Bordertown Sat, 28 Mar 2026 17:48:23 -0400 http://www.bordertownonline.com/ en-us © 2026 Bordertown yes 9a6c17c9-4d64-5f09-a0d2-869827e7cfa8 victorgeemail@gmail.com Vic Guadagno episodic false Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

]]> Buzzsprout (https://www.buzzsprout.com) Vic Guadagno victorgeemail@gmail.com https://storage.buzzsprout.com/2qtsba3fefqs6rjgbk7e5o1eg5a7?.jpg Bordertown http://www.bordertownonline.com/ Episode 75 - Ginny Sassaman Episode 75 - Ginny Sassaman Ginny Sassaman is a co-founder, past president, and advisory board member of Gross National Happiness USA, and the creator of the Happiness Paradigm. Since 2013, she has served as a lay preacher at Unitarian Universalist churches in Vermont, Massachusetts, Wisconsin and South Carolina. Originally from central Pennsylvania, Ginny and her husband spent many years living in Washington, DC, before settling near Montpelier, Vermont in 2001.

Ginny has a master’s degree in Meditation and Applied Conflict Studies from the Woodbury Institute at Champlain College in Burlington VT, and a Certificate in Positive Psychology from Tal Ben-Sharar and the Wholebeing Institute. She has been the communications director for national non-profits (Common Cause and the Woman’s Legal Defense Fund), a full-time watercolor artist and a working mediator.

In 2009, Ginny joined with others in central Vermont to co-found Gross National Happiness USA, the first grassroots organization in the United States focused on building a movement for a thriving and sustainable future based on a holistic framework of defining individual and collective success. She served as President for a year and now serves on the GNHUSA advisory board. She is also on the advisory board of the Happiness Alliance, a Seattle-based group which collects and analyzes happiness data.

Ginny released her book, Preaching Happiness: Creating a Just and Joyful World in 2020. The book is a collection of secular sermons she has delivered in Unitarian Universalist churches and fellowships from 2013 through 2019. Each sermon explores the connection between spirituality, personal happiness, and with the urgent need for broad economic systems change. Ginny has also given speeches and presentations on individual and collective wellbeing in Seattle; Portland, OR, Santa Fe, NM; Burlington, VT; Charlotte, NC; New York City and Costa Rica.

 

To learn more about non-violent resistance and the work of Erica Chenoweth visit her Harvard website.

Music for this podcast – Adding My Voice by Railroad Earth 

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]]> Ginny Sassaman is a co-founder, past president, and advisory board member of Gross National Happiness USA, and the creator of the Happiness Paradigm. Since 2013, she has served as a lay preacher at Unitarian Universalist churches in Vermont, Massachusetts, Wisconsin and South Carolina. Originally from central Pennsylvania, Ginny and her husband spent many years living in Washington, DC, before settling near Montpelier, Vermont in 2001.

Ginny has a master’s degree in Meditation and Applied Conflict Studies from the Woodbury Institute at Champlain College in Burlington VT, and a Certificate in Positive Psychology from Tal Ben-Sharar and the Wholebeing Institute. She has been the communications director for national non-profits (Common Cause and the Woman’s Legal Defense Fund), a full-time watercolor artist and a working mediator.

In 2009, Ginny joined with others in central Vermont to co-found Gross National Happiness USA, the first grassroots organization in the United States focused on building a movement for a thriving and sustainable future based on a holistic framework of defining individual and collective success. She served as President for a year and now serves on the GNHUSA advisory board. She is also on the advisory board of the Happiness Alliance, a Seattle-based group which collects and analyzes happiness data.

Ginny released her book, Preaching Happiness: Creating a Just and Joyful World in 2020. The book is a collection of secular sermons she has delivered in Unitarian Universalist churches and fellowships from 2013 through 2019. Each sermon explores the connection between spirituality, personal happiness, and with the urgent need for broad economic systems change. Ginny has also given speeches and presentations on individual and collective wellbeing in Seattle; Portland, OR, Santa Fe, NM; Burlington, VT; Charlotte, NC; New York City and Costa Rica.

 

To learn more about non-violent resistance and the work of Erica Chenoweth visit her Harvard website.

Music for this podcast – Adding My Voice by Railroad Earth 

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Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-18894587 Mon, 23 Mar 2026 13:00:00 -0400 3832 full false Episode 74 - D. Davis Episode 74 - D. Davis D. Davis is an amazing musician who has performed with a wide range of artists in Vermont since he arrived in Burlington in 1997. Originally from Brielle, NJ, D. grew up walking the beaches at the New Jersey Shore. Music was a big part of family life and Dee found joy in family music sessions including friends and family of all ages. In the podcast we talk about D.'s journey from NJ to Vermont and he sings songs relevant to the various phases of his life.

 

D. moved to Burlington in 1997 and got deeply entrenched in the vibrant music scene of BVT in the late 90’s. He talk about different phases of his musical journey and how he know performs and teaches styles ranging from blues & rock, to classical, jazz and the Romantic era of guitar/music. Always active with various musical groups, D. talks about his current bands including Red Hot Juba, The Peoples House Band, The Faerie God Brothers, The Devonian Hot Club. He also plays in two duos, with Marc Gwinn and Django Soulo, and of course the occasional solo gig.

 

D. teaches young artists and provides healing and music therapy through his non-profit, The Community Music Initiative. This is a first on the Bordertown podcast, where the interview is highlighted with live performance! Please enjoy my conversation…and the music of…D. Davis!

Music for this Podcast provided by D. Davis

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]]> D. Davis is an amazing musician who has performed with a wide range of artists in Vermont since he arrived in Burlington in 1997. Originally from Brielle, NJ, D. grew up walking the beaches at the New Jersey Shore. Music was a big part of family life and Dee found joy in family music sessions including friends and family of all ages. In the podcast we talk about D.'s journey from NJ to Vermont and he sings songs relevant to the various phases of his life.

 

D. moved to Burlington in 1997 and got deeply entrenched in the vibrant music scene of BVT in the late 90’s. He talk about different phases of his musical journey and how he know performs and teaches styles ranging from blues & rock, to classical, jazz and the Romantic era of guitar/music. Always active with various musical groups, D. talks about his current bands including Red Hot Juba, The Peoples House Band, The Faerie God Brothers, The Devonian Hot Club. He also plays in two duos, with Marc Gwinn and Django Soulo, and of course the occasional solo gig.

 

D. teaches young artists and provides healing and music therapy through his non-profit, The Community Music Initiative. This is a first on the Bordertown podcast, where the interview is highlighted with live performance! Please enjoy my conversation…and the music of…D. Davis!

Music for this Podcast provided by D. Davis

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-18715733 Thu, 19 Feb 2026 22:00:00 -0500 3667 full false Episode 73 - Charlie Watt, Homecoming Seeds Episode 73 - Charlie Watt, Homecoming Seeds Charlie Watt is the owner and operator of Home Coming Seeds, an open-pollinated seed farm specializing in vegetable, flower and herb seeds with a focus on bioregional adaptation. 

Charlie was hired in May of 2023 to manage the Montpelier Community Feast Farm, a no-till farm run by the Parks and Trees Department in collaboration with Montpelier's Community Services Department. They grow fresh, healthy produce for food-insecure neighbors in Montpelier.

The Feast Farm was located at the convergence of the Winooski River and the Stevens Branch between Barre and Montpelier Vermont. Two month after Charlie was hired, on July 10 & 11, 2023 over 12 inches of rain fell, causing the river to crest approximately 21.29 feet. The Feast Farm, as well as much of the infrastructure, businesses, landscapes and homes of central Vermont were permanently impacted.

Over the next year, straddled with decreasing resources and increasing hydrological pressure, the Parks Department was still able to serve as first response to the flood disaster (as a key partner in Montpelier’s central flood response hub), organize community events to build relationships and increase capacity, AND reestablish their farm at a new, city-owned location, a couple hundred feet above the flood plain on Country Club Road. I was amazed to see how quickly they established their farm and organized conversation abouit potential reuse of this location

Charlie has moved onto the next chapter in his life, which is a farm-based seed company called Home Coming Seeds. a seed company located in Northfield Vermont. Charlie and his family have made quick progress establishing the initial growing area, constructing support structures around the farm, launching the company and preparing to launch their catalog in 2026.

Energy is still gathering around the Country Club Road Property and a recent design excercisse generated a varity of visions which you can review at Vision Montpelier.

Music for this Podcast - "Grandfather Mountain" by Railroad Earth.

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]]> Charlie Watt is the owner and operator of Home Coming Seeds, an open-pollinated seed farm specializing in vegetable, flower and herb seeds with a focus on bioregional adaptation. 

Charlie was hired in May of 2023 to manage the Montpelier Community Feast Farm, a no-till farm run by the Parks and Trees Department in collaboration with Montpelier's Community Services Department. They grow fresh, healthy produce for food-insecure neighbors in Montpelier.

The Feast Farm was located at the convergence of the Winooski River and the Stevens Branch between Barre and Montpelier Vermont. Two month after Charlie was hired, on July 10 & 11, 2023 over 12 inches of rain fell, causing the river to crest approximately 21.29 feet. The Feast Farm, as well as much of the infrastructure, businesses, landscapes and homes of central Vermont were permanently impacted.

Over the next year, straddled with decreasing resources and increasing hydrological pressure, the Parks Department was still able to serve as first response to the flood disaster (as a key partner in Montpelier’s central flood response hub), organize community events to build relationships and increase capacity, AND reestablish their farm at a new, city-owned location, a couple hundred feet above the flood plain on Country Club Road. I was amazed to see how quickly they established their farm and organized conversation abouit potential reuse of this location

Charlie has moved onto the next chapter in his life, which is a farm-based seed company called Home Coming Seeds. a seed company located in Northfield Vermont. Charlie and his family have made quick progress establishing the initial growing area, constructing support structures around the farm, launching the company and preparing to launch their catalog in 2026.

Energy is still gathering around the Country Club Road Property and a recent design excercisse generated a varity of visions which you can review at Vision Montpelier.

Music for this Podcast - "Grandfather Mountain" by Railroad Earth.

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-18187458 Thu, 13 Nov 2025 17:00:00 -0500 3053 full false Episode 72 - Karen Hatcher Episode 72 - Karen Hatcher Born and raised in New Jersey, Karen Hatcher spent much of her career, managing nonprofit organizations. She made her way to New England about 13 years ago and lives with her husband Mark who is a luthier. Since the flood of July 10th 2024, Karen, along with Michael Zahner, has been managing fundraising and grant coordination for disaster recovery in the town of Plainfield. An an October 9th, 2024 "Bridge" Article, Plainfield Select Board chair Karl Bissex introduced Karen as the "master of pulling together a team of people who can get money.”

"My life was never a straight line" Karen describes, "I just love how there's such synchronicity...in terms of all you've done in your life, and all the experiences you've had can come into play and can actually serve where you are".

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the upper Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

Music for this Podcast - "Blues Highway" by Railroad Earth.

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Born and raised in New Jersey, Karen Hatcher spent much of her career, managing nonprofit organizations. She made her way to New England about 13 years ago and lives with her husband Mark who is a luthier. Since the flood of July 10th 2024, Karen, along with Michael Zahner, has been managing fundraising and grant coordination for disaster recovery in the town of Plainfield. An an October 9th, 2024 "Bridge" Article, Plainfield Select Board chair Karl Bissex introduced Karen as the "master of pulling together a team of people who can get money.”

"My life was never a straight line" Karen describes, "I just love how there's such synchronicity...in terms of all you've done in your life, and all the experiences you've had can come into play and can actually serve where you are".

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the upper Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

Music for this Podcast - "Blues Highway" by Railroad Earth.

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-17638355 Fri, 08 Aug 2025 17:00:00 -0400 3079 full false Episode 71 - Meg Mott Episode 71 - Meg Mott Meg Mott has been called a Constitutional Wrangler, whose stated mission is “teach ordinary citizens how to think through the various constitutional issues in a specific controversy”. Meg is a writer, teacher and the town moderator of Putney, Vermont. She uses dynamic and innovative strategies to help people find a common language.

After twenty years of teaching political theory and constitutional law to Marlboro College undergraduates, Meg has taken her love of argument to the general public. Her award-winning series Debating Our Rights on the first ten amendments, brings civil discussions on contentious issues to public libraries and colleges.

In 2008, after moving to Putney, Vermont, Meg received an invitation to run for town meeting moderator, and gaveled in her first gathering in 2015. She has been the town moderator ever since.

“I was once very suspicious of Robert’s Rules of Order,” said Meg, who recalled living in a yurt as her wife built their goat farm. “Was it just patriarchy or white supremacy or heteronormativity? I had all my big words. I came to realize that communities were lost if they stopped listening to each other,” she said in a recent interview. “In these times, we need to be more careful that we do not engage in viewpoint discrimination.” (VT Digger, 2/28/24)

Meg credits her interest in argument/discourse to Clarence Darrow, a first amendment and due process attorney. She recalls that Darrow helped her understand that “if you want people to do a better job at ruling themselves, they better have some pretty strong principles, and everybody’s going to want to give up on those principles”. She realized that our constitutional structure is critical to helping people govern themselves.

Meg is a collaborator with the Ecological Planning Laboratory at the University of Vermont. The Ecological Planning Laboratory helps communities tackle vital projects on their land, offering long-term support in partnership with UVM Extension and the Field Naturalist graduate program. The EPL work emphasizes social-ecological health at the watershed scale.

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the upper Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

Music for this Podcast - "Adding My Voice" by Railroad Earth.

 

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Meg Mott has been called a Constitutional Wrangler, whose stated mission is “teach ordinary citizens how to think through the various constitutional issues in a specific controversy”. Meg is a writer, teacher and the town moderator of Putney, Vermont. She uses dynamic and innovative strategies to help people find a common language.

After twenty years of teaching political theory and constitutional law to Marlboro College undergraduates, Meg has taken her love of argument to the general public. Her award-winning series Debating Our Rights on the first ten amendments, brings civil discussions on contentious issues to public libraries and colleges.

In 2008, after moving to Putney, Vermont, Meg received an invitation to run for town meeting moderator, and gaveled in her first gathering in 2015. She has been the town moderator ever since.

“I was once very suspicious of Robert’s Rules of Order,” said Meg, who recalled living in a yurt as her wife built their goat farm. “Was it just patriarchy or white supremacy or heteronormativity? I had all my big words. I came to realize that communities were lost if they stopped listening to each other,” she said in a recent interview. “In these times, we need to be more careful that we do not engage in viewpoint discrimination.” (VT Digger, 2/28/24)

Meg credits her interest in argument/discourse to Clarence Darrow, a first amendment and due process attorney. She recalls that Darrow helped her understand that “if you want people to do a better job at ruling themselves, they better have some pretty strong principles, and everybody’s going to want to give up on those principles”. She realized that our constitutional structure is critical to helping people govern themselves.

Meg is a collaborator with the Ecological Planning Laboratory at the University of Vermont. The Ecological Planning Laboratory helps communities tackle vital projects on their land, offering long-term support in partnership with UVM Extension and the Field Naturalist graduate program. The EPL work emphasizes social-ecological health at the watershed scale.

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the upper Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

Music for this Podcast - "Adding My Voice" by Railroad Earth.

 

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-17346495 Mon, 16 Jun 2025 14:00:00 -0400 3214 full false Episode 70 - Don Taylor, MSMS_SUSTAIN Episode 70 - Don Taylor, MSMS_SUSTAIN Don Taylor is a middle school educator at the Main Street Middle School (MSMS) in Montpelier, Vermont. After spending 17 years teaching language arts and social studies, Don was the driving force behind the creation of the MSMS_SUSTAIN program, which he co-directs with Drew McNaughton. MSMS_SUSTAIN is a learning program predicated on the belief that students of the 21st century must know and understand issues related to climate change, sustainability and social justice. Don credits his enrollment in the Cultivating Pathways to Sustainability Program at Shelburne Farms, VT, his involvement with Up For Learning and his collaboration with several students in the Spring of 2021 for the creation of the MSMS_SUSTAIN program. It has since developed into a robust curriculum for 5th through 8th grade students at MSMS.

Through personalized learning, students have the opportunity to explore areas of interest, connect with others who are working to solve local problems, and to communicate their findings to the school community as well as the broader community. The program is based on the belief that students and adults should be partners. A focus on student voice, student-led action and collaboration with the learning community are core beliefs of the program.

An avid fisherman, Don recalls some of his early experiences that led to the formation of MSMS_SUSTAIN including time living & working in the Pacific Northwest, international travel, and youth camping in New England, particularly Camp Challenge in Bradford, VT run by Dartmouth College Graduate and Forester, Putnam Blodgett.

Don continues to innovate the MSMS_SUSTAIN program and project learning at Main Street Middle School. For the past ten yeas he has been an actively involved with the Middle Grade Collaborative (MGC), a collaboration of colleges and universities specializing in professional development for middle school educators. Don is a contributor to the MGC "Conversations", a monthly conversation focused on issues related to middle level education.  All of their conversations are posted to the MGC YouTube channel.

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the upper Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency , equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

Music for this Podcast - "Peace on Earth" by Railroad Earth.

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Don Taylor is a middle school educator at the Main Street Middle School (MSMS) in Montpelier, Vermont. After spending 17 years teaching language arts and social studies, Don was the driving force behind the creation of the MSMS_SUSTAIN program, which he co-directs with Drew McNaughton. MSMS_SUSTAIN is a learning program predicated on the belief that students of the 21st century must know and understand issues related to climate change, sustainability and social justice. Don credits his enrollment in the Cultivating Pathways to Sustainability Program at Shelburne Farms, VT, his involvement with Up For Learning and his collaboration with several students in the Spring of 2021 for the creation of the MSMS_SUSTAIN program. It has since developed into a robust curriculum for 5th through 8th grade students at MSMS.

Through personalized learning, students have the opportunity to explore areas of interest, connect with others who are working to solve local problems, and to communicate their findings to the school community as well as the broader community. The program is based on the belief that students and adults should be partners. A focus on student voice, student-led action and collaboration with the learning community are core beliefs of the program.

An avid fisherman, Don recalls some of his early experiences that led to the formation of MSMS_SUSTAIN including time living & working in the Pacific Northwest, international travel, and youth camping in New England, particularly Camp Challenge in Bradford, VT run by Dartmouth College Graduate and Forester, Putnam Blodgett.

Don continues to innovate the MSMS_SUSTAIN program and project learning at Main Street Middle School. For the past ten yeas he has been an actively involved with the Middle Grade Collaborative (MGC), a collaboration of colleges and universities specializing in professional development for middle school educators. Don is a contributor to the MGC "Conversations", a monthly conversation focused on issues related to middle level education.  All of their conversations are posted to the MGC YouTube channel.

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the upper Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency , equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

Music for this Podcast - "Peace on Earth" by Railroad Earth.

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-17216522 Fri, 23 May 2025 15:00:00 -0400 3294 full false Episode 69 - Kianna Bromley, The Montpelier Performing Arts Hub Episode 69 - Kianna Bromley, The Montpelier Performing Arts Hub Kianna Bromley is the Founder and Director of the Montpelier Performing Arts Hub. She has been involved in theater & performance throughout her life and attributes her love for theater (as well as her approach to theater, to the summer camp she attended throughout her childhood, The Young People’s Center for the Creative Arts in East Hampton Connecticut. Kianna came to Vermont to attend college, and although she didn’t study theater, she quickly integrated into the theater community and was active with UVM’s Royal Tyler Theater and the Lyric Theater Company in Burlington. VT.

