the spring season.

rural health care

LEBANON, NH — Dartmouth Health researchers received a grant from the National Institutes of Health, as part of the Centers of Excellence in Biomedical Research program. The grant, totaling $11,560,812 over five years, will fund a new Center for the Science of Rural Healthcare Delivery and support faculty to conduct research to advance understanding of health care delivery in a rural setting.

This new center will be led by Sandra L. Wong, chair of surgery at DHMC and the William N. and Bessie Allyn Professor of Surgery at Geisel; and Mark A. Creager, director emeritus of the Heart and Vascular Center at DHMC and Anna G. Huber Professor of Medicine at Geisel.

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