Some key challenges facing many rural American communities today are strengthening and diversifying the economy and attracting the next generations to live in these communities. To address these challenges, small towns across the country are creating bike/pedestrian trails to promote local, healthy, environmentally friendly community living.
The space between duck and deer season leaves me wanting to wrap myself up in a cozy blanket in front of the outdoor fire pit, sipping a glass of merlot and celebrating the north wind nipping at my nose. I can smell the lake turning over its detritus from its depths, accompanied by a bittersweet symphony of high-flying migratory Canada geese navigating by the stars.
Charlotte Soccer Jamboree The 35th Annual Charlotte Soccer Jamboree on Sept. 16 was a huge success. Over 50 teams…
Welcome to Trails Talk, Part 3. In this column we will finish answering the questions posed on the website, orchardroadcomputers.com. The first 10 questions were answered in the September 6 and 20, 2017, editions of The Charlotte News. Trails Talk will continue but will take a new path with other informational articles in the future.
Charlotte Tree Warden update. There are several interesting things going on with the Tree Warden Program.
Since the publication of the last Charlotte Big Trees update in late summer, the Tree Tribe has crowned two new champions: Patricia Lander’s Silver Maple measuring 164 inches in circumference at 826 Carpenter Road, and Matt Donaldson’s Burr Oak measuring 183 inches on Garen Road.
In a regime of “alternative facts” are you engaging the application “fundamental truth”? In an era imagining the inhabitation of Mars are you attending to your habitat here on Earth? The Charlotte Conservation Commission is captivated by these challenges. So how are we engaging truth and sustaining our human habitat? In the last two years we have built a team that includes an artist, a teacher, an ecological economist, a farmer, a law student, a former state resource manager, a journalist, a community activist and a Charlotte resident with a legacy of four generations. This diverse team is motivated by the truth that sustaining our habitat is increasingly a matter of life and death around the planet, and the threat is growing toward Charlotte.
Late in the summer ragweed fills the air with pollen from oodles of tiny flowers. Many who think they harbor allergies to goldenrod are instead allergic to ragweed. Both bloom at the same time, but goldenrod is pollinated by insects and so does not disperse its pollen. A tincture of ragweed leaves is thought by some to help fight this allergic reaction.
One of Larry Hamilton’s enduring contributions to the Charlotte community was his Big Tree Roster, a list of the…
Welcome to Trails Talk, Part 2. In this column we will continue to answer the questions on the website, orchardroadcomputers.com. The first five questions were answered in the Sept. 6 edition of The Charlotte News.
My duck-hunting partner, John, hunkers down in the corner of the blind, savoring a cup of hot espresso from his aged thermos. I can smell the sweet smoky fragrance, and I pick up my own thermos to toast the season. Without speaking we clink cups. Mine is French roast with a spoonful of maple syrup. We grin like two 10-year-olds.
The Charlotte Tree Tribe has compiled a list of the town’s Champion Trees
Elizabeth Bassett takes us on a tour out doors in Vermont.
Most of us who pay attention to the current state of bats have heard about white-nose syndrome and may also know that bats are vulnerable to this through their winter dwelling habitat, caves. According to Vermont Fish and Wildlife, “White-nose Syndrome (WNS) has resulted in the loss of more than 5.7 million bats in the northeastern United States since 2006. This disease has affected all six of Vermont’s cave bat species (bats that hibernate in caves and mines in the winter months). WNS is associated with a newly identified fungus that invades the skin and damages the tissue in hibernating bats.”
Recreation Director Nicole Conley has scheduled a multitude of upcoming activities for Charlotte, Vermont residents and beyond
Bradley Carleton describes his love of duck hunting and the sacred nature of the sport
Property owners on Long Point in North Ferrisburgh decided to form a “Weed Committee” to study the problem. After many months of research into causes and weed-control methods, and after speaking with their neighbors and other lake associations, the committee decided to organize an education event to inform lake users about the weed problem.
Here in Vermont, a few species of jumping spiders are common.
Elizabeth Bassett takes us on a journey outside of doors!
That re-decking project was necessary, Recreation Director Nicole Conley explained at the meeting, because boards were splintering and rotting. She laid out the options for replacement: cedar board decking and installation for $4,000 or synthetic nylon deck boarding for $9,400.