An immensely energetic and passionate problem solver, Kianna never does anything halfway. Ever since pursuing her master’s degree in Business in Entrepreneurship from the University of Vermont (SI-MBA), she has been planning business models for a new performance and event spaces. When the Gary Library, located at the former Vermont College of Fine Arts crossed her path she knew it was time to jump!

Kianna most recently taught Theatre Arts and directed the Masque Theatre Program at Montpelier High School. In addition to teaching on and off since 2011, Kianna has worked as the Business Manager for Orchard Valley Waldorf School, the Student Matinee Series Manager at the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, and the Finance Director for Small Dog Electronics.

Kianna currently serves on the Board at Lost Nation Theater in Montpelier and previously served on the Sustainable Entrepreneurship Advisory Board. She lives in Montpelier with her husband and children. 

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the upper Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency , equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

Music for this Podcast - "Chains" by Railroad Earth.

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Kianna Bromley is the Founder and Director of the Montpelier Performing Arts Hub. She has been involved in theater & performance throughout her life and attributes her love for theater (as well as her approach to theater, to the summer camp she attended throughout her childhood, The Young People’s Center for the Creative Arts in East Hampton Connecticut. Kianna came to Vermont to attend college, and although she didn’t study theater, she quickly integrated into the theater community and was active with UVM’s Royal Tyler Theater and the Lyric Theater Company in Burlington. VT.

An immensely energetic and passionate problem solver, Kianna never does anything halfway. Ever since pursuing her master’s degree in Business in Entrepreneurship from the University of Vermont (SI-MBA), she has been planning business models for a new performance and event spaces. When the Gary Library, located at the former Vermont College of Fine Arts crossed her path she knew it was time to jump!

Kianna most recently taught Theatre Arts and directed the Masque Theatre Program at Montpelier High School. In addition to teaching on and off since 2011, Kianna has worked as the Business Manager for Orchard Valley Waldorf School, the Student Matinee Series Manager at the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, and the Finance Director for Small Dog Electronics.

Kianna currently serves on the Board at Lost Nation Theater in Montpelier and previously served on the Sustainable Entrepreneurship Advisory Board. She lives in Montpelier with her husband and children. 

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the upper Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency , equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

Music for this Podcast - "Chains" by Railroad Earth.

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-17038939 Thu, 24 Apr 2025 15:00:00 -0400 2818 full false Episode 68 - Ben Matchstick, Cardboard Teck Instantute & Hadestown! Episode 68 - Ben Matchstick, Cardboard Teck Instantute & Hadestown! Professor Ben t. Matchstick founded Cardboard Teck Instantute in 2005. He is a performing artist working in the mediums of cardboard, games, and stories. 

Ben has worked as a youth advocate, librarian, cafe owner, educator, puppeteer, artist, and entrepreneur in Vermont for 20+ years. He is the founder of Cardboard Teck Instantute.

Ben is the co-creator (with Pete Talbot) of the award-winning PinBox 3000 cardboard tabletop pinball machine kit. Ben is the production and media manager and storyteller for the PinBox 3000, which has sold over 25,000 units since its invention in 2015.

Ben co-conceived Hadestown (with Anaïs Mitchell), now on Broadway. Hadestown began in Central Vermont and went on to win 8 Tony awards.  

Ben was a traveling company member with Bread & Puppet Theater for 4 years and 8 summers. He a proud member of Generator Maker Space in Burlington Vermont.

He graduated with a BA in Theater from Northwestern University, and holds a MFA in Interdisciplinary Art from Goddard College.

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the upper Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency , equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

Music for this Podcast - "Cold Water" by Railroad Earth.

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Professor Ben t. Matchstick founded Cardboard Teck Instantute in 2005. He is a performing artist working in the mediums of cardboard, games, and stories. 

Ben has worked as a youth advocate, librarian, cafe owner, educator, puppeteer, artist, and entrepreneur in Vermont for 20+ years. He is the founder of Cardboard Teck Instantute.

Ben is the co-creator (with Pete Talbot) of the award-winning PinBox 3000 cardboard tabletop pinball machine kit. Ben is the production and media manager and storyteller for the PinBox 3000, which has sold over 25,000 units since its invention in 2015.

Ben co-conceived Hadestown (with Anaïs Mitchell), now on Broadway. Hadestown began in Central Vermont and went on to win 8 Tony awards.  

Ben was a traveling company member with Bread & Puppet Theater for 4 years and 8 summers. He a proud member of Generator Maker Space in Burlington Vermont.

He graduated with a BA in Theater from Northwestern University, and holds a MFA in Interdisciplinary Art from Goddard College.

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the upper Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency , equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

Music for this Podcast - "Cold Water" by Railroad Earth.

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-16669990 Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:00:00 -0500 3682 full false Episode 67 - Eric Zencey Episode 67 - Eric Zencey This week’s podcast is the Posthumous interview with Eric Zencey. Eric was a professor, writer and social critic. He passed on July 1st, 2019.

Eric Zencey, novelist, essayist, lecturer, and social thinker was a tireless evangelist for a new way of thinking about humankind’s relationship with nature. Eric arrived in Vermont in 1980 to teach at Goddard College, quickly developing a deep love for his adopted state.

More recently, he served as a visiting lecturer in the Sam Fox School of Architecture at Washington University in St. Louis, as well as teaching in the Honors Program at the University of Vermont, where he also was a fellow at the Gund Institute. Over the years, Eric’s work was recognized and supported by fellowships from the Guggenheim, Bellagio-Rockefeller and Bogliasco Foundations. His commentaries appeared in several publications, including The New York Times, and he was quoted on National Public Radio and in the Harvard Business Review. He also helped convince Vermont leaders to adopt the GPI (Genuine Progress Indicator), providing a more complete measure of a population’s well-being than the myopic GDP (Gross Domestic Product).

While his writing focused for the most part on the subject of ecological economic, he was also the author of the best-selling historical fiction novel "Panama", in which Henry Adams turns detective. In addition to "Panama", Eric published three works of non-fiction: "Virgin Forest: Meditations on History, Ecology and Culture"; "The Other Road to Serfdom and the Path to Sustainable Democracy"; and "Greening Vermont: The Search for a Sustainable State" (co-authored with Elizabeth Courtney). In addition to Goddard College, he taught in Empire State College’s International Program, which required frequent travel to its extension campuses in Prague and Albania. Here is a good link to Eric's books.

In the months before his death, he raised more than $100,000 to endow the Eric Zencey Prize in Ecological Economics, to be administered by the Gund Institute at the University of Vermont. The prize recognizes the best current affairs book or long-form journalism that advances public understanding of real-world environmental challenges using the principles of ecological economics, a field that explores the relationships between economics and Earth’s limited natural resources. Contributions in his memory may be made to the Eric Zencey Prize in Ecological Economics, through the University of Vermont Foundation, 411 Main St., Burlington, VT 05401.

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the upper Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

Music for this Podcast – "The Great Divide" by Railroad Earth.

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> This week’s podcast is the Posthumous interview with Eric Zencey. Eric was a professor, writer and social critic. He passed on July 1st, 2019.

Eric Zencey, novelist, essayist, lecturer, and social thinker was a tireless evangelist for a new way of thinking about humankind’s relationship with nature. Eric arrived in Vermont in 1980 to teach at Goddard College, quickly developing a deep love for his adopted state.

More recently, he served as a visiting lecturer in the Sam Fox School of Architecture at Washington University in St. Louis, as well as teaching in the Honors Program at the University of Vermont, where he also was a fellow at the Gund Institute. Over the years, Eric’s work was recognized and supported by fellowships from the Guggenheim, Bellagio-Rockefeller and Bogliasco Foundations. His commentaries appeared in several publications, including The New York Times, and he was quoted on National Public Radio and in the Harvard Business Review. He also helped convince Vermont leaders to adopt the GPI (Genuine Progress Indicator), providing a more complete measure of a population’s well-being than the myopic GDP (Gross Domestic Product).

While his writing focused for the most part on the subject of ecological economic, he was also the author of the best-selling historical fiction novel "Panama", in which Henry Adams turns detective. In addition to "Panama", Eric published three works of non-fiction: "Virgin Forest: Meditations on History, Ecology and Culture"; "The Other Road to Serfdom and the Path to Sustainable Democracy"; and "Greening Vermont: The Search for a Sustainable State" (co-authored with Elizabeth Courtney). In addition to Goddard College, he taught in Empire State College’s International Program, which required frequent travel to its extension campuses in Prague and Albania. Here is a good link to Eric's books.

In the months before his death, he raised more than $100,000 to endow the Eric Zencey Prize in Ecological Economics, to be administered by the Gund Institute at the University of Vermont. The prize recognizes the best current affairs book or long-form journalism that advances public understanding of real-world environmental challenges using the principles of ecological economics, a field that explores the relationships between economics and Earth’s limited natural resources. Contributions in his memory may be made to the Eric Zencey Prize in Ecological Economics, through the University of Vermont Foundation, 411 Main St., Burlington, VT 05401.

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the upper Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

Music for this Podcast – "The Great Divide" by Railroad Earth.

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-16522987 Tue, 28 Jan 2025 23:00:00 -0500 4299 full false Episode 66 - Ecological Planning Lab, 2024 Symposium Episode 66 - Ecological Planning Lab, 2024 Symposium The Ecological Planning Laboratory (EPL) at the University of Vermont is a partnership between UVM Extension and the Field Naturalist Graduate program, in year two of a three-year pilot phase. The EPL helps communities tackle vital projects on their land, with an emphasis on social-ecological health at the watershed scale. As their website states, “sustaining momentum over years is often the greatest challenge of land-based projects, from starting a riparian tree nursery to coordinating multi-town climate resilience plans. The EPL offers a guiding hand throughout the project, connecting communities with funding to leverage UVM resources and expertise — faculty, graduate student consultants, and undergraduate interns”. 

On November 2nd, 2024 the EPL hosted their first symposium at Jefford’s Hall a the University of Vermont. Approximately 30 people attended the event and this podcast is a recording of the morning session. We recorded a short conversation with a small group of six associated with a project in the Mad River Valley that is dealing with the Knotweed infestation. The Knotweed project represents just one of the projects of the Ecological Planning lab, and we use this as a case study to discuss the topic of “Emergence”. Emergence in leadership, social organizing and project development.

We started the conversation with a small group of six, then expanded to the entire group of approximately 30 people for questions and an expanded conversation. Participating in the initial conversation are:

 

  • Walter Poleman,  Senior Lecturer at the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, Director of the Field Naturalist Program
  • Jito Coleman from the Warren Conservation Commission
  • Dave Maroney, GIS Coordinator Consulting Ecologist with the Ecological Planning Laboratory
  • Mariano Rodriguez-Cabal, assistant professor at the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
  • Bella Linville, senior in the Rubenstein School/Mad River Valley Knotweed intern
  • Vic Guadagno, Producer, Writer and Editor with Bright Blue Ecomedia. Communications consultant with the Ecological Planning Laboratory.

In addition to the community members, this conversation references a few people I mention here to give greater context to the conversation – Hans Estrin, one of the key plays in the Ecological Planning Lab at UVM, Kurt Lindberg from the Waitsfield Conservation Commission, and Roy Beckford, Associate Dean and Director of UVM Extension in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Music for this Podcast – "So Good" by Railroad Earth.

Links:

Ecological Planning Laboratory

University of Vermont Extension

Field Naturalist Program

Warren Vermont - Conservation Commission

Waitsfield Vermont - Conservation Commission

Fayston Vermont - Conservation Commission

Bordertown

Bright Blue Ecomedia

Thanks to all those who attend the first symposium for the Ecological Planning Laboratory at the University of Vermont, thanks to all who participated…and thank you for listening!

Bordertown is an ecomedia project comi

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> The Ecological Planning Laboratory (EPL) at the University of Vermont is a partnership between UVM Extension and the Field Naturalist Graduate program, in year two of a three-year pilot phase. The EPL helps communities tackle vital projects on their land, with an emphasis on social-ecological health at the watershed scale. As their website states, “sustaining momentum over years is often the greatest challenge of land-based projects, from starting a riparian tree nursery to coordinating multi-town climate resilience plans. The EPL offers a guiding hand throughout the project, connecting communities with funding to leverage UVM resources and expertise — faculty, graduate student consultants, and undergraduate interns”. 

On November 2nd, 2024 the EPL hosted their first symposium at Jefford’s Hall a the University of Vermont. Approximately 30 people attended the event and this podcast is a recording of the morning session. We recorded a short conversation with a small group of six associated with a project in the Mad River Valley that is dealing with the Knotweed infestation. The Knotweed project represents just one of the projects of the Ecological Planning lab, and we use this as a case study to discuss the topic of “Emergence”. Emergence in leadership, social organizing and project development.

We started the conversation with a small group of six, then expanded to the entire group of approximately 30 people for questions and an expanded conversation. Participating in the initial conversation are:

 

  • Walter Poleman,  Senior Lecturer at the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, Director of the Field Naturalist Program
  • Jito Coleman from the Warren Conservation Commission
  • Dave Maroney, GIS Coordinator Consulting Ecologist with the Ecological Planning Laboratory
  • Mariano Rodriguez-Cabal, assistant professor at the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
  • Bella Linville, senior in the Rubenstein School/Mad River Valley Knotweed intern
  • Vic Guadagno, Producer, Writer and Editor with Bright Blue Ecomedia. Communications consultant with the Ecological Planning Laboratory.

In addition to the community members, this conversation references a few people I mention here to give greater context to the conversation – Hans Estrin, one of the key plays in the Ecological Planning Lab at UVM, Kurt Lindberg from the Waitsfield Conservation Commission, and Roy Beckford, Associate Dean and Director of UVM Extension in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Music for this Podcast – "So Good" by Railroad Earth.

Links:

Ecological Planning Laboratory

University of Vermont Extension

Field Naturalist Program

Warren Vermont - Conservation Commission

Waitsfield Vermont - Conservation Commission

Fayston Vermont - Conservation Commission

Bordertown

Bright Blue Ecomedia

Thanks to all those who attend the first symposium for the Ecological Planning Laboratory at the University of Vermont, thanks to all who participated…and thank you for listening!

Bordertown is an ecomedia project comi

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-16345217 Tue, 31 Dec 2024 13:00:00 -0500 3077 full false Episode 65 - Paul Gambill, Community Engagement Lab Episode 65 - Paul Gambill, Community Engagement Lab Paul Gambill is the Executive Director of the Community Engagement Lab. Their mission is to "bring people of all ages together in projects that activate their creativity to imagine and build more just and thriving communities". Their current project, The Montpelier Bridges to Belonging shares the stories that connect us to each other — and the stories that reveal where we need to build new bridges to ensure that Montpelier is a welcoming place where everyone can belong and thrive.

Paul brings 30 years experience as an arts administrator, musician and educator to his role as Executive Director of the Community Engagement Lab. His innovative community-engaged projects have been GRAMMY nominated, featured as models of best practice at national conventions, and received national awards for children's media, including the Parents’ Choice Foundation Gold Award. He has founded three non-profit arts organizations which have attracted regional and national funding and programming awards.

Before relocating with his family to Vermont in 2009, Paul was founder and music director of the Nashville Chamber Orchestra for 20 years, and music director of the Nashville Ballet for six years.

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper-Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

Music for this Podcast – "Only By the Light" by Railroad Earth.

 

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Paul Gambill is the Executive Director of the Community Engagement Lab. Their mission is to "bring people of all ages together in projects that activate their creativity to imagine and build more just and thriving communities". Their current project, The Montpelier Bridges to Belonging shares the stories that connect us to each other — and the stories that reveal where we need to build new bridges to ensure that Montpelier is a welcoming place where everyone can belong and thrive.

Paul brings 30 years experience as an arts administrator, musician and educator to his role as Executive Director of the Community Engagement Lab. His innovative community-engaged projects have been GRAMMY nominated, featured as models of best practice at national conventions, and received national awards for children's media, including the Parents’ Choice Foundation Gold Award. He has founded three non-profit arts organizations which have attracted regional and national funding and programming awards.

Before relocating with his family to Vermont in 2009, Paul was founder and music director of the Nashville Chamber Orchestra for 20 years, and music director of the Nashville Ballet for six years.

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper-Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

Music for this Podcast – "Only By the Light" by Railroad Earth.

 

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-16087814 Mon, 11 Nov 2024 18:00:00 -0500 2298 full false Episode 64 - Paul Carnahan Episode 64 - Paul Carnahan This episode features Paul Carnahan. Librarian of the Vermont Historical Society (VHS) from 1990 to 2022. Paul  currently serves on Montpelier’s Historic Preservation Commission and the board of the Montpelier Historical Society. He recently became part of Montpelier’s Commission for Recovery and Resiliency, offering a historical perspective on Montpelier, as the Commission envisions a resilient future.

Paul worked with Montpelier Alive to create the Bridges of Montpelier slideshow, an amazing presentation about Montpelier’s bridges. Bridges are powerful symbols of connection, transformation, aspiration and overcoming obstacles. This project seeks to alleviate some of the economic and environmental challenges Montpelier has been facing. And mark your calendar for November 16th  as Montpelier Alive lights up our bridges in celebration with the Bridge Illumination Project.

 

Bordertown Description
Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper-Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.
 
 

Links:

Montpelier Alive’s “Bridges” Project

Bridges of Montpelier Slide Show

The Montpelier Commission for Recovery and Resilience

Music by Railroad Earth - song in this episode - Grandfather Mountain

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> This episode features Paul Carnahan. Librarian of the Vermont Historical Society (VHS) from 1990 to 2022. Paul  currently serves on Montpelier’s Historic Preservation Commission and the board of the Montpelier Historical Society. He recently became part of Montpelier’s Commission for Recovery and Resiliency, offering a historical perspective on Montpelier, as the Commission envisions a resilient future.

Paul worked with Montpelier Alive to create the Bridges of Montpelier slideshow, an amazing presentation about Montpelier’s bridges. Bridges are powerful symbols of connection, transformation, aspiration and overcoming obstacles. This project seeks to alleviate some of the economic and environmental challenges Montpelier has been facing. And mark your calendar for November 16th  as Montpelier Alive lights up our bridges in celebration with the Bridge Illumination Project.

 

Bordertown Description
Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper-Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.
 
 

Links:

Montpelier Alive’s “Bridges” Project

Bridges of Montpelier Slide Show

The Montpelier Commission for Recovery and Resilience

Music by Railroad Earth - song in this episode - Grandfather Mountain

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-15880396 Mon, 07 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0400 2236 full false Episode 63 - Pat Moulton, Central Vermont Recovery Officer Episode 63 - Pat Moulton, Central Vermont Recovery Officer Today on the podcast we welcome Pat Moulton. 

In November of 2023 Pat was appointed by Governor Phil Scott as the Central Vermont Recovery Officer for the State of Vermont.

The Recovery Office is the state-level entity tasked with coordinating available federal funds and local mitigation and community revitalization work. Pat is the first geographic appointee to the office, focusing on central Vermont and the Winooski River watershed.

Pat has 40 years of experience in economic development and workforce development. She also has experience in environmental permitting, including chairing Vermont’s Environmental Board which oversaw Act 250.

I recorded this podcast at the end of June and I’m posting it in the first week of August. In the past six weeks, there have been two major floods in the state of Vermont, resulting in significant damage - again here in central Vermont and also in the Northeast Kingdom. Pat commented in this interview that her work is to spearhead recovery efforts as well as preparedness initiatives, as floods such as those on July 11th of 2023 will indeed happen again. I think we where all shocked that it happened just one year later.

Pat’s work is certainly critical, as is all of our efforts to understand the make the systemic changes necessary, to adapt to this new reality of a signivicant rainfall events in Vermont!

Music for this Podcast – "Bread and Water" by Railroad Earth.

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Today on the podcast we welcome Pat Moulton. 

In November of 2023 Pat was appointed by Governor Phil Scott as the Central Vermont Recovery Officer for the State of Vermont.

The Recovery Office is the state-level entity tasked with coordinating available federal funds and local mitigation and community revitalization work. Pat is the first geographic appointee to the office, focusing on central Vermont and the Winooski River watershed.

Pat has 40 years of experience in economic development and workforce development. She also has experience in environmental permitting, including chairing Vermont’s Environmental Board which oversaw Act 250.

I recorded this podcast at the end of June and I’m posting it in the first week of August. In the past six weeks, there have been two major floods in the state of Vermont, resulting in significant damage - again here in central Vermont and also in the Northeast Kingdom. Pat commented in this interview that her work is to spearhead recovery efforts as well as preparedness initiatives, as floods such as those on July 11th of 2023 will indeed happen again. I think we where all shocked that it happened just one year later.

Pat’s work is certainly critical, as is all of our efforts to understand the make the systemic changes necessary, to adapt to this new reality of a signivicant rainfall events in Vermont!

Music for this Podcast – "Bread and Water" by Railroad Earth.

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-15537140 Mon, 05 Aug 2024 23:00:00 -0400 3003 full false Episode 62 - Paul Costello Episode 62 - Paul Costello Today we welcome Paul Costello, the former Executive Director of the Vermont Council on Rural Development. Paul retired from this position in 2021. Lifetime Vermonter, Paul dedicated most of his career to helping Vermont towns and cities build community, identify goals and visions and build strategies to accomplish these goals. 

On July 11th, 2023, intense and widespread rainfall led to catastrophic flooding throughout the state of Vermont, leaving the entire downtown of the capitol city, Montpelier, underwater.

After the floods, Paul was instrumental in organizing the City of Montpelier, The Montpelier Foundation and Montpelier Alive, in a series of community conversations about recovery and the future of Montpelier. This led to the formation of the Montpelier Commission for Recovery and Resilience, which serves as a convening and resource partner for the city and all working groups advancing flood recovery and resilience projects in the city.  

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper-Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

Music for this Podcast – "One More Night On The Road" by Railroad Earth.

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Today we welcome Paul Costello, the former Executive Director of the Vermont Council on Rural Development. Paul retired from this position in 2021. Lifetime Vermonter, Paul dedicated most of his career to helping Vermont towns and cities build community, identify goals and visions and build strategies to accomplish these goals. 

On July 11th, 2023, intense and widespread rainfall led to catastrophic flooding throughout the state of Vermont, leaving the entire downtown of the capitol city, Montpelier, underwater.

After the floods, Paul was instrumental in organizing the City of Montpelier, The Montpelier Foundation and Montpelier Alive, in a series of community conversations about recovery and the future of Montpelier. This led to the formation of the Montpelier Commission for Recovery and Resilience, which serves as a convening and resource partner for the city and all working groups advancing flood recovery and resilience projects in the city.  

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper-Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

Music for this Podcast – "One More Night On The Road" by Railroad Earth.

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-15309888 Tue, 25 Jun 2024 11:00:00 -0400 2351 full false Episode 61 - Jon Copans, The Commission for Recovery and Resilience Episode 61 - Jon Copans, The Commission for Recovery and Resilience Today we welcome Jon Copans, the Executive Director of The Commission for Recovery & Resilience.

On July 11th, 2023, intense and widespread rainfall led to catastrophic flooding throughout the state of Vermont, leaving the entire downtown of the capitol city, Montpelier, underwater.

Immediately following the flood, Paul Costello, the former executive director of the Vermont Council on Rural Development, worked with the City of Montpelier, The Montpelier Foundation and Montpelier Alive, to convene a series of community conversations about recovery and the future of Montpelier.

The visioning process of those public forums resulted in roughly 20 priorities and the establishment of a new leadership structure to coordinate and advance strategies leading to recovery and resiliency in central Vermont. This paved the way for the hiring of Jon for a two-year term, as Executive Director beginning this month, May of 2024.

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper-Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

Music for this Podcast – "Like a Buddha" by Railroad Earth.


Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Today we welcome Jon Copans, the Executive Director of The Commission for Recovery & Resilience.

On July 11th, 2023, intense and widespread rainfall led to catastrophic flooding throughout the state of Vermont, leaving the entire downtown of the capitol city, Montpelier, underwater.

Immediately following the flood, Paul Costello, the former executive director of the Vermont Council on Rural Development, worked with the City of Montpelier, The Montpelier Foundation and Montpelier Alive, to convene a series of community conversations about recovery and the future of Montpelier.

The visioning process of those public forums resulted in roughly 20 priorities and the establishment of a new leadership structure to coordinate and advance strategies leading to recovery and resiliency in central Vermont. This paved the way for the hiring of Jon for a two-year term, as Executive Director beginning this month, May of 2024.

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper-Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

Music for this Podcast – "Like a Buddha" by Railroad Earth.


Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-15102904 Mon, 20 May 2024 14:00:00 -0400 2283 full false Episode 60 - Hans Estrin, UVM's Ecological Planning Laboratory Episode 60 - Hans Estrin, UVM's Ecological Planning Laboratory Today we welcome Hans Estrin from the University of Vermont’s Ecological Planning Laboratory. Hans talks about his childhood days in the Plainfield/Marshfield, VT area, describes the trajectory of his career and gives a glimpse of the Ecological Planning Laboratory emerging out the UVM.

The Ecological Planning Laboratory helps communities tackle vital projects on their land, offering long-term support in partnership with UVM Extension and the Field Naturalist graduate program. Ecological management can be contentious. Rather than trying to step in and resolve all conflict, the EPL uses the tension in these thorny issues to drive and deepen civil engagement, cultivating resilience for people and communities in Vermont's watersheds.

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper-Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.
 
To learn more about UVM’s Ecological Planning Laboratory you can contact Hans directly at 802-380-2109, or email him at hestrin@uvm.edu

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Today we welcome Hans Estrin from the University of Vermont’s Ecological Planning Laboratory. Hans talks about his childhood days in the Plainfield/Marshfield, VT area, describes the trajectory of his career and gives a glimpse of the Ecological Planning Laboratory emerging out the UVM.

The Ecological Planning Laboratory helps communities tackle vital projects on their land, offering long-term support in partnership with UVM Extension and the Field Naturalist graduate program. Ecological management can be contentious. Rather than trying to step in and resolve all conflict, the EPL uses the tension in these thorny issues to drive and deepen civil engagement, cultivating resilience for people and communities in Vermont's watersheds.

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper-Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.
 
To learn more about UVM’s Ecological Planning Laboratory you can contact Hans directly at 802-380-2109, or email him at hestrin@uvm.edu

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-15082625 Thu, 16 May 2024 15:00:00 -0400 2382 full false Episode 59 - Ben Doyle & Aly Richards, The Montpelier Commission for Recovery & Resilience Episode 59 - Ben Doyle & Aly Richards, The Montpelier Commission for Recovery & Resilience Today on the podcast we welcome Ben Doyle and Aly Richards, from The Commission for Recovery and Resilience.

On July 11th, 2023, intense and widespread rainfall led to catastrophic flooding throughout the State, leaving the entire downtown of the capitol city, Montpelier, underwater.

As the flood-waters resided, Paul Costello, the former executive director of the Vermont Council on Rural Development, worked with the City of Montpelier, The Montpelier Foundation and Montpelier Alive, to convene a series of community conversations about recovery and the future of Montpelier.

The visioning process of those public forums resulted in roughly 20 priorities and the establishment of a new leadership structure to coordinate and advance strategies leading to recovery and resiliency in central Vermont. This is truly democracy in action…

"If you want to go fast, go by yourself. If you want to go far, go with everyone". Says Ben Doyle, "We’re really committed to harnessing the intelligence, enthusiasm, commitment and love of this community".

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper Winooski River Watershed of Central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage conversation around resiliency, equity, and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive. Bordertown is hosted by Vic Guadagno.

To learn more about The Commission or to make a donation to Central Vermont flood effort please visit Montpelier STRONG.

 And thanks to Todd Sheaffer and Railroad Earth for providing the music.

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Today on the podcast we welcome Ben Doyle and Aly Richards, from The Commission for Recovery and Resilience.

On July 11th, 2023, intense and widespread rainfall led to catastrophic flooding throughout the State, leaving the entire downtown of the capitol city, Montpelier, underwater.

As the flood-waters resided, Paul Costello, the former executive director of the Vermont Council on Rural Development, worked with the City of Montpelier, The Montpelier Foundation and Montpelier Alive, to convene a series of community conversations about recovery and the future of Montpelier.

The visioning process of those public forums resulted in roughly 20 priorities and the establishment of a new leadership structure to coordinate and advance strategies leading to recovery and resiliency in central Vermont. This is truly democracy in action…

"If you want to go fast, go by yourself. If you want to go far, go with everyone". Says Ben Doyle, "We’re really committed to harnessing the intelligence, enthusiasm, commitment and love of this community".

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper Winooski River Watershed of Central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage conversation around resiliency, equity, and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive. Bordertown is hosted by Vic Guadagno.

To learn more about The Commission or to make a donation to Central Vermont flood effort please visit Montpelier STRONG.

 And thanks to Todd Sheaffer and Railroad Earth for providing the music.

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-14403747 Tue, 30 Jan 2024 01:00:00 -0500 3018 full false Episode 58 - Flood Series - Daphne Larkin & Beth Rusnock, The National Life Group Episode 58 - Flood Series - Daphne Larkin & Beth Rusnock, The National Life Group The Bordertown Flood series tells the stories of Central Vermonters experiencing the 2023 flood disaster.

This episode features Beth Rusnock, president of the National Life Group Foundation and Daphne Larkin, Communications and Media Relations Director of the National Life Group.

Beth Rusnock says that the National Life Group wants to make sure that "the communities that their campuses are a part of - that they are vibrant. That they are places where our employees want to live, want to be a part of... "

Daphne Larkin adds that "this culture of volunteering and getting involved with our community is baked into everything that we do.  Everybody feels it, every body lives it, and we have people doing good in the name of National Life, all over the country".

If you want to donate to the flood recovery effort in central Vermont flood please visit the Montpelier STRONG Recovery Foundation.


Music for this Podcast – "The Good Life" by Railroad Earth. 


Bordertown is hosted by Vic Guadagno and recorded in Montpelier, Vermont – located in the Upper-Winooski Watershed. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.
 
On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover. The Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet
 
 

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> The Bordertown Flood series tells the stories of Central Vermonters experiencing the 2023 flood disaster.

This episode features Beth Rusnock, president of the National Life Group Foundation and Daphne Larkin, Communications and Media Relations Director of the National Life Group.

Beth Rusnock says that the National Life Group wants to make sure that "the communities that their campuses are a part of - that they are vibrant. That they are places where our employees want to live, want to be a part of... "

Daphne Larkin adds that "this culture of volunteering and getting involved with our community is baked into everything that we do.  Everybody feels it, every body lives it, and we have people doing good in the name of National Life, all over the country".

If you want to donate to the flood recovery effort in central Vermont flood please visit the Montpelier STRONG Recovery Foundation.


Music for this Podcast – "The Good Life" by Railroad Earth. 


Bordertown is hosted by Vic Guadagno and recorded in Montpelier, Vermont – located in the Upper-Winooski Watershed. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.
 
On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover. The Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet
 
 

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-14255292 Fri, 05 Jan 2024 12:00:00 -0500 2082 full false Episode 57 - Flood Series - Katie Trautz, Montpelier Alive Episode 57 - Flood Series - Katie Trautz, Montpelier Alive The Bordertown Flood series tells the stories of Central Vermonters experiencing the 2023 flood disaster.

This episode feature Katie Trautz, the Executive Director of Montpelier Alive.

Katie describes that Montpelier is not set-up as a resilient town in terms of systems,  however, the community is extremely song. And that community resilience is most important. Not every place has a community that is this strong.

Katie says, "I really think that organizations like Montpelier Alive are there to support the downtown and support the city, no matter what the event is that is happening. A lot of downtown organization across the country do step in during these disasters. This is the true meaning of revitalization work".


If you would like to donate to Montpelier Alive, please visit their website.

If you want to donate the flood recover effort in central Vermont, please visit the Montpelier Strong Recovery Fund website

Music for this Podcast by From Good Homes

 

Bordertown is hosted by Vic Guadagno and recorded in Montpelier, Vermont – located in the Upper-Winooski Watershed. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.
 
 

On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover.

The Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet.

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> The Bordertown Flood series tells the stories of Central Vermonters experiencing the 2023 flood disaster.

This episode feature Katie Trautz, the Executive Director of Montpelier Alive.

Katie describes that Montpelier is not set-up as a resilient town in terms of systems,  however, the community is extremely song. And that community resilience is most important. Not every place has a community that is this strong.

Katie says, "I really think that organizations like Montpelier Alive are there to support the downtown and support the city, no matter what the event is that is happening. A lot of downtown organization across the country do step in during these disasters. This is the true meaning of revitalization work".


If you would like to donate to Montpelier Alive, please visit their website.

If you want to donate the flood recover effort in central Vermont, please visit the Montpelier Strong Recovery Fund website

Music for this Podcast by From Good Homes

 

Bordertown is hosted by Vic Guadagno and recorded in Montpelier, Vermont – located in the Upper-Winooski Watershed. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.
 
 

On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover.

The Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet.

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-14183534 Wed, 20 Dec 2023 19:00:00 -0500 1887 4 13 full false Episode 56 - Flood Series - Jaquelyn Rieke, Onion River Campground Episode 56 - Flood Series - Jaquelyn Rieke, Onion River Campground The Bordertown Flood series tells the stories of Central Vermonters experiencing the 2023 flood disaster. 

Jaquelyn Rieke is the owner/operator of the Onion River Campground, the founder of Nutty Steph’s and a co-founder of the Rabble-Rouser Chocolate & Craft Co. in Montpelier. Jaquelyn speaks of the lessons she learned from the river as it rose around her home, stranding her and several other residents of the Onion River Campground.

 

If you would like to donate to the Onion River Campground, please their website

If you want to donate the flood recover effort in central Vermont, please visit the Montpelier Strong Recovery Fund website

Special Thanks for Ward Joyce for his generous support of this podcast

Music for this Podcast by Railroad Earth

 

Bordertown is hosted by Vic Guadagno and recorded in Montpelier, Vermont – located in the Upper-Winooski Watershed. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.
 
 

On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover.

Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet.

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> The Bordertown Flood series tells the stories of Central Vermonters experiencing the 2023 flood disaster. 

Jaquelyn Rieke is the owner/operator of the Onion River Campground, the founder of Nutty Steph’s and a co-founder of the Rabble-Rouser Chocolate & Craft Co. in Montpelier. Jaquelyn speaks of the lessons she learned from the river as it rose around her home, stranding her and several other residents of the Onion River Campground.

 

If you would like to donate to the Onion River Campground, please their website

If you want to donate the flood recover effort in central Vermont, please visit the Montpelier Strong Recovery Fund website

Special Thanks for Ward Joyce for his generous support of this podcast

Music for this Podcast by Railroad Earth

 

Bordertown is hosted by Vic Guadagno and recorded in Montpelier, Vermont – located in the Upper-Winooski Watershed. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.
 
 

On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover.

Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet.

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-13687982 Fri, 29 Sep 2023 17:00:00 -0400 2097 full false Episode 55 - Flood Series - Bill Fraser, Montpelier City Manager Episode 55 - Flood Series - Bill Fraser, Montpelier City Manager The Bordertown Flood series tells the stories of Central Vermonters experiencing the 2023 flood disaster. 

Bill Fraser is the City Manager for Montpelier, Vermont, and has been in this role since 1995. The city manager is Appointed by the City Council, the City Manager is responsible for day-to-day operations of the city, advising the Council on public policy, and ensuring that their policies are carried out in a professional manner.  

 

If you would like to donate to flood recover effort in central Vermont, please visit montpelierstorng.org

Special Thanks for Ward Joyce for his generous support of this podcast
Music for this Podcast – “Long Way to Go’” by Railroad Earth

 

Bordertown is hosted by Vic Guadagno and recorded in Montpelier, Vermont – located in the Upper-Winooski Watershed. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.
 
 

On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover

Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet
 

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> The Bordertown Flood series tells the stories of Central Vermonters experiencing the 2023 flood disaster. 

Bill Fraser is the City Manager for Montpelier, Vermont, and has been in this role since 1995. The city manager is Appointed by the City Council, the City Manager is responsible for day-to-day operations of the city, advising the Council on public policy, and ensuring that their policies are carried out in a professional manner.  

 

If you would like to donate to flood recover effort in central Vermont, please visit montpelierstorng.org

Special Thanks for Ward Joyce for his generous support of this podcast
Music for this Podcast – “Long Way to Go’” by Railroad Earth

 

Bordertown is hosted by Vic Guadagno and recorded in Montpelier, Vermont – located in the Upper-Winooski Watershed. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.
 
 

On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover

Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet
 

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-13687914 Fri, 29 Sep 2023 17:00:00 -0400 1991 full false Episode 54 - Flood Series - Kathleen Keenan/Kim Bent, Lost Nation Theater Episode 54 - Flood Series - Kathleen Keenan/Kim Bent, Lost Nation Theater The Bordertown Flood series tells the stories of Central Vermonters experiencing the 2023 flood disaster. 

The Lost Nation Theater has been called “One of the Best Regional Theaters in America” — NYC Drama League. Incorporated in 1977 in Bristol Vermont, Lost Nation Theater moved to it’s home in Vermont in 1986 and has been a critical center-piece of the theater scene in Central Vermont ever since. 

Lost Nation Theater dedicates itself to staging stories about the hopeful possibilities of human interaction; to education; and to realizing the powerful potential of theater to transform people and communities.

If you would like to donate to Lost Nation Theater, please their website.

If you want to donate the flood recover effort in central Vermont, please visit the Montpelier Strong Recovery Fund.

Special Thanks for Ward Joyce for his generous support of this podcast

Music for this Podcast – “Take a Bow’” by Railroad Earth


Bordertown is hosted by Vic Guadagno and recorded in Montpelier, Vermont – located in the Upper-Winooski Watershed. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.
  

On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover.

Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet. 

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> The Bordertown Flood series tells the stories of Central Vermonters experiencing the 2023 flood disaster. 

The Lost Nation Theater has been called “One of the Best Regional Theaters in America” — NYC Drama League. Incorporated in 1977 in Bristol Vermont, Lost Nation Theater moved to it’s home in Vermont in 1986 and has been a critical center-piece of the theater scene in Central Vermont ever since. 

Lost Nation Theater dedicates itself to staging stories about the hopeful possibilities of human interaction; to education; and to realizing the powerful potential of theater to transform people and communities.

If you would like to donate to Lost Nation Theater, please their website.

If you want to donate the flood recover effort in central Vermont, please visit the Montpelier Strong Recovery Fund.

Special Thanks for Ward Joyce for his generous support of this podcast

Music for this Podcast – “Take a Bow’” by Railroad Earth


Bordertown is hosted by Vic Guadagno and recorded in Montpelier, Vermont – located in the Upper-Winooski Watershed. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.
  

On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover.

Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet. 

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-13686526 Fri, 29 Sep 2023 12:00:00 -0400 1904 full false Episode 53 - Flood Series - Jaime Bedard Episode 53 - Flood Series - Jaime Bedard The Bordertown Flood series tells the stories of Central Vermonters experiencing the 2023 flood disaster. 

Jaime Bedard. Jamie is the Executive Director of Just Basics, whose mission is to confront cycles of injustice by providing programs that increase awareness and access to basic resources needed for a resilient and vibrant community.

Their main program is the Montpelier Food Pantry which had been located at the Trinity Church on Main Street. The Food Pantry was completely flooded as was their brand-new Resource Center which had just opened across the street at 136 Main Street

Visit the Food Pantry at their new location in the City Center at 89 Main Street

If you would like to donate to the Food Pantry, please Just Basics.

If you want to donate the flood recover effort in central Vermont, please visit Montpelier Strong Recovery Fund.

Special Thanks to Ward Joyce for his generous support of this podcast
Music for this Podcast – “Hard Livin’” by Railroad Earth

 

Bordertown is hosted by Vic Guadagno and recorded in Montpelier, Vermont – located in the Upper-Winooski Watershed. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.
 

On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover

Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet 

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> The Bordertown Flood series tells the stories of Central Vermonters experiencing the 2023 flood disaster. 

Jaime Bedard. Jamie is the Executive Director of Just Basics, whose mission is to confront cycles of injustice by providing programs that increase awareness and access to basic resources needed for a resilient and vibrant community.

Their main program is the Montpelier Food Pantry which had been located at the Trinity Church on Main Street. The Food Pantry was completely flooded as was their brand-new Resource Center which had just opened across the street at 136 Main Street

Visit the Food Pantry at their new location in the City Center at 89 Main Street

If you would like to donate to the Food Pantry, please Just Basics.

If you want to donate the flood recover effort in central Vermont, please visit Montpelier Strong Recovery Fund.

Special Thanks to Ward Joyce for his generous support of this podcast
Music for this Podcast – “Hard Livin’” by Railroad Earth

 

Bordertown is hosted by Vic Guadagno and recorded in Montpelier, Vermont – located in the Upper-Winooski Watershed. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.
 

On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover

Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet 

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-13620217 Tue, 19 Sep 2023 12:00:00 -0400 1672 4 9 full false Episode 52 - Flood Series - Marek Zajac Episode 52 - Flood Series - Marek Zajac The Bordertown Flood series tells the stories of Central Vermonters experiencing the 2023 flood disaster. 

Marek Zajac is the Farm & Forest Community Coordinator for the Montpelier Parks Department. He found himself at the center of volunteer activity as the City shifted the duties of the Parks Department to managing the volunteer HUB, the main focal point of disaster-response.

 

If you need flood-related help, or if you are willing to volunteer, please visit Montpelierhub.com You can also call 802-828-7108.

Make a donation to the broader Vermont flood effort through the Vermont Community Foundation.
Special Thanks for Ward Joyce for his generous support of this podcast
Music for this Podcast - "Chasing A Rainbow" by Railroad Earth

  

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper-Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.
 
 

On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover

Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet
 
 

 

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> The Bordertown Flood series tells the stories of Central Vermonters experiencing the 2023 flood disaster. 

Marek Zajac is the Farm & Forest Community Coordinator for the Montpelier Parks Department. He found himself at the center of volunteer activity as the City shifted the duties of the Parks Department to managing the volunteer HUB, the main focal point of disaster-response.

 

If you need flood-related help, or if you are willing to volunteer, please visit Montpelierhub.com You can also call 802-828-7108.

Make a donation to the broader Vermont flood effort through the Vermont Community Foundation.
Special Thanks for Ward Joyce for his generous support of this podcast
Music for this Podcast - "Chasing A Rainbow" by Railroad Earth

  

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper-Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.
 
 

On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover

Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet
 
 

 

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-13571343 Mon, 11 Sep 2023 14:00:00 -0400 1230 4 8 full false Episode 51 - Flood Series - Dan Groberg, Kellogg Hubbard Library Episode 51 - Flood Series - Dan Groberg, Kellogg Hubbard Library The Bordertown Flood series tells the stories of Central Vermonters experiencing the 2023 flood disaster. 

Today we welcome Dan Groberg, who started his new job as Executive Director of the Kellogg Hubbard Library just 13 days before the flood. In the past Dan has also served as Executive Director of Montpelier Alive, the organization at the center of flood recovery and rebuilding.


If you would like to donate to the Kellogg-Hubbard Library directly visit their website

You can make a donation to the broader Vermont flood effort through the Montpelier STRONG Recovery Foundation 

Special thanks to Ward Joyce for his generous support of this podcast
Music for this Podcast - "Long Walk Home" by Railroad Earth

 

 

Bordertown Description

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper-Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.
 
 

Flood Description

On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover

Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet
 
 

 

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> The Bordertown Flood series tells the stories of Central Vermonters experiencing the 2023 flood disaster. 

Today we welcome Dan Groberg, who started his new job as Executive Director of the Kellogg Hubbard Library just 13 days before the flood. In the past Dan has also served as Executive Director of Montpelier Alive, the organization at the center of flood recovery and rebuilding.


If you would like to donate to the Kellogg-Hubbard Library directly visit their website

You can make a donation to the broader Vermont flood effort through the Montpelier STRONG Recovery Foundation 

Special thanks to Ward Joyce for his generous support of this podcast
Music for this Podcast - "Long Walk Home" by Railroad Earth

 

 

Bordertown Description

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper-Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.
 
 

Flood Description

On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover

Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet
 
 

 

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-13513155 Fri, 01 Sep 2023 14:00:00 -0400 1948 4 7 full false Episode 50 - Flood Series - Julia Watson, Capital Grounds Episode 50 - Flood Series - Julia Watson, Capital Grounds The Bordertown Flood series tells the stories of Central Vermonters experiencing the 2023 flood disaster. 

Today we welcome Julia Watson the owner of Capital Grounds. Julia took over ownership of Capitol Grounds in January of 2020 from her father Bob, who started the business with Bob Plante in 1998. Julia returned to Vermont with her husband and two kids, anxious to take over the family business. Since opening she has endured a global pandemic and now a devastating flood…but she is committed to keeping the business going. 

Support Capital Grounds by direct donations and purchasing products at Capitol Grounds
You can also donate to the broader flood effort at Montpelier Alive and the Montpelier Foundation.
Special Thanks for Ward Joyce for his generous support of this podcast
Music for this Podcast - "Been Down This Road" by Railroad Earth


Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper-Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.
 
On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover

Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> The Bordertown Flood series tells the stories of Central Vermonters experiencing the 2023 flood disaster. 

Today we welcome Julia Watson the owner of Capital Grounds. Julia took over ownership of Capitol Grounds in January of 2020 from her father Bob, who started the business with Bob Plante in 1998. Julia returned to Vermont with her husband and two kids, anxious to take over the family business. Since opening she has endured a global pandemic and now a devastating flood…but she is committed to keeping the business going. 

Support Capital Grounds by direct donations and purchasing products at Capitol Grounds
You can also donate to the broader flood effort at Montpelier Alive and the Montpelier Foundation.
Special Thanks for Ward Joyce for his generous support of this podcast
Music for this Podcast - "Been Down This Road" by Railroad Earth


Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper-Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.
 
On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover

Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-13456678 Wed, 23 Aug 2023 08:00:00 -0400 1437 4 6 full false Episode 49 - Flood Series - Lalitha Mailwaganam Episode 49 - Flood Series - Lalitha Mailwaganam The Bordertown Flood series tells the stories of Central Vermonters experiencing the 2023 flood disaster.
Today we welcome Lalitha Mailwaganam. Lalitha moved to Vermont from Malaysia in 2002. She is a single mom to two teens, a dog, two cats and a couple of chickens. She is an avid gardener,  enjoys cooking, dancing and music as well as getting outside and appreciating the natural beauty of Vermont.

You can donate to the Montpelier Food Pantry at Just Basics.
You can also donate to the broader flood effort at Montpelier Alive.
Special thanks to Ward Joyce for his generous support of this podcast
Music for this Podcast - "Right In Tune" by Railroad Earth

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper-Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

The Floods in Vermont:  On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover

Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> The Bordertown Flood series tells the stories of Central Vermonters experiencing the 2023 flood disaster.
Today we welcome Lalitha Mailwaganam. Lalitha moved to Vermont from Malaysia in 2002. She is a single mom to two teens, a dog, two cats and a couple of chickens. She is an avid gardener,  enjoys cooking, dancing and music as well as getting outside and appreciating the natural beauty of Vermont.

You can donate to the Montpelier Food Pantry at Just Basics.
You can also donate to the broader flood effort at Montpelier Alive.
Special thanks to Ward Joyce for his generous support of this podcast
Music for this Podcast - "Right In Tune" by Railroad Earth

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper-Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

The Floods in Vermont:  On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover

Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-13442583 Mon, 21 Aug 2023 09:00:00 -0400 1235 4 5 full false Episode 48 - Flood Series - Alec Long, Chill Gelato Episode 48 - Flood Series - Alec Long, Chill Gelato The Bordertown Flood series tells the stories of Central Vermonters experiencing the 2023 flood disaster. 


Today we welcome Alec Long. Alec and his wife Amanda purchased Chill Gelato last year and had reopened it in March. Chill has been a Montpelier staple since 2012 and Alec is enjoying his new career as a purveyor of fine Gelato. He also loves being part of the Montpelier business community and hopes to bring Chill back for all to enjoy. Chill was a Seven Days ‘Daysies’ finalist in 2018 and 2019 for the best gelatos in Vermont and in 2016 and 2017 a finalist for the best homemade ice cream.


 Make a donation to Chill through their gofundme campaign
Make a donation to the Montpelier Flood Relief at Montpelier Alive
Make a donation to the broader Vermont flood effort through the Vermont Community Foundation.
Special Thanks for Ward Joyce for his generous support of this podcast
Music for this Podcast - "Lordy Lordy" by Railroad Earth


Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper-Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.
 

On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover

Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet

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]]> The Bordertown Flood series tells the stories of Central Vermonters experiencing the 2023 flood disaster. 


Today we welcome Alec Long. Alec and his wife Amanda purchased Chill Gelato last year and had reopened it in March. Chill has been a Montpelier staple since 2012 and Alec is enjoying his new career as a purveyor of fine Gelato. He also loves being part of the Montpelier business community and hopes to bring Chill back for all to enjoy. Chill was a Seven Days ‘Daysies’ finalist in 2018 and 2019 for the best gelatos in Vermont and in 2016 and 2017 a finalist for the best homemade ice cream.


 Make a donation to Chill through their gofundme campaign
Make a donation to the Montpelier Flood Relief at Montpelier Alive
Make a donation to the broader Vermont flood effort through the Vermont Community Foundation.
Special Thanks for Ward Joyce for his generous support of this podcast
Music for this Podcast - "Lordy Lordy" by Railroad Earth


Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper-Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.
 

On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover

Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-13429488 Fri, 18 Aug 2023 12:00:00 -0400 1565 4 4 full false Episode 47 - Flood Series - Katie Swick Episode 47 - Flood Series - Katie Swick The Bordertown Flood series will introduce you to some of Vermont’s small businesses, community members, government officials anyone in the community that is collectively experiencing the 2023 flood disaster in Vermont. 

On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover

Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper-Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

Katie Swick is a long-time friend of the Bordertown Podcast (listen to Episode #44 to hear a conversation with her daughter and my daughter Elena from our days at Rabble Rouser). Katie is school teacher and a single-mom of two. She is current struggling with what to do next, after her house was severely damaged in the Vermont Floods of 2023!

To offer financial assistance to Katie and her family, please visit their gofundme page.
Make a donation to the Montpelier Flood Relief at Montpelier Alive
Make a donation to the broader Vermont flood effort through the Vermont Community Foundation.
Special Thanks for Ward Joyce for his generous support of this podcast
Music for this Podcast - "Like a Buddha" by Railroad Earth

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> The Bordertown Flood series will introduce you to some of Vermont’s small businesses, community members, government officials anyone in the community that is collectively experiencing the 2023 flood disaster in Vermont. 

On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover

Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper-Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

Katie Swick is a long-time friend of the Bordertown Podcast (listen to Episode #44 to hear a conversation with her daughter and my daughter Elena from our days at Rabble Rouser). Katie is school teacher and a single-mom of two. She is current struggling with what to do next, after her house was severely damaged in the Vermont Floods of 2023!

To offer financial assistance to Katie and her family, please visit their gofundme page.
Make a donation to the Montpelier Flood Relief at Montpelier Alive
Make a donation to the broader Vermont flood effort through the Vermont Community Foundation.
Special Thanks for Ward Joyce for his generous support of this podcast
Music for this Podcast - "Like a Buddha" by Railroad Earth

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-13398055 Sun, 13 Aug 2023 15:00:00 -0400 1284 4 3 full false Episode 46 - Flood Series - Tim Heney Episode 46 - Flood Series - Tim Heney The Bordertown Flood series will introduce you to some of Vermont’s small businesses, community members, government officials anyone in the community that is collectively experiencing the 2023 flood disaster in Vermont. 

On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover

Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet
 
This episode features Tim Heney, principal broker at Heney Realtors. Heney Realtors has been an independent brokerage firm in central Vermont since 1956.

Over the years, Tim has participated as a member of various City committees, ranging from a Downtown Parking Study Committee, a Review of Fire and Ambulance Services, and the City Audit Committee. He is currently participating in the Montpelier Energy Advisory Committee looking into a district heating plant for downtown Montpelier. Time recalls his nine-year tenure on the Montpelier School Board as one of the most rewarding experience he's had and he continues to have great pride in our community schools.

Growing up in Montpelier with five brothers and four sisters, Tim's family made a bit of their own history in Montpelier. He graduated from Montpelier schools and the University of Vermont. In 1981, he joined my father and uncle at their family firm. 

In addition to residential and commercial brokerage, he assisted in the creation and development of neighborhoods including Montpelier’s first condominium neighborhood at Independence Green and Freedom Drive, and later, North Park and Essex Way in Montpelier and Mansfield Lane in Berlin.

Tim and his wife Donna live in Montpelier. Their two daughters attended Montpelier schools and both pursued graduate studies and careers. Tims is an avid runner and runs a marathon or two a year, along with a couple of half marathons for training. Downhill and cross country skiing and biking are all activities he loves.

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper-Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

For more info about Tim visit Heney Realtors
Make a donation to the Montpelier Flood Relief at Montpelier Alive
Make a donation to the broader Vermont flood effort through the Vermont Community Foundation.
Special Thanks for Ward Joyce for his generous support of this podcast
Music for this Podcast - Storms by Railroad Earth

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> The Bordertown Flood series will introduce you to some of Vermont’s small businesses, community members, government officials anyone in the community that is collectively experiencing the 2023 flood disaster in Vermont. 

On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover

Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet
 
This episode features Tim Heney, principal broker at Heney Realtors. Heney Realtors has been an independent brokerage firm in central Vermont since 1956.

Over the years, Tim has participated as a member of various City committees, ranging from a Downtown Parking Study Committee, a Review of Fire and Ambulance Services, and the City Audit Committee. He is currently participating in the Montpelier Energy Advisory Committee looking into a district heating plant for downtown Montpelier. Time recalls his nine-year tenure on the Montpelier School Board as one of the most rewarding experience he's had and he continues to have great pride in our community schools.

Growing up in Montpelier with five brothers and four sisters, Tim's family made a bit of their own history in Montpelier. He graduated from Montpelier schools and the University of Vermont. In 1981, he joined my father and uncle at their family firm. 

In addition to residential and commercial brokerage, he assisted in the creation and development of neighborhoods including Montpelier’s first condominium neighborhood at Independence Green and Freedom Drive, and later, North Park and Essex Way in Montpelier and Mansfield Lane in Berlin.

Tim and his wife Donna live in Montpelier. Their two daughters attended Montpelier schools and both pursued graduate studies and careers. Tims is an avid runner and runs a marathon or two a year, along with a couple of half marathons for training. Downhill and cross country skiing and biking are all activities he loves.

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper-Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

For more info about Tim visit Heney Realtors
Make a donation to the Montpelier Flood Relief at Montpelier Alive
Make a donation to the broader Vermont flood effort through the Vermont Community Foundation.
Special Thanks for Ward Joyce for his generous support of this podcast
Music for this Podcast - Storms by Railroad Earth

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-13309049 Fri, 28 Jul 2023 15:00:00 -0400 1168 4 2 full false Episode 45 - Flood Series - Cindra Conison, Quirky Pet Episode 45 - Flood Series - Cindra Conison, Quirky Pet The Bordertown Flood Series!

 

The Bordertown Flood series will introduce you to some of Vermont’s small businesses, community members, government officials anyone in the community that is collectively experiencing the 2023 flood disaster in Vermont. 

On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover

Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet
 
 If you’ve been to Montpelier, you know that this is one of the best small towns in America. Ask most people why they live here and they will talk about the community and the small-town feel. We hope that listeners will learn a bit more about our town, get connected or stay connected…and if you can, make a donation to help with flood relief. I ask you to please visit Montpelieralive.com and see how you can help.

 Today on the podcast we welcome Cindra Conison, owner of the Quirky Pet. The Quirky Pet is an independent pet store located at 5 State Street in downtown Montpelier and has become a tourist destination from folks traveling from all over the world. The store opened exactly 12 years ago today!

 

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper-Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

Visit the Quirky Pet website
Make a donation to the Montpelier Flood Relief at Montpelier Alive
Make a donation to the broader Vermont flood effort through the Vermont Community Foundation.
Special Thanks for Ward Joyce for his generous support of this podcast
Music for this Podcast - Mighty River by Railroad Earth

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> The Bordertown Flood Series!

 

The Bordertown Flood series will introduce you to some of Vermont’s small businesses, community members, government officials anyone in the community that is collectively experiencing the 2023 flood disaster in Vermont. 

On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover

Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet
 
 If you’ve been to Montpelier, you know that this is one of the best small towns in America. Ask most people why they live here and they will talk about the community and the small-town feel. We hope that listeners will learn a bit more about our town, get connected or stay connected…and if you can, make a donation to help with flood relief. I ask you to please visit Montpelieralive.com and see how you can help.

 Today on the podcast we welcome Cindra Conison, owner of the Quirky Pet. The Quirky Pet is an independent pet store located at 5 State Street in downtown Montpelier and has become a tourist destination from folks traveling from all over the world. The store opened exactly 12 years ago today!

 

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper-Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

Visit the Quirky Pet website
Make a donation to the Montpelier Flood Relief at Montpelier Alive
Make a donation to the broader Vermont flood effort through the Vermont Community Foundation.
Special Thanks for Ward Joyce for his generous support of this podcast
Music for this Podcast - Mighty River by Railroad Earth

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-13305482 Fri, 28 Jul 2023 00:00:00 -0400 1324 Vermont Flood, Flood, Flood 2023, Quirky Pet, Montpelier Alive, Montpelier Fund 4 1 full false Episode 44 - Elena & Juniper Episode 44 - Elena & Juniper This episode features my daughter Elena, and her friend Juniper! Recorded on Dec. 16th, 2019 this is a fun conversation we had at the Rabble Rouser Chocolate Factory! A fun chat with two 9-10 year-olds...pre-pandemic!

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]]> This episode features my daughter Elena, and her friend Juniper! Recorded on Dec. 16th, 2019 this is a fun conversation we had at the Rabble Rouser Chocolate Factory! A fun chat with two 9-10 year-olds...pre-pandemic!

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11560718 Thu, 25 Jun 2020 17:00:00 -0400 3027 3 16 full false Episode 43 - Cara Robechek Episode 43 - Cara Robechek Cara Robechek is the Executive Director of the Vermont Energy Education Program, whose mission is to build a deep understanding of energy through education, encouraging choices that result in sustainability in our communities, economy and environment. Cara has been with VEEP since 2014. Cara has worked in nonprofit development and managemen at the Center for While Communities in Waitsfield, served on the board of Planting Hope, as an elected Parks Commissioner for the City of Montpelier, and as a member of the Montpelier Energy Advisory Committee. She has a BA in Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College, and an MS in Renewable Natural Resources and Development form the University of East Anglia. She lives in Montpelier with her husband and two children.

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]]> Cara Robechek is the Executive Director of the Vermont Energy Education Program, whose mission is to build a deep understanding of energy through education, encouraging choices that result in sustainability in our communities, economy and environment. Cara has been with VEEP since 2014. Cara has worked in nonprofit development and managemen at the Center for While Communities in Waitsfield, served on the board of Planting Hope, as an elected Parks Commissioner for the City of Montpelier, and as a member of the Montpelier Energy Advisory Committee. She has a BA in Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College, and an MS in Renewable Natural Resources and Development form the University of East Anglia. She lives in Montpelier with her husband and two children.

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]]> Vic Guadagno http://www.bordertownonline.com/audio/Robechek.mp3 Thu, 09 Apr 2020 12:00:00 -0400 2705 CaraRobecheck, Vermont Energy Education Program, VEEP, climate change, renewable energy, sustainability,education, Vic Guadagno, Bright Blue EcoMedia, Permaculture, Ecological Design,Bordertown, Regional Design 3 15 full false Episode 42 - Skyler Perkins Episode 42 - Skyler Perkins Skyler currently worksin Washington DC as Project Manager for the Center for the Advancement of a Steady State Economy. He joined that organization in June, 2018, following his completion of his Masters program in Community Development and Applied Economics from the University of Vermont. Skyler also received a certificate in Ecological Economics from the Gund Institute at UVM. Skyler’s research focused on ecological economics and sustainable food systems.

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]]> Skyler currently worksin Washington DC as Project Manager for the Center for the Advancement of a Steady State Economy. He joined that organization in June, 2018, following his completion of his Masters program in Community Development and Applied Economics from the University of Vermont. Skyler also received a certificate in Ecological Economics from the Gund Institute at UVM. Skyler’s research focused on ecological economics and sustainable food systems.

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]]> Vic Guadagno http://www.bordertownonline.com/audio/Perkins.mp3 Thu, 02 Apr 2020 12:00:00 -0400 2825 Skyler Perkins, Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy, Gund, University of Vermont,Ecological Economics, Vic Guadagno, Bright Blue EcoMedia, Permaculture, Ecological Design,Bordertown, Regional Design 3 14 full false Episode 41 - Libby Bonesteel Episode 41 - Libby Bonesteel Libby Bonesteel is the Montpelier/Roxbury School District Superintendent. Prior to that she was the director of communication and instruction at Franklin Northwest Supervisory Union. She also has experience as a consultant, adjunct professor, teacher, co-principal, principal and teacher. 

Libby holds master’s degrees from Michigan State University and Teachers College-Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree from Hobart and William Smith colleges.

She resides in Jericho with her family 

 

 

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]]> Libby Bonesteel is the Montpelier/Roxbury School District Superintendent. Prior to that she was the director of communication and instruction at Franklin Northwest Supervisory Union. She also has experience as a consultant, adjunct professor, teacher, co-principal, principal and teacher. 

Libby holds master’s degrees from Michigan State University and Teachers College-Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree from Hobart and William Smith colleges.

She resides in Jericho with her family 

 

 

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11560676 Thu, 12 Dec 2019 16:00:00 -0500 3003 3 13 full false Episode 40 - Michele Braun, Executive Director, Friends of the Winooski River Episode 40 - Michele Braun, Executive Director, Friends of the Winooski River In this episode we welcome Michele Braun, the Executive Director of the Friends of the Winooski River.

Michele took the helm at the Friends of the Winooski in 2018. She was the founding president of the watershed organization twenty years earlier. In her prior role as the planner for the Town of Northfield, Michele was responsible for the acquisition and demolition of 18 homes damaged in Tropical Storm Irene. Following that buyout, she coordinated a multidisciplinary project team focused on restoring the floodplain to reduce flood risk and enhance downtown recreation opportunities.

Previously, she worked as an environmental policy analyst, responsible for managing projects, designing and facilitating multi-stakeholder meetings and workshops for city and state governments, US EPA, watershed organizations, environmental health associations, and multi-partner collaborative environmental planning projects. Michele has a Master of Science in Natural Resources Planning from the University of Vermont, and she earned her bachelor of arts degree in Government & Legal Studies and Romance Languages from Bowdoin College. She has served on the Board of the Montpelier Roxbury Public Schools since 2013, and enjoys a busy life in Montpelier with her husband and children.

Music for this episode: "The Good Life" by Railroad Earth.

This episode is sponsored by the Cosmic Cotton Tie Dye Studio. (enter "Bordertown" at checkout to receive 20% off your purchase)

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

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Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> In this episode we welcome Michele Braun, the Executive Director of the Friends of the Winooski River.

Michele took the helm at the Friends of the Winooski in 2018. She was the founding president of the watershed organization twenty years earlier. In her prior role as the planner for the Town of Northfield, Michele was responsible for the acquisition and demolition of 18 homes damaged in Tropical Storm Irene. Following that buyout, she coordinated a multidisciplinary project team focused on restoring the floodplain to reduce flood risk and enhance downtown recreation opportunities.

Previously, she worked as an environmental policy analyst, responsible for managing projects, designing and facilitating multi-stakeholder meetings and workshops for city and state governments, US EPA, watershed organizations, environmental health associations, and multi-partner collaborative environmental planning projects. Michele has a Master of Science in Natural Resources Planning from the University of Vermont, and she earned her bachelor of arts degree in Government & Legal Studies and Romance Languages from Bowdoin College. She has served on the Board of the Montpelier Roxbury Public Schools since 2013, and enjoys a busy life in Montpelier with her husband and children.

Music for this episode: "The Good Life" by Railroad Earth.

This episode is sponsored by the Cosmic Cotton Tie Dye Studio. (enter "Bordertown" at checkout to receive 20% off your purchase)

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11558156 Thu, 05 Dec 2019 12:00:00 -0500 2596 3 12 full false Episode 39 - Tom Sabo, Executive Director, Center for Sustainable Systems Episode 39 - Tom Sabo, Executive Director, Center for Sustainable Systems n this episode we welcome Tom Sabo, the Executive Director of the Center for Sustainable Systems.

Tom is an award-winning high school teacher, leading sustainability educator, prominent local food activist, and most recently the founding executive director of the Center for Sustainable Systems. He is a chief architect of a model of service learning that integrates curriculum through a school greenhouse and gardens that provide food for the school system’s lunch program, using soil derived from the cafeteria food scraps.

Sabo is a member of the state-wide Farm To Plate Education and Workforce Development Group, and serves on the Vermont State Standards Advisory Board for science. He is also a member of the Steering Committee of the Central Vermont Food Systems Council and co-chairs the Food Education Committee. Through this work, he coordinates the Growing Local Fest, an annual community celebration that promotes local food and music, while raising money for school gardens.

Tom is a 2009 recipient of the Milken National Educator Award and a 2011 Rowland Foundation Fellow. He has taught biology and environmental science at Montpelier High School for the past 24 years and holds an M.S. from the University of Massachusetts at Boston.

Music for this episode: "Storms" & "Been Down This Road" by Railroad Earth

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

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]]> n this episode we welcome Tom Sabo, the Executive Director of the Center for Sustainable Systems.

Tom is an award-winning high school teacher, leading sustainability educator, prominent local food activist, and most recently the founding executive director of the Center for Sustainable Systems. He is a chief architect of a model of service learning that integrates curriculum through a school greenhouse and gardens that provide food for the school system’s lunch program, using soil derived from the cafeteria food scraps.

Sabo is a member of the state-wide Farm To Plate Education and Workforce Development Group, and serves on the Vermont State Standards Advisory Board for science. He is also a member of the Steering Committee of the Central Vermont Food Systems Council and co-chairs the Food Education Committee. Through this work, he coordinates the Growing Local Fest, an annual community celebration that promotes local food and music, while raising money for school gardens.

Tom is a 2009 recipient of the Milken National Educator Award and a 2011 Rowland Foundation Fellow. He has taught biology and environmental science at Montpelier High School for the past 24 years and holds an M.S. from the University of Massachusetts at Boston.

Music for this episode: "Storms" & "Been Down This Road" by Railroad Earth

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11558223 Thu, 14 Nov 2019 12:00:00 -0500 3484 3 11 full false Episode 38 - Jim Birmingham, Director of Food Services, Montpelier Schools Episode 38 - Jim Birmingham, Director of Food Services, Montpelier Schools In this episode we welcome Jim Birmingham, Food Service Director of the Montpelier Roxbury School District.

He is a graduate of Johnson State College and attended culinary school at Le Cordon Blue, London, UK. He is an American Culinary Federation Certified Executive Chef who spent several years working in resort hotel kitchens around Stowe, VT and more than a decade as a Chef Instructor at New England Culinary Institute in Essex and Montpelier. Jim lives in Waterbury with his wife and two teenage sons. He enjoys gardening, hiking and is an avid alpine and backcountry skier.

Rob Meehan provided the music for this episode.

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

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]]> In this episode we welcome Jim Birmingham, Food Service Director of the Montpelier Roxbury School District.

He is a graduate of Johnson State College and attended culinary school at Le Cordon Blue, London, UK. He is an American Culinary Federation Certified Executive Chef who spent several years working in resort hotel kitchens around Stowe, VT and more than a decade as a Chef Instructor at New England Culinary Institute in Essex and Montpelier. Jim lives in Waterbury with his wife and two teenage sons. He enjoys gardening, hiking and is an avid alpine and backcountry skier.

Rob Meehan provided the music for this episode.

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11558462 Sun, 10 Nov 2019 13:00:00 -0500 2617 3 10 full false Episode 37 - David Zuckerman, Lieutenant Governor of Vermont Episode 37 - David Zuckerman, Lieutenant Governor of Vermont In this episode we welcome David Zuckerman, The Lieutenant Governor of Vermont.

David Zuckerman is the co-founder of Full Moon Farm, a NOFA-certified organic farm in Hinesburg, Vermont.

Inspired by then Congressman Bernie Sanders, David first ran for the Vermont House in 1994 while enrolled at the University of Vermont. He lost by 59 votes, but came back two years later to become the fourth Progressive Party member ever to serve in Montpelier.

David served for fourteen years (1997-2010) in the Vermont House of Representatives representing the City of Burlington in Chittenden 3-4. He served on the Natural Resources and Energy Committee (6 years), Agriculture Committee (6 years, 4 as Chair) and Ways and Means Committee (2 years). David’s leadership spans many issues including renewable energy, affordable housing, livable wages, cannabis reform, GMO legislation, universal healthcare, progressive taxation, marriage equality, and end-of-life choices.

David served in the Vermont Senate as a Progressive/Democrat since his election in 2012. He was the Vice-Chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture.

In 2016, David was elected as the 80th Lt. Governor of Vermont.

Music for this episode: "The Good Life" & "Lovin' You" by Railroad Earth

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

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]]> In this episode we welcome David Zuckerman, The Lieutenant Governor of Vermont.

David Zuckerman is the co-founder of Full Moon Farm, a NOFA-certified organic farm in Hinesburg, Vermont.

Inspired by then Congressman Bernie Sanders, David first ran for the Vermont House in 1994 while enrolled at the University of Vermont. He lost by 59 votes, but came back two years later to become the fourth Progressive Party member ever to serve in Montpelier.

David served for fourteen years (1997-2010) in the Vermont House of Representatives representing the City of Burlington in Chittenden 3-4. He served on the Natural Resources and Energy Committee (6 years), Agriculture Committee (6 years, 4 as Chair) and Ways and Means Committee (2 years). David’s leadership spans many issues including renewable energy, affordable housing, livable wages, cannabis reform, GMO legislation, universal healthcare, progressive taxation, marriage equality, and end-of-life choices.

David served in the Vermont Senate as a Progressive/Democrat since his election in 2012. He was the Vice-Chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture.

In 2016, David was elected as the 80th Lt. Governor of Vermont.

Music for this episode: "The Good Life" & "Lovin' You" by Railroad Earth

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11558375 Thu, 07 Nov 2019 12:00:00 -0500 3143 3 9 full false Episode 36 - Halloween Special featuring author, William Alexander Episode 36 - Halloween Special featuring author, William Alexander In this special "Halloweed Episode" we welcome author, William Alexander.William shares a few ghost stories and his experience as an author of fantasy, science fiction, and other unrealisms for young readers.

His novels include Goblin Secrets, Ghoulish Song, Ambassador and Nomad. His latest novels are the companion set A Properly Unhaunted Place and A Festival of Ghosts.

Honors include the National Book Award, the Eleanor Cameron Award, Junior Library Build Selection, Mythopoeic Award Finalist, International Latino Book Award Finalist, Calvino Award Finalist, Minnesota Book Award Finalist and Earphones Award for audiobook narration.

William studied theater and folklore at Oberlin College, English at the University of Vermont, and creative writing at the Clarion Workshop. He currently serves as the faculty chair of the Vermont College of Fine Arts in the program in Writing for Children and Young Adults.

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes


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]]> In this special "Halloweed Episode" we welcome author, William Alexander.William shares a few ghost stories and his experience as an author of fantasy, science fiction, and other unrealisms for young readers.

His novels include Goblin Secrets, Ghoulish Song, Ambassador and Nomad. His latest novels are the companion set A Properly Unhaunted Place and A Festival of Ghosts.

Honors include the National Book Award, the Eleanor Cameron Award, Junior Library Build Selection, Mythopoeic Award Finalist, International Latino Book Award Finalist, Calvino Award Finalist, Minnesota Book Award Finalist and Earphones Award for audiobook narration.

William studied theater and folklore at Oberlin College, English at the University of Vermont, and creative writing at the Clarion Workshop. He currently serves as the faculty chair of the Vermont College of Fine Arts in the program in Writing for Children and Young Adults.

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11558413 Thu, 31 Oct 2019 12:00:00 -0400 2784 3 8 full false Episode 35 - Walter Poleman Episode 35 - Walter Poleman In this episode we welcome Walt Poleman , Senior Lecturer and Director of the Ecological Planning Program at the University of Vermont.

Walt specializes in natural history, place-based landscape analysis, and education for sustainability. He teaches courses in natural history and human ecology, landscape inventory and assessment, and conservation science.

He is co-director of the Field Naturalist Ecological Planning Graduate Program, and serves as faculty advisor to the Sustainability Learning Community. Walter is the founding director the PLACE (Place-based Landscape Analysis & Community Engagement) Program, and co-coordinator of the Greater Burlington Sustainability Education Network.

Walt coordinates the Rubenstein School’s dual master’s degree program with Vermont Law School, and teaches ecology there each summer. His teaching awards include the President’s Distinguished Senior Lecturer Award, the Kroespsh-Maurice Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the Outstanding Service-Learning Faculty Award.

This episode features "The Mighty River" by Railroad Earth

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]]> In this episode we welcome Walt Poleman , Senior Lecturer and Director of the Ecological Planning Program at the University of Vermont.

Walt specializes in natural history, place-based landscape analysis, and education for sustainability. He teaches courses in natural history and human ecology, landscape inventory and assessment, and conservation science.

He is co-director of the Field Naturalist Ecological Planning Graduate Program, and serves as faculty advisor to the Sustainability Learning Community. Walter is the founding director the PLACE (Place-based Landscape Analysis & Community Engagement) Program, and co-coordinator of the Greater Burlington Sustainability Education Network.

Walt coordinates the Rubenstein School’s dual master’s degree program with Vermont Law School, and teaches ecology there each summer. His teaching awards include the President’s Distinguished Senior Lecturer Award, the Kroespsh-Maurice Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the Outstanding Service-Learning Faculty Award.

This episode features "The Mighty River" by Railroad Earth

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11558783 Wed, 30 Oct 2019 13:00:00 -0400 3773 3 7 full false Episode 34 - Ryan Geary Episode 34 - Ryan Geary In this episode we welcome Ryan Geary, owner the of The Hive , and co-owner of Rabble-Rouser.

He works in a variety of mediums and disciplines, including wood carving, furniture making and painting, but his preferred art form and main focus over the past 5 years has been 2D and 3D collage.

Ryan attributes his health and ability to live a productive life, to, among other things his active creation of arts and his return to those things that brought him joy and comfort as a child. He loves to grow cannabis, coaches little league and owns a home here in central VT where he lives with his son his wife, as well as x-wife and her husband, where they function as one unit and co-parent their children

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]]> In this episode we welcome Ryan Geary, owner the of The Hive , and co-owner of Rabble-Rouser.

He works in a variety of mediums and disciplines, including wood carving, furniture making and painting, but his preferred art form and main focus over the past 5 years has been 2D and 3D collage.

Ryan attributes his health and ability to live a productive life, to, among other things his active creation of arts and his return to those things that brought him joy and comfort as a child. He loves to grow cannabis, coaches little league and owns a home here in central VT where he lives with his son his wife, as well as x-wife and her husband, where they function as one unit and co-parent their children

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11558819 Fri, 11 Oct 2019 13:00:00 -0400 2836 3 6 full false Episode 33 - Janice Walrafen, All Together Now! Episode 33 - Janice Walrafen, All Together Now! In this episode we welcome Janice Walrefen of All Together Now.

Janice Walrefen co-creates AllTogetherNow!, Community Arts Center in East Montpelier, with Ellen Leonard. Together they teach summer camp and produce our community seasonal pageants, parades and puppet shows. Janice has her Art Tiles clay studio, classroom, puppets and shares community gardens at AllTogetherNow! Ellen is the director of the awesome preschool at AllTogetherNow! and teaches family music classes. Their mission is to be an inspiration and model for sustainable living and celebration.

Janice resides along the Winooski River in Plainfield Vermont among the wise white pine, sweet cedar, fiddleheads, cattails, wild and domestic creatures that share her home and garden; red squirrel, crow, turkey, deer, jay, merganser, fox, owl, mink, weasel, otter, chickadee, yellow finch, grouse, woodpecker, goose, duck, canine, and human friends. She grew up in the Senoran desert of Arizona with her artist/potter mother and two sisters. She takes after her mom and makes a living as an artist, making handmade tile and sculpture from clay, teaching art to people of all ages, creating masked costumes and large street puppets, coordinating seasonal pageants and parades in Montpelier, the State Capital. Janice is also a member of the Vermont Craft Council .

We were joined this week by Jason Mallery, who helped out with music.

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]]> In this episode we welcome Janice Walrefen of All Together Now.

Janice Walrefen co-creates AllTogetherNow!, Community Arts Center in East Montpelier, with Ellen Leonard. Together they teach summer camp and produce our community seasonal pageants, parades and puppet shows. Janice has her Art Tiles clay studio, classroom, puppets and shares community gardens at AllTogetherNow! Ellen is the director of the awesome preschool at AllTogetherNow! and teaches family music classes. Their mission is to be an inspiration and model for sustainable living and celebration.

Janice resides along the Winooski River in Plainfield Vermont among the wise white pine, sweet cedar, fiddleheads, cattails, wild and domestic creatures that share her home and garden; red squirrel, crow, turkey, deer, jay, merganser, fox, owl, mink, weasel, otter, chickadee, yellow finch, grouse, woodpecker, goose, duck, canine, and human friends. She grew up in the Senoran desert of Arizona with her artist/potter mother and two sisters. She takes after her mom and makes a living as an artist, making handmade tile and sculpture from clay, teaching art to people of all ages, creating masked costumes and large street puppets, coordinating seasonal pageants and parades in Montpelier, the State Capital. Janice is also a member of the Vermont Craft Council .

We were joined this week by Jason Mallery, who helped out with music.

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11558840 Fri, 04 Oct 2019 13:00:00 -0400 2654 3 5 full false Episode 32 - Matthew Binginot Episode 32 - Matthew Binginot Matthew Binginot is a designer producer, and lover of all forms of media creativity. He is especially drawn towards photography, music, film and graphic design, although he is always seeking new forms of creative epression to tell stories and share his inspiration.

When not producing his own media art, he teaches a program called Digital Media Arts at the Central Vermont Career Center . Every day he inspires young artist to be creative and show them new ways to practice their passion.

Additional music by Matthew Binginot

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]]> Matthew Binginot is a designer producer, and lover of all forms of media creativity. He is especially drawn towards photography, music, film and graphic design, although he is always seeking new forms of creative epression to tell stories and share his inspiration.

When not producing his own media art, he teaches a program called Digital Media Arts at the Central Vermont Career Center . Every day he inspires young artist to be creative and show them new ways to practice their passion.

Additional music by Matthew Binginot

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11558930 Sat, 28 Sep 2019 13:00:00 -0400 2688 3 4 full false Episode 31 - Bennett Shapiro Episode 31 - Bennett Shapiro This week our guest is Bennett Shapiro of Madtech Sound. If you go to a live music event in this area, you are bound to see Bennett, walking around with his magic tablet, making things sound good.

We talk to Bennett about his journey as a sound engineer, the music scene in central Vermont and his ideas about integrating our live podcast into the Rabble-Rouser Chocolate Factory and Community Center.

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]]> This week our guest is Bennett Shapiro of Madtech Sound. If you go to a live music event in this area, you are bound to see Bennett, walking around with his magic tablet, making things sound good.

We talk to Bennett about his journey as a sound engineer, the music scene in central Vermont and his ideas about integrating our live podcast into the Rabble-Rouser Chocolate Factory and Community Center.

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11558958 Fri, 20 Sep 2019 13:00:00 -0400 1949 3 3 full false Episode 30 - Rabble-Rouser Creative Vision, with Jaquelyn Rieke Episode 30 - Rabble-Rouser Creative Vision, with Jaquelyn Rieke This episode is a conversation about how the Bordertown podcast aligns with the Rabble-Rouser creative vision. Our guest is the founder of Nutty Steph’s and one of the visionary’s behind Rabble-Rouser, Jaquelyn Rieke. She will provide background on the formation of the Rabble Rouser, collaboratively-owned Chocolate Factory and Community Center, and discuss the creative vision. Vic Guadagno will discuss ecomedia and the goals of the Bordertown Podcast. Music Director Rob Meehan discusses our musical ideas, and offers insight as a long-time advocate for food justice.

Bordertown has moved from the studio to a live setting and the first few episodes are visioning sessions to discuss collaborative goals and emerging strategies. This week we discuss synergies between Bordertown and the Rabble-Rouser Community Center.

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]]> This episode is a conversation about how the Bordertown podcast aligns with the Rabble-Rouser creative vision. Our guest is the founder of Nutty Steph’s and one of the visionary’s behind Rabble-Rouser, Jaquelyn Rieke. She will provide background on the formation of the Rabble Rouser, collaboratively-owned Chocolate Factory and Community Center, and discuss the creative vision. Vic Guadagno will discuss ecomedia and the goals of the Bordertown Podcast. Music Director Rob Meehan discusses our musical ideas, and offers insight as a long-time advocate for food justice.

Bordertown has moved from the studio to a live setting and the first few episodes are visioning sessions to discuss collaborative goals and emerging strategies. This week we discuss synergies between Bordertown and the Rabble-Rouser Community Center.

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11558979 Sun, 15 Sep 2019 13:00:00 -0400 2497 3 2 full false Episode 29 - Rabble Rousers-Opening Celebration Episode 29 - Rabble Rousers-Opening Celebration We're taking the show on the road. After several years of recording interviews in our home studio, we are embarking on a public conversation at Montpelier’s new Rabble Rouser – Chocolate Factory and Community Center.

In this episode we join the Rabble Rouser community at their launch party. We hear from Jaquelyn Rieke (formerly known as Nutty Steph), the visionary behind this undertaking. We also hear from Bill Kaplan, forward thinking landlord with a strong commitment to community. We speak with just a few of the folks behind the building renovation, architect Tolya Stonorov, woodworker Eyrich Stauffer and painter/artist Hans Stewart. We chat briefly with Montpelier Alive’s Dan Groberg and wrap up with owner of the Hive, and now Rabble Rouser, Ryan Geary.

This episode represents a new format for the Bordertown podcast as we are recording live, in a public setting. This is the first of a long-discussed format, in hopes to better achieve our goal of creating conditions for relationships building and enriching communication in our region.

Music, Hard Livin' by Railroad Earth.

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]]> We're taking the show on the road. After several years of recording interviews in our home studio, we are embarking on a public conversation at Montpelier’s new Rabble Rouser – Chocolate Factory and Community Center.

In this episode we join the Rabble Rouser community at their launch party. We hear from Jaquelyn Rieke (formerly known as Nutty Steph), the visionary behind this undertaking. We also hear from Bill Kaplan, forward thinking landlord with a strong commitment to community. We speak with just a few of the folks behind the building renovation, architect Tolya Stonorov, woodworker Eyrich Stauffer and painter/artist Hans Stewart. We chat briefly with Montpelier Alive’s Dan Groberg and wrap up with owner of the Hive, and now Rabble Rouser, Ryan Geary.

This episode represents a new format for the Bordertown podcast as we are recording live, in a public setting. This is the first of a long-discussed format, in hopes to better achieve our goal of creating conditions for relationships building and enriching communication in our region.

Music, Hard Livin' by Railroad Earth.

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559001 Mon, 09 Sep 2019 13:00:00 -0400 2422 3 1 full false Episode 28 - Chuck Collins Episode 28 - Chuck Collins Chuck Collins is a Senior Policy Analyst for the Institute for Policy Studies. He is the author of many books including Born on Third Base , The Community Resilience Reader and Is inequality in America irreversible? He is the co-editor of the Inequality.org website.

Chuck has dedicated his life to understanding the basis of economic inequality in the US, and has pioneered countless efforts to connect investors, business leaders, and one-percenters to the common wealth of their place in the world. He has organized and led many activities against corporate practices and economic policies that increase economic inequality. He is an organizing force behind Patriotic Millionaires, a united network of high-net worth Americans, business leaders and investors who are united in their concern about the destabilizing concentration of wealth and power in America.

Chuck’s story of wealth inequality is a first hand account…His great grandfather was the meat-packer, Oscar Mayer and Chuck grew up with the inherited wealth from his family fortune. He realized in his mid-twenties that the “mountain of privilege” that had defined his life so far…did not resonate with him…and he gave away his inheritance, to several foundations that funded “change, not charity”. He has been advocating for solutions to the ever-increasing wealth inequality in our country ever since.

Chuck references the French economist Thomas Piketty when he suggests that, “If we stay on this trajectory, we are moving to become a hereditary aristocracy of wealth, where the sons and daughters of todays billionaires will control the media, the culture and the politics of the future”.

Chuck speaks of the breakdown of a “culture of mutual aid”. Because wealthy people can buy their way through life they don’t ask for help, and therefore don’t develop reciprocal relationships, And as Chuck describes, "you can’t have community without real need and vulnerability".

He describes privilege is a disconnection drug…it keeps us apart. It creates a buffer zone, and that disconnection leads to unfulfilled lives. Chuck speaks of the “invitation home” to wealthy people in our country...to bring their wealth back to community and invest in place and people. Chuck proposes that, “People are waiting to be invited to something bigger than consumption….and that is community”. As we decrease our wealth divide, we find a solution to personal disconnection, our social divisions and, with investment in local systems…our ecological crisis…

I interviewed Chuck at the LOCALize IT conference, held in South Royalton, Vermont on October 21-22, 2017. The LOCALize IT conference was co-sponsored by Local Futures, Vermonters for a New Economy, the Sustainable Futures Fund of the The Vermont Community Foundation, the New Economy Law Center at The Vermont Law School and BALE, Building a Local Economy.

The LOCALize IT Conference was a two-day solutions focused gathering for leaders and community members engaged in accelerating a localizing movement in our region.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

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]]> Chuck Collins is a Senior Policy Analyst for the Institute for Policy Studies. He is the author of many books including Born on Third Base , The Community Resilience Reader and Is inequality in America irreversible? He is the co-editor of the Inequality.org website.

Chuck has dedicated his life to understanding the basis of economic inequality in the US, and has pioneered countless efforts to connect investors, business leaders, and one-percenters to the common wealth of their place in the world. He has organized and led many activities against corporate practices and economic policies that increase economic inequality. He is an organizing force behind Patriotic Millionaires, a united network of high-net worth Americans, business leaders and investors who are united in their concern about the destabilizing concentration of wealth and power in America.

Chuck’s story of wealth inequality is a first hand account…His great grandfather was the meat-packer, Oscar Mayer and Chuck grew up with the inherited wealth from his family fortune. He realized in his mid-twenties that the “mountain of privilege” that had defined his life so far…did not resonate with him…and he gave away his inheritance, to several foundations that funded “change, not charity”. He has been advocating for solutions to the ever-increasing wealth inequality in our country ever since.

Chuck references the French economist Thomas Piketty when he suggests that, “If we stay on this trajectory, we are moving to become a hereditary aristocracy of wealth, where the sons and daughters of todays billionaires will control the media, the culture and the politics of the future”.

Chuck speaks of the breakdown of a “culture of mutual aid”. Because wealthy people can buy their way through life they don’t ask for help, and therefore don’t develop reciprocal relationships, And as Chuck describes, "you can’t have community without real need and vulnerability".

He describes privilege is a disconnection drug…it keeps us apart. It creates a buffer zone, and that disconnection leads to unfulfilled lives. Chuck speaks of the “invitation home” to wealthy people in our country...to bring their wealth back to community and invest in place and people. Chuck proposes that, “People are waiting to be invited to something bigger than consumption….and that is community”. As we decrease our wealth divide, we find a solution to personal disconnection, our social divisions and, with investment in local systems…our ecological crisis…

I interviewed Chuck at the LOCALize IT conference, held in South Royalton, Vermont on October 21-22, 2017. The LOCALize IT conference was co-sponsored by Local Futures, Vermonters for a New Economy, the Sustainable Futures Fund of the The Vermont Community Foundation, the New Economy Law Center at The Vermont Law School and BALE, Building a Local Economy.

The LOCALize IT Conference was a two-day solutions focused gathering for leaders and community members engaged in accelerating a localizing movement in our region.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559016 Sat, 21 Apr 2018 13:00:00 -0400 2652 2 13 full false Episode 27 - Sherri Mitchell Episode 27 - Sherri Mitchell Sherri Mitchell, Weh'na Ha'mu Kwasset is an Indigenous rights activist, spiritual teacher, and transformational change maker. She was born and raised on the Penobscot Indian reservation with a family of strong advocates and social justice activists. It was engrained in her from a very young age that, “not only do you not accept poor treatment of the ones that you love, but you also don’t participate in, or be complicit through silence in the mistreatment of others”.

Sherri Mitchells book, Sacred Instructions, Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change was released earlier this year.

Sherri is the Founding Director of the Land Peace Foundation, an organization dedicated to the global protection of Indigenous rights and the preservation of the Indigenous way of life. Prior to forming the Land Peace Foundation, She served as a law clerk to the Solicitor of the United States Department of Interior; as an Associate with Fredericks, Peebles and Morgan Law Firm; and a civil rights educator for the Maine Attorney General’s Office, and she was the Staff Attorney for the Native American Unit of Pine Tree Legal. Sherri is an Advisor to We Are Nature Rising, who "helps next generation leaders awaken their ecological identify & foster the leadership skills necessary to act on behalf of the planet".

Sherri received her undergraduate degree from the University of Maine, and received her Juris Doctorate and a certificate in Indigenous People’s Law and Policy from the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law. Sherri is an alumna of the American Indian Ambassador program, and the Udall Native American Congressional Internship program. In 2010, she received the Mahoney Dunn International Human Rights and Humanitarian Award, for research into Human Rights violations against Indigenous Peoples. In 2015, she received the Spirit of Maine Award, for commitment and excellence in the field of International Human Rights. In 2016, Sherri’s portrait was added to the esteemed portrait series, Americans Who Tell the Truth, by artist Robert Shetterly.

Her broad base of knowledge allows her to synthesize these many subjects into a cohesive whole, weaving together the legal, political, and spiritual aspects surrounding a multitude of complex issues. Sherri is the cohost, with Rivera Sun of Love (and Revolution) Radio, where they focus on stories of creative nonviolence, resilience and resistance and her work is featured in a documentary film on transformational change, by New Story Film.

I interviewed Sherri at the LOCALize IT conference, held in South Royalton, Vermont on October 21-22, 2017. The LOCALize IT Conference was a two-day solutions focused gathering for leaders and community members engaged in accelerating a localizing movement in our region.

The LOCALize IT conference was co-sponsored by Local Futures, Vermonters for a New Economy, the Sustainable Futures Fund of the The Vermont Community Foundation, the New Economy Law Center at The Vermont Law School and BALE, Building a Local Economy.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

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]]> Sherri Mitchell, Weh'na Ha'mu Kwasset is an Indigenous rights activist, spiritual teacher, and transformational change maker. She was born and raised on the Penobscot Indian reservation with a family of strong advocates and social justice activists. It was engrained in her from a very young age that, “not only do you not accept poor treatment of the ones that you love, but you also don’t participate in, or be complicit through silence in the mistreatment of others”.

Sherri Mitchells book, Sacred Instructions, Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change was released earlier this year.

Sherri is the Founding Director of the Land Peace Foundation, an organization dedicated to the global protection of Indigenous rights and the preservation of the Indigenous way of life. Prior to forming the Land Peace Foundation, She served as a law clerk to the Solicitor of the United States Department of Interior; as an Associate with Fredericks, Peebles and Morgan Law Firm; and a civil rights educator for the Maine Attorney General’s Office, and she was the Staff Attorney for the Native American Unit of Pine Tree Legal. Sherri is an Advisor to We Are Nature Rising, who "helps next generation leaders awaken their ecological identify & foster the leadership skills necessary to act on behalf of the planet".

Sherri received her undergraduate degree from the University of Maine, and received her Juris Doctorate and a certificate in Indigenous People’s Law and Policy from the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law. Sherri is an alumna of the American Indian Ambassador program, and the Udall Native American Congressional Internship program. In 2010, she received the Mahoney Dunn International Human Rights and Humanitarian Award, for research into Human Rights violations against Indigenous Peoples. In 2015, she received the Spirit of Maine Award, for commitment and excellence in the field of International Human Rights. In 2016, Sherri’s portrait was added to the esteemed portrait series, Americans Who Tell the Truth, by artist Robert Shetterly.

Her broad base of knowledge allows her to synthesize these many subjects into a cohesive whole, weaving together the legal, political, and spiritual aspects surrounding a multitude of complex issues. Sherri is the cohost, with Rivera Sun of Love (and Revolution) Radio, where they focus on stories of creative nonviolence, resilience and resistance and her work is featured in a documentary film on transformational change, by New Story Film.

I interviewed Sherri at the LOCALize IT conference, held in South Royalton, Vermont on October 21-22, 2017. The LOCALize IT Conference was a two-day solutions focused gathering for leaders and community members engaged in accelerating a localizing movement in our region.

The LOCALize IT conference was co-sponsored by Local Futures, Vermonters for a New Economy, the Sustainable Futures Fund of the The Vermont Community Foundation, the New Economy Law Center at The Vermont Law School and BALE, Building a Local Economy.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559031 Tue, 20 Mar 2018 13:00:00 -0400 1790 2 12 full false Episode 26 - Christine Hanna Episode 26 - Christine Hanna Christine Hanna is the Executive Director of Yes Media

Christine grew up in Virginia, received her bachelors degree in economics from UVA and after graduation had the opportunity to travel to the former Czechoslovakia to study comparative economics. It was during that time she was able to witness and appreciate the power and creativity of entrepreneurship and problem solving. She returned to the US where she received her MBA from the University of Washington with a focus on entrepreneurship and innovation .

After receiving her MBA she was swept up into the internet arena and spent the first seven years of her career trying to get people to transact via the web. She got a first hand look at how capital drives innovation and motivaiton in this country and found herself demoralized through the process of simply selling products.

Although invigorated by the process of using the internet for marketing products, she realized it was undermining what she felt was truly important. She said to herself, "if I'm going to work this hard, I'm going to work on something that I really care about". She left that company and joined a nonprofit called Northwest Environment Watch, which was essentially a sustainability think tank.

Christine defines her love for marketing as the understanding of what it takes to move someone from having never heard of something before, to being a loyal advocate and ally.

Christine eventually went on to use what she had learned to launch "Go Next Door" in Seattle, a web-based network dedicated to supporting local businessess and building community. After that, she went on to cofound the Seattle Good Business Network in 2010. Christine and her colleagues grew the organization from a small startup to an influential Seattle player, strengthening the region's locally owned retail, manufacturing and food sectors.

She is a passionate advocate for a sustainable, inclusive local economy, with a great track record for putting that passion into action. Christine joined YES in March 2017 and says the role couldn't be a better fit.

I interviewed Christine at the LOCALize IT conference, held in South Royalton, Vermont on October 21-22, 2017. The LOCALize IT conference was co-sponsored by Local Futures, Vermonters for a New Economy, the Sustainable Futures Fund of the The Vermont Community Foundation, the New Economy Law Center at The Vermont Law School and BALE, Building a Local Economy.

The LOCALize IT Conference was a two-day solutions focused gathering for leaders and community members engaged in accelerating a localizing movement in our region.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

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]]> Christine Hanna is the Executive Director of Yes Media

Christine grew up in Virginia, received her bachelors degree in economics from UVA and after graduation had the opportunity to travel to the former Czechoslovakia to study comparative economics. It was during that time she was able to witness and appreciate the power and creativity of entrepreneurship and problem solving. She returned to the US where she received her MBA from the University of Washington with a focus on entrepreneurship and innovation .

After receiving her MBA she was swept up into the internet arena and spent the first seven years of her career trying to get people to transact via the web. She got a first hand look at how capital drives innovation and motivaiton in this country and found herself demoralized through the process of simply selling products.

Although invigorated by the process of using the internet for marketing products, she realized it was undermining what she felt was truly important. She said to herself, "if I'm going to work this hard, I'm going to work on something that I really care about". She left that company and joined a nonprofit called Northwest Environment Watch, which was essentially a sustainability think tank.

Christine defines her love for marketing as the understanding of what it takes to move someone from having never heard of something before, to being a loyal advocate and ally.

Christine eventually went on to use what she had learned to launch "Go Next Door" in Seattle, a web-based network dedicated to supporting local businessess and building community. After that, she went on to cofound the Seattle Good Business Network in 2010. Christine and her colleagues grew the organization from a small startup to an influential Seattle player, strengthening the region's locally owned retail, manufacturing and food sectors.

She is a passionate advocate for a sustainable, inclusive local economy, with a great track record for putting that passion into action. Christine joined YES in March 2017 and says the role couldn't be a better fit.

I interviewed Christine at the LOCALize IT conference, held in South Royalton, Vermont on October 21-22, 2017. The LOCALize IT conference was co-sponsored by Local Futures, Vermonters for a New Economy, the Sustainable Futures Fund of the The Vermont Community Foundation, the New Economy Law Center at The Vermont Law School and BALE, Building a Local Economy.

The LOCALize IT Conference was a two-day solutions focused gathering for leaders and community members engaged in accelerating a localizing movement in our region.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559050 Mon, 15 Jan 2018 13:00:00 -0500 2511 2 11 full false Episode 25 - Jaquelyn Fernandez Rieke Episode 25 - Jaquelyn Fernandez Rieke Jaquelyn Fernandez Rieke has been the owner of Nutty Steph's for the past 14 years. Born and raised in Suburban Chicago, Jaquelyn made her way east after college. Spending a bit of time in Baltimore, she ultimately landed in central Vermont where she's been every since

On the Nutty Steph's website you can find their mission - "Nutty Steph's is a small-but-mighty organization comprised of dedicated and creative people unified to insire a more delicious world. Since 2003, Nutty Steph's has hand-crafted it's products with the highest quality, GMO-Free ingredeients to ensure that our treats are always the tastiest they can be. We employ individuals with exacting standards and highly sensitive palates, working in harmony to produce execptional granola, chocolate and confections".

In addition to owning Nutty Steph's, Jaquelyn and her husband own the Onion River Campground, where visitors can simply camp for a lovely evening by the river or host fantastic parties for friends and family. For the past three years the Onion River Campground has hosted Weirdofest, which is quickly becoming a Vermont tradition.

Jaquelyn is currently transitioning Nutty Steph's to a worker owned coop. Her dedication to people and community can be found in the pledge at the bottom of her emails, "I pledge my commitment to personal reflection and assessment of my conduct as I strive to do my part to build a more civil society - one in which each person is respected and public and political discourse are aimed at the betterment of our communities, our state, and our nation. I will respect others' rights who hold different opinions, strive to understand differing perspectives, avoid rhetoric that humiliates and belittles others, speak out against incivility, and act to promote respect for all people".

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

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]]> Jaquelyn Fernandez Rieke has been the owner of Nutty Steph's for the past 14 years. Born and raised in Suburban Chicago, Jaquelyn made her way east after college. Spending a bit of time in Baltimore, she ultimately landed in central Vermont where she's been every since

On the Nutty Steph's website you can find their mission - "Nutty Steph's is a small-but-mighty organization comprised of dedicated and creative people unified to insire a more delicious world. Since 2003, Nutty Steph's has hand-crafted it's products with the highest quality, GMO-Free ingredeients to ensure that our treats are always the tastiest they can be. We employ individuals with exacting standards and highly sensitive palates, working in harmony to produce execptional granola, chocolate and confections".

In addition to owning Nutty Steph's, Jaquelyn and her husband own the Onion River Campground, where visitors can simply camp for a lovely evening by the river or host fantastic parties for friends and family. For the past three years the Onion River Campground has hosted Weirdofest, which is quickly becoming a Vermont tradition.

Jaquelyn is currently transitioning Nutty Steph's to a worker owned coop. Her dedication to people and community can be found in the pledge at the bottom of her emails, "I pledge my commitment to personal reflection and assessment of my conduct as I strive to do my part to build a more civil society - one in which each person is respected and public and political discourse are aimed at the betterment of our communities, our state, and our nation. I will respect others' rights who hold different opinions, strive to understand differing perspectives, avoid rhetoric that humiliates and belittles others, speak out against incivility, and act to promote respect for all people".

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559128 Sun, 15 Oct 2017 13:00:00 -0400 3834 2 10 full false Episode 24 - Alex Chernomazov Episode 24 - Alex Chernomazov Alex Chernomazov and his wife Ella are the co-founders of Greenspark, an Interactive Sustainability Park in development on Route 100 in Waterbury Center, Vermont. Their mission: to inspire local and global communities to adapt current green technologies through interactive hands-on experiences. Alex and Ella’s goal at Greenspark is to make it easy for guests to experience all aspects of sustainable living – renewable energy, green building and pollution-free transportation – in one place.

Click HERE to help Kickstart this project

Alex was born in the Ukraine, in the former Soviet Union. Both his parents are teachers and his family travelled every summer, so Alex says that he has the travel itch in his blood. And his dad was a shop teacher, so he grew up around tools, and enjoyed tinkering and fixing stuff

In the mid-90s , when Alex was 16 years-old, he and his father moved to Brooklyn NY, with a big wave of Russian speaking immigrants from all over the former USSR. He lived in America yet all his friends were Russian speaking. He had a series of IT jobs, and over 20 or so years, he grew from pc support to server support to network design and network security.

Alex traveled a lot, with his wife Ella and soon discovered their shared passion for a sustainable life-style. Eventually they left their big city jobs and apartment behind, moved into the car, and spent a year zigzagging across USA and Canada, up to Alaska and back down to Florida. On that trip they were seeking out anything related to renewable energy, green building, and sustainability.

After the trip they settled in Vermont, bought a house, and had their daughter Maya. Meanwhile an idea of building a place to showcase everything they had learned over the past several years was brewing in their heads, and they kept looking for the right place to realize that vision.

Alex and Ella purchased a piece of land on Route 100, just north of Waterbury Center, and Greenspark was born. They hope to open in the summer of 2017, and are seeking support and partners in this inspired vision.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

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]]> Alex Chernomazov and his wife Ella are the co-founders of Greenspark, an Interactive Sustainability Park in development on Route 100 in Waterbury Center, Vermont. Their mission: to inspire local and global communities to adapt current green technologies through interactive hands-on experiences. Alex and Ella’s goal at Greenspark is to make it easy for guests to experience all aspects of sustainable living – renewable energy, green building and pollution-free transportation – in one place.

Click HERE to help Kickstart this project

Alex was born in the Ukraine, in the former Soviet Union. Both his parents are teachers and his family travelled every summer, so Alex says that he has the travel itch in his blood. And his dad was a shop teacher, so he grew up around tools, and enjoyed tinkering and fixing stuff

In the mid-90s , when Alex was 16 years-old, he and his father moved to Brooklyn NY, with a big wave of Russian speaking immigrants from all over the former USSR. He lived in America yet all his friends were Russian speaking. He had a series of IT jobs, and over 20 or so years, he grew from pc support to server support to network design and network security.

Alex traveled a lot, with his wife Ella and soon discovered their shared passion for a sustainable life-style. Eventually they left their big city jobs and apartment behind, moved into the car, and spent a year zigzagging across USA and Canada, up to Alaska and back down to Florida. On that trip they were seeking out anything related to renewable energy, green building, and sustainability.

After the trip they settled in Vermont, bought a house, and had their daughter Maya. Meanwhile an idea of building a place to showcase everything they had learned over the past several years was brewing in their heads, and they kept looking for the right place to realize that vision.

Alex and Ella purchased a piece of land on Route 100, just north of Waterbury Center, and Greenspark was born. They hope to open in the summer of 2017, and are seeking support and partners in this inspired vision.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

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Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559161 Wed, 10 May 2017 14:00:00 -0400 2902 2 9 full false Episode 23 - John Liu / Amy Seidl / Jon Erickson Episode 23 - John Liu / Amy Seidl / Jon Erickson John Liu stopped by Vermont on his US tour describing the Ecorestoraion Camps. We organized a conversation about solutions at the University of Vermont, and screened his film Hope in a Changing Climate which focuses on China's Loess Plateau

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

The panel discussion also featured Amy Seidl and Jon Erickson.

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]]> John Liu stopped by Vermont on his US tour describing the Ecorestoraion Camps. We organized a conversation about solutions at the University of Vermont, and screened his film Hope in a Changing Climate which focuses on China's Loess Plateau

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

The panel discussion also featured Amy Seidl and Jon Erickson.

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559183 Wed, 02 Nov 2016 14:00:00 -0400 4109 2 8 full false Episode 22 - Andrew Faust / Mark Krawczyk (Relocalizing Vermont, Radio Show) Episode 22 - Andrew Faust / Mark Krawczyk (Relocalizing Vermont, Radio Show) During the summer of 2016, Vic Guadagno was the guest host for Carl Etneir’s radio program, Relocalize Vermont, that broadcasts on the Goddard Collage Community Radio Station. For many of these broadcasts, Vic condensed previous Bordertown podcasts. This episode features Andrew Faust (Episode 16) and Mark Krawczyk. (Episode 11).

Andrew Faust is one of the premier Permaculture teachers and designers in North America with nearly two decades of experience. Andrew has extensive experience in a wide range of climates and habitats including desert, forest and mountain – and has been focusing much of his attention over the past decade on urban landscapes. He is the founder of the Center for BioRegional Living, a design, education and consulting center located in Brooklyn New York. With a campus located in Ellenville, NY, that he is developing with his partner Adriana Magana and their daughter Juniper.
 

Mark is the owner of Keyline Vermont, a permaculture design, consulting and education business. As a student of permaculture design since 2000, Mark Krawczyk has explored tree crop and agroforestry systems, coppice forestry, natural building, traditional woodcrafts, community organizing and both small and broad acre site design.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

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]]> During the summer of 2016, Vic Guadagno was the guest host for Carl Etneir’s radio program, Relocalize Vermont, that broadcasts on the Goddard Collage Community Radio Station. For many of these broadcasts, Vic condensed previous Bordertown podcasts. This episode features Andrew Faust (Episode 16) and Mark Krawczyk. (Episode 11).

Andrew Faust is one of the premier Permaculture teachers and designers in North America with nearly two decades of experience. Andrew has extensive experience in a wide range of climates and habitats including desert, forest and mountain – and has been focusing much of his attention over the past decade on urban landscapes. He is the founder of the Center for BioRegional Living, a design, education and consulting center located in Brooklyn New York. With a campus located in Ellenville, NY, that he is developing with his partner Adriana Magana and their daughter Juniper.
 

Mark is the owner of Keyline Vermont, a permaculture design, consulting and education business. As a student of permaculture design since 2000, Mark Krawczyk has explored tree crop and agroforestry systems, coppice forestry, natural building, traditional woodcrafts, community organizing and both small and broad acre site design.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559201 Mon, 26 Sep 2016 14:00:00 -0400 3600 2 7 full false Episode 21 - Joseph Keifer Episode 21 - Joseph Keifer Joseph Keifer grew up on a small-diversified family farm in the Hudson Valley of New York State. As the oldest son of six kids his farm chores with cows, pigs, sheep, chickens and a mean old rooster, taught him much about caring for the land and being a farmer. He received his M.A. in Social Ecology from the Institute for Social Ecology in Plainfield Vermont in 1980. In 1982 he was asked to be part of a Community Task Force on Hunger with the Central Vermont Community Action Council in Barre, Vermont. As a result of this quiet crisis he started a Garden Science / Hunger Education Program with local schools. At the Main Street Middle school a Garden Lab of raised bed gardens, small fruits, fruit trees and a compost was set up with a bed dedicated for the Emergency Food Pantry. This Task Force quickly learned that this dramatic increase in demand for emergency food was being experienced around the state and decided to investigate starting a Food bank for the state. In 1986 Joseph Co-founded the Vermont Food bank

In 1985-86 he served on the Governor’s Task Force on Hunger attending six regional hearings around the state. Upon completion of these projects he cofounded Food Works with a mission to address the root causes of childhood hunger by starting school gardens and food education programs.

In 1997 Food Works teamed up with Shelburne Farms and NOFA (Northeast Organic Farming Association) to start VT FEED (food education every day). In 2006 Food Works helped launch the first Food Bank farm in Vermont growing exclusively for emergency feeding sites in the state.

At Food Works Joseph was the Director of Education and offered professional development courses and workshops to teachers, food service staff and community organizers on how to grow, process, cook and store locally grown foods. He has taught at California Polytechnic University at Pomona, California, Trinity College, Goddard College, The Union Institute, The College of St. Joseph and Johnson State College and Castelton University all in Vermont. He is a co-author of “Digging Deeper” A comprehensive Guide to School and Community Gardening and “Living Traditions” Teaching Local History Using State and National Learning Standards.
 

Joseph now works as a Food Justice Consultant working with the Good Food Good Medicine Program at Highgate Housing and Green Acres Housing, the Vermont Community Garden Network as well as the Vermont Rural Partnership. He serves on the Boards of Just Basics Inc. in Montpelier and Highgate Housing in Barre Vermont, as well as on the cross cutting Food Access Team of the Vermont Farm to Plate Group.
 

He lives with his wife Amy and their two dogs Chester and Molly on the White Dove Herbal Sanctuary in East Montpelier.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

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]]> Joseph Keifer grew up on a small-diversified family farm in the Hudson Valley of New York State. As the oldest son of six kids his farm chores with cows, pigs, sheep, chickens and a mean old rooster, taught him much about caring for the land and being a farmer. He received his M.A. in Social Ecology from the Institute for Social Ecology in Plainfield Vermont in 1980. In 1982 he was asked to be part of a Community Task Force on Hunger with the Central Vermont Community Action Council in Barre, Vermont. As a result of this quiet crisis he started a Garden Science / Hunger Education Program with local schools. At the Main Street Middle school a Garden Lab of raised bed gardens, small fruits, fruit trees and a compost was set up with a bed dedicated for the Emergency Food Pantry. This Task Force quickly learned that this dramatic increase in demand for emergency food was being experienced around the state and decided to investigate starting a Food bank for the state. In 1986 Joseph Co-founded the Vermont Food bank

In 1985-86 he served on the Governor’s Task Force on Hunger attending six regional hearings around the state. Upon completion of these projects he cofounded Food Works with a mission to address the root causes of childhood hunger by starting school gardens and food education programs.

In 1997 Food Works teamed up with Shelburne Farms and NOFA (Northeast Organic Farming Association) to start VT FEED (food education every day). In 2006 Food Works helped launch the first Food Bank farm in Vermont growing exclusively for emergency feeding sites in the state.

At Food Works Joseph was the Director of Education and offered professional development courses and workshops to teachers, food service staff and community organizers on how to grow, process, cook and store locally grown foods. He has taught at California Polytechnic University at Pomona, California, Trinity College, Goddard College, The Union Institute, The College of St. Joseph and Johnson State College and Castelton University all in Vermont. He is a co-author of “Digging Deeper” A comprehensive Guide to School and Community Gardening and “Living Traditions” Teaching Local History Using State and National Learning Standards.
 

Joseph now works as a Food Justice Consultant working with the Good Food Good Medicine Program at Highgate Housing and Green Acres Housing, the Vermont Community Garden Network as well as the Vermont Rural Partnership. He serves on the Boards of Just Basics Inc. in Montpelier and Highgate Housing in Barre Vermont, as well as on the cross cutting Food Access Team of the Vermont Farm to Plate Group.
 

He lives with his wife Amy and their two dogs Chester and Molly on the White Dove Herbal Sanctuary in East Montpelier.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559228 Wed, 24 Aug 2016 14:00:00 -0400 3908 2 6 full false Episode 20 - Soil4Climate Episode 20 - Soil4Climate Soil4Climate, a nonprofit organization, advocates for soil restoration as a climate solution.

They promote regenerative land management practices to capture atmospheric carbon and encourage collaboration with the larger body of climate activism. Uniting “drawdown” strategies with emissions reduction, divestment from fossil fuels, a price on carbon, and climate justice advocacy, together creates a powerful alliance

Soil4Climate is inspired by the work of Allan Savory which is summarized nicely in his TedTalk as "if we do what I am showing you here, we can take enough carbon out of the atmosphere and safely store it in the grassland soils for thousands of years, and if we just do that on about half the world's grasslands that I've shown you, we can take us back to pre-industrial levels, while feeding people. I can think of almost nothing that offers more hope for our planet, for your children, and their children, and all of humanity."

Seth Itzkan is co-founder of Soil4Climate and President of Planet-TECH Associates .Jesse McDougall owns and operates Studio Hill, LLC on Pullman Farm with his wife Caroline - their family’s fourth-generation farm in Shaftsbury, Eric Becker Is Chief Investment Officer at Clean Yield Asset Management, and Karl Thidemann is a co-founder of Soil4Climate and a Strategic Planner for Planet-TECH Associates.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

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]]> Soil4Climate, a nonprofit organization, advocates for soil restoration as a climate solution.

They promote regenerative land management practices to capture atmospheric carbon and encourage collaboration with the larger body of climate activism. Uniting “drawdown” strategies with emissions reduction, divestment from fossil fuels, a price on carbon, and climate justice advocacy, together creates a powerful alliance

Soil4Climate is inspired by the work of Allan Savory which is summarized nicely in his TedTalk as "if we do what I am showing you here, we can take enough carbon out of the atmosphere and safely store it in the grassland soils for thousands of years, and if we just do that on about half the world's grasslands that I've shown you, we can take us back to pre-industrial levels, while feeding people. I can think of almost nothing that offers more hope for our planet, for your children, and their children, and all of humanity."

Seth Itzkan is co-founder of Soil4Climate and President of Planet-TECH Associates .Jesse McDougall owns and operates Studio Hill, LLC on Pullman Farm with his wife Caroline - their family’s fourth-generation farm in Shaftsbury, Eric Becker Is Chief Investment Officer at Clean Yield Asset Management, and Karl Thidemann is a co-founder of Soil4Climate and a Strategic Planner for Planet-TECH Associates.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559254 Sat, 18 Jun 2016 14:00:00 -0400 3290 2 5 full false Episode 19 - Sarah Waring Episode 19 - Sarah Waring Sarah Waring is the Executive Director of The Center for an Agricultural Economy, in Hardwick Vermont. Their mission is to engage the public in building a regenerative, locally based, healthy food system through collaboration opportunities, food access and hunger relief, educational outreach and providing infrastructure.

It was a pleasure speaking with Sarah and asking direct questions relevant to our Designing Abundance project here in Central Vermont. Sarah has helped us over the past year and we look forward to continued callaboraiton in the years ahead.

It was fun learning about her off-grid days growing up in Glover – the hope of Bread and Puppet, our shared love for the Rockies, and her joyful return to the Green Mountain State.

I was drawn to the Center for an Agricultural Economy when I first arrived in Vermont and continue to look to them for inspiration and guidance. It was a pleasure learning more about Sarah and it’s clear that her enthusiasm and vision lends itsels well to their mission of a regenerative Vermont.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

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]]> Sarah Waring is the Executive Director of The Center for an Agricultural Economy, in Hardwick Vermont. Their mission is to engage the public in building a regenerative, locally based, healthy food system through collaboration opportunities, food access and hunger relief, educational outreach and providing infrastructure.

It was a pleasure speaking with Sarah and asking direct questions relevant to our Designing Abundance project here in Central Vermont. Sarah has helped us over the past year and we look forward to continued callaboraiton in the years ahead.

It was fun learning about her off-grid days growing up in Glover – the hope of Bread and Puppet, our shared love for the Rockies, and her joyful return to the Green Mountain State.

I was drawn to the Center for an Agricultural Economy when I first arrived in Vermont and continue to look to them for inspiration and guidance. It was a pleasure learning more about Sarah and it’s clear that her enthusiasm and vision lends itsels well to their mission of a regenerative Vermont.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559285 Thu, 16 Jun 2016 14:00:00 -0400 4070 2 4 full false Episode 18 - Bo Muller-Moore Episode 18 - Bo Muller-Moore Bo Muller-Moore is the founder and owner of Eat More Kale,. He prints T-shirts, bumper stickers and other items and is most famous for his Eat More Kale T-shirt.

Bo is the inspiration for this year's EAT MORE KALE Festival. This first annual event is sure to be a good one. Their goal is to strengthen the arts and agricultural communities here in Vermont, which is at the core of the Designing Abundance mission, as we continue to understand and encourage our "PERMAnent CULTURE" here in Vermont.

Several years ago, Bo’s wife gave him a Home-T-shirt screen-printing kit. It consisted of a silk screen, a squeegee, a pint of black ink and a short instructional book. The book suggested that simple prints could be produced using hand-cut stencils. Sounded simple and off he went. “CHEESE” was his first print. It was a hit among his friends and co-workers. Having heard that he was printing t-shirts from home a couple of friends of his, Paul and Kate of High-Ledge Farm, penned the phrase “EAT MORE KALE” and special ordered two shirts for themselves. In less than 20 minutes. Bo printed their shirts and delivered them at the next farmer’s market. The idea became “viral” before people knew what “viral” was, then quickly spread to all corners of the world.

Bo was born in the city of Blues, Rock n’ Roll, BBQ and Elvis…..Memphis, TN. He’s lived in Tennessee, Michigan, Missouri, Alabama, Georgia and Vermont. He received a History Degree from Samford University (B’ham, Al) in 1998. Before that he failed out of Auburn Univ and before that Rhodes College in Memphis. Bo liked college but was not very good at it. He now live in the state capital of Vermont, Montpelier, where he’s been living since 1998.
 
Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes


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]]> Bo Muller-Moore is the founder and owner of Eat More Kale,. He prints T-shirts, bumper stickers and other items and is most famous for his Eat More Kale T-shirt.

Bo is the inspiration for this year's EAT MORE KALE Festival. This first annual event is sure to be a good one. Their goal is to strengthen the arts and agricultural communities here in Vermont, which is at the core of the Designing Abundance mission, as we continue to understand and encourage our "PERMAnent CULTURE" here in Vermont.

Several years ago, Bo’s wife gave him a Home-T-shirt screen-printing kit. It consisted of a silk screen, a squeegee, a pint of black ink and a short instructional book. The book suggested that simple prints could be produced using hand-cut stencils. Sounded simple and off he went. “CHEESE” was his first print. It was a hit among his friends and co-workers. Having heard that he was printing t-shirts from home a couple of friends of his, Paul and Kate of High-Ledge Farm, penned the phrase “EAT MORE KALE” and special ordered two shirts for themselves. In less than 20 minutes. Bo printed their shirts and delivered them at the next farmer’s market. The idea became “viral” before people knew what “viral” was, then quickly spread to all corners of the world.

Bo was born in the city of Blues, Rock n’ Roll, BBQ and Elvis…..Memphis, TN. He’s lived in Tennessee, Michigan, Missouri, Alabama, Georgia and Vermont. He received a History Degree from Samford University (B’ham, Al) in 1998. Before that he failed out of Auburn Univ and before that Rhodes College in Memphis. Bo liked college but was not very good at it. He now live in the state capital of Vermont, Montpelier, where he’s been living since 1998.
 
Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes


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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559305 Wed, 11 May 2016 14:00:00 -0400 4253 2 3 full false Episode 17 - Keith Morris Episode 17 - Keith Morris Keith Morris, his partner Kori Gelinas and their two daughters own and operate Willing Crossing Farm in Johnson Vermont, where they maintain one of the most diverse collections of fruit and nut trees in the northeast. They also keep bees and run an apothecary, with an increasing stock of herbs and essential oils. Keith is a former competitive snowboarder and works developing snowboarding gear and riding the backcountry in his spare time.

Keith is the founder of Prospect Rock Permaculture, Vermont’s longest running Permaculture Institute and a co-founding board member of the Permaculture Institute of the Northeast (P.I.N.E.). He has been instrumental in bringing Permaculture to the northeast and teaching at the university level - including the University of Vermont, Sterling College, Saint Michaels College, Paul Smiths College and the Yestermororw Design Build School in the Waitsfield, Vermont. He also teaches courses and workshops, and hosts gatherings and festivals at their Willow Crossing Farm in Johnson.

Outside of teaching, Keith consults with forward-thinking landowners, community organizations, schools, towns, farmers, homesteaders, watershed organizations, land trusts, and others to interpret ecological context and make human-managed ecosystems more connected, beautiful, and productive - assisting people to better grow food, build soil, secure fresh water, harvest the sun, and harmonize with natural communities.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"
 

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

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]]> Keith Morris, his partner Kori Gelinas and their two daughters own and operate Willing Crossing Farm in Johnson Vermont, where they maintain one of the most diverse collections of fruit and nut trees in the northeast. They also keep bees and run an apothecary, with an increasing stock of herbs and essential oils. Keith is a former competitive snowboarder and works developing snowboarding gear and riding the backcountry in his spare time.

Keith is the founder of Prospect Rock Permaculture, Vermont’s longest running Permaculture Institute and a co-founding board member of the Permaculture Institute of the Northeast (P.I.N.E.). He has been instrumental in bringing Permaculture to the northeast and teaching at the university level - including the University of Vermont, Sterling College, Saint Michaels College, Paul Smiths College and the Yestermororw Design Build School in the Waitsfield, Vermont. He also teaches courses and workshops, and hosts gatherings and festivals at their Willow Crossing Farm in Johnson.

Outside of teaching, Keith consults with forward-thinking landowners, community organizations, schools, towns, farmers, homesteaders, watershed organizations, land trusts, and others to interpret ecological context and make human-managed ecosystems more connected, beautiful, and productive - assisting people to better grow food, build soil, secure fresh water, harvest the sun, and harmonize with natural communities.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"
 

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

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Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559337 Sat, 23 Jan 2016 14:00:00 -0500 3672 2 2 full false Episode 16 - Andrew Faust Episode 16 - Andrew Faust Andrew Faust is one of the premier Permaculture teachers and designers in North America with nearly two decades of experience. Andrew has extensive experience in a wide range of climates and habitats including desert, forest and mountain – and has been focusing much of his attention over the past decade on urban landscapes. He is the founder of the Center for BioRegional Living, a design, education and consulting center located in Brooklyn New York. With a campus located in Ellenville, NY, that he is developing with his partner Adriana Magana and their daughter Juniper.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"
 

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

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]]> Andrew Faust is one of the premier Permaculture teachers and designers in North America with nearly two decades of experience. Andrew has extensive experience in a wide range of climates and habitats including desert, forest and mountain – and has been focusing much of his attention over the past decade on urban landscapes. He is the founder of the Center for BioRegional Living, a design, education and consulting center located in Brooklyn New York. With a campus located in Ellenville, NY, that he is developing with his partner Adriana Magana and their daughter Juniper.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"
 

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11560075 Fri, 31 Jul 2015 15:00:00 -0400 4762 2 1 full false Episode 15 - Geoff Lawton Episode 15 - Geoff Lawton Geoff Lawton is perhaps the world’s most influential Permaculture teacher. He has created a global network of students, activist and Permaculture demonstration centers and has undertaken thousands of of jobs - teaching, consulting, designing and implementing Permaculture design projects. He is the Managing Director of the Permaculture Research Institute.

I met Geoff in 1996 in San Lucas Guatemala, where I took my first PDC. I traveled to Dominical, Costa Rica with Geoff to document Permaculture design and earthworks on Diane Firestone's 150-acre site.

In October 1997 Bill Mollison, upon his retirement, asked Geoff to assume operation of the 147-acre Tagari Farm, which Bill had developed. Geoff worked on that site for three years and established The Permaculture Research Institute as a registered charity and global networking center for Permaculture projects.

I had the opportunity to once again collaborate with Geoff from 1998-2002 on a US Department of Defense funded project to design the commercial reutilization strategy for the 15,000-acre Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant. We assembled a team of 15 partners and students and had tremendous success generating commercial tenancy revenue, hosting a Permaculture Design Certificate Course and hosting a three-day lecture by Bil Mollison.

I had the good fortune of speaking with Geoff during his last visit to Vermont and his message has remained the same. He is optimistic and inspired. He is now teaching thousands of people through his online courses and video series.

Geoff is a fantastic teacher and completely committed to the ethics and principles of Permaculture.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

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]]> Geoff Lawton is perhaps the world’s most influential Permaculture teacher. He has created a global network of students, activist and Permaculture demonstration centers and has undertaken thousands of of jobs - teaching, consulting, designing and implementing Permaculture design projects. He is the Managing Director of the Permaculture Research Institute.

I met Geoff in 1996 in San Lucas Guatemala, where I took my first PDC. I traveled to Dominical, Costa Rica with Geoff to document Permaculture design and earthworks on Diane Firestone's 150-acre site.

In October 1997 Bill Mollison, upon his retirement, asked Geoff to assume operation of the 147-acre Tagari Farm, which Bill had developed. Geoff worked on that site for three years and established The Permaculture Research Institute as a registered charity and global networking center for Permaculture projects.

I had the opportunity to once again collaborate with Geoff from 1998-2002 on a US Department of Defense funded project to design the commercial reutilization strategy for the 15,000-acre Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant. We assembled a team of 15 partners and students and had tremendous success generating commercial tenancy revenue, hosting a Permaculture Design Certificate Course and hosting a three-day lecture by Bil Mollison.

I had the good fortune of speaking with Geoff during his last visit to Vermont and his message has remained the same. He is optimistic and inspired. He is now teaching thousands of people through his online courses and video series.

Geoff is a fantastic teacher and completely committed to the ethics and principles of Permaculture.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

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Subscribe to Bordertown Email

]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559399 Thu, 18 Jun 2015 14:00:00 -0400 3553 1 15 full false Episode 14 - Mark Angelini Episode 14 - Mark Angelini Mark is co-founder and lead designer with Roots To Fruits Ecological Design - an ecological design firm committed to the restoration of local food systems, economies, and ecologies. Mark is a student of gardening, botany, ecology, food systems, herbalism, perennial agriculture and agrecology.

A true generalized specialist, Mark's work spans from forestry and gardening to craft and woodwork. He produces hand carved woodenware through Quercus Wood Craft.

He also writes and teaches about wild edible plants with Eat Here Now, where he works to foster a deep connection to local ecosystems and nature. He lives and works in southeast Michigan.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

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]]> Mark is co-founder and lead designer with Roots To Fruits Ecological Design - an ecological design firm committed to the restoration of local food systems, economies, and ecologies. Mark is a student of gardening, botany, ecology, food systems, herbalism, perennial agriculture and agrecology.

A true generalized specialist, Mark's work spans from forestry and gardening to craft and woodwork. He produces hand carved woodenware through Quercus Wood Craft.

He also writes and teaches about wild edible plants with Eat Here Now, where he works to foster a deep connection to local ecosystems and nature. He lives and works in southeast Michigan.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559440 Wed, 25 Mar 2015 14:00:00 -0400 3444 1 14 full false Episode 13 - Trevor Newman Episode 13 - Trevor Newman Trevor Newman is an amateur pomologist, avid gardener, student and teacher of regenerative design and all-around plant geek.

He owns and operates TerraNu Nursery, an edible and useful plant company based in Clarkston, Michigan and he owns and operates an edible landscaping firm called Roots To Fruits Ecological Design. In addition, Trevor is the founder and purveyor of The Fruit Nut a media project dedicated to promoting ecologically sound and economically viable practices.

He is a teacher and lecturer -- and passionately works to raise awareness about locally and ecologically grown food and has been involved for many years in developing southeast Michigan’s local food culture.

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]]> Trevor Newman is an amateur pomologist, avid gardener, student and teacher of regenerative design and all-around plant geek.

He owns and operates TerraNu Nursery, an edible and useful plant company based in Clarkston, Michigan and he owns and operates an edible landscaping firm called Roots To Fruits Ecological Design. In addition, Trevor is the founder and purveyor of The Fruit Nut a media project dedicated to promoting ecologically sound and economically viable practices.

He is a teacher and lecturer -- and passionately works to raise awareness about locally and ecologically grown food and has been involved for many years in developing southeast Michigan’s local food culture.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"
 

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559493 Sat, 23 Aug 2014 14:00:00 -0400 2932 1 13 full false Episode 12 - The Good Foot Project Episode 12 - The Good Foot Project he Good Foot Project, – “We left everything in Los Angeles and started down the road to sustainability. This is our Story.”

On April 28th, 2013 Anastasia King and JC Jarris began a year-long expedition, by RV, across the USA visiting low-impact organic farms and eco-villages to learn best practices in sustainable farming, construction, energy, water and waste management. This trip is to educate and prepare them for establishing their own sustainable, low-impact, eco-retreat and training center.

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]]> he Good Foot Project, – “We left everything in Los Angeles and started down the road to sustainability. This is our Story.”

On April 28th, 2013 Anastasia King and JC Jarris began a year-long expedition, by RV, across the USA visiting low-impact organic farms and eco-villages to learn best practices in sustainable farming, construction, energy, water and waste management. This trip is to educate and prepare them for establishing their own sustainable, low-impact, eco-retreat and training center.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"
 

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559513 Wed, 04 Jun 2014 14:00:00 -0400 3293 1 12 full false Episode 11 - Mark Krawczyk Episode 11 - Mark Krawczyk Mark is the owner of Keyline Vermont, a permaculture design, consulting and education business. As a student of permaculture design since 2000, Mark Krawczyk has explored tree crop and agroforestry systems, coppice forestry, natural building, traditional woodcrafts, community organizing and both small and broad acre site design.

Mark is the co-founder of Burlington Permaculture, where he works as a community educator and organizer. He is the owner/operator of RivenWoodCrafts - a traditional woodcraft and natural construction business.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy" 

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]]> Mark is the owner of Keyline Vermont, a permaculture design, consulting and education business. As a student of permaculture design since 2000, Mark Krawczyk has explored tree crop and agroforestry systems, coppice forestry, natural building, traditional woodcrafts, community organizing and both small and broad acre site design.

Mark is the co-founder of Burlington Permaculture, where he works as a community educator and organizer. He is the owner/operator of RivenWoodCrafts - a traditional woodcraft and natural construction business.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy" 

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559619 Tue, 01 Apr 2014 14:00:00 -0400 3929 1 11 full false Episode 10 - James Maroney Episode 10 - James Maroney James Maroney is an American Art Dealer and former Organic Dairy Farmer. He has a master’s degree in Environmental Law and Policy from the Vermont Law School, and is a passionate advocate for water quality, often focusing his attention on Vermont Dairy.

James puts forth a compelling argument to transition the entire Vermont Diary industry to organic. He also gives us a glimpse into his life as an Art Dealer, and provides a succinct history of the evolution of U.S. Industrial Agriculture.
 
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]]> James Maroney is an American Art Dealer and former Organic Dairy Farmer. He has a master’s degree in Environmental Law and Policy from the Vermont Law School, and is a passionate advocate for water quality, often focusing his attention on Vermont Dairy.

James puts forth a compelling argument to transition the entire Vermont Diary industry to organic. He also gives us a glimpse into his life as an Art Dealer, and provides a succinct history of the evolution of U.S. Industrial Agriculture.
 
Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559639 Tue, 21 Jan 2014 14:00:00 -0500 4079 1 10 full false Episode 9 - Lisa Mase Episode 9 - Lisa Mase Lisa Mase, of Harmonized Cookery is a whole foods cooking educator, food writer, translator, and herbalist, living between Italy, Vermont and New Mexico. As a young girl Leeza relocated from a small village in the Dolomites of northern Italy to the heartland of the US, in Kansas City. Leeza has first hand experience of the role that modern industrial agriculture can play in disrupting our cultures….inside and out!

In a thoughtful and practical way, Lisa explains the role food plays in our individual health, community resiliency and cultural heritage.
 
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]]> Lisa Mase, of Harmonized Cookery is a whole foods cooking educator, food writer, translator, and herbalist, living between Italy, Vermont and New Mexico. As a young girl Leeza relocated from a small village in the Dolomites of northern Italy to the heartland of the US, in Kansas City. Leeza has first hand experience of the role that modern industrial agriculture can play in disrupting our cultures….inside and out!

In a thoughtful and practical way, Lisa explains the role food plays in our individual health, community resiliency and cultural heritage.
 
Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559658 Sun, 24 Nov 2013 14:00:00 -0500 4368 1 9 full false Episode 8 - Chris Shanks Episode 8 - Chris Shanks Chris Shanks is a Co-Director at Project Bona Fide located on Isla de Ometepe in Nicaragua. He is a multi-talented teacher, organizer, permaculture enthusiast, and design visionary. A graduate of the University of Vermont, Chris is fascinated with living systems and whole systems design. When not working in the non-profit or design world he can be found masquerading as a builder, a mason, as a decent plumber, as a poor electrician, as a sailor, as a fanatic for bamboo, as a lover of palms, as a permaculturalist with a rock/tree climbing habit, and as an avid motorcyclist.

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]]> Chris Shanks is a Co-Director at Project Bona Fide located on Isla de Ometepe in Nicaragua. He is a multi-talented teacher, organizer, permaculture enthusiast, and design visionary. A graduate of the University of Vermont, Chris is fascinated with living systems and whole systems design. When not working in the non-profit or design world he can be found masquerading as a builder, a mason, as a decent plumber, as a poor electrician, as a sailor, as a fanatic for bamboo, as a lover of palms, as a permaculturalist with a rock/tree climbing habit, and as an avid motorcyclist.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559672 Sun, 13 Oct 2013 15:00:00 -0400 3611 1 8 full false Episode 7 - Jon Erickson Episode 7 - Jon Erickson Jon Erickson is Professor of Ecological Economics at UVM's Rubenstein School of Environmental and Natural Resources and Fellow at the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics. He teaches both undergraduate and graduate course in Ecological Economics, leads an international service-learning program in the Dominican Republic, and co-supervises a graduate certificate program in Ecological Economics.

His books include The Great Experiment in Conservation: Voices from the Adirondack Park, Ecological Economics of Sustainable Watershed Management, and Ecological Economics: a Workbook for Problem-Based Learning. Jon is also an Emmy award-winning producer of films such as the four-part PBS series Bloom on sources and solutions to nutrient pollution in Lake Champlain. He was Interim Dean of the Rubenstein School (2012-2014) and Managing Director of UVM's Gund Institute for Ecological Economics (2009-2012), serves on the board or advisory committee of numerous nongovernmental organizations.

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]]> Jon Erickson is Professor of Ecological Economics at UVM's Rubenstein School of Environmental and Natural Resources and Fellow at the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics. He teaches both undergraduate and graduate course in Ecological Economics, leads an international service-learning program in the Dominican Republic, and co-supervises a graduate certificate program in Ecological Economics.

His books include The Great Experiment in Conservation: Voices from the Adirondack Park, Ecological Economics of Sustainable Watershed Management, and Ecological Economics: a Workbook for Problem-Based Learning. Jon is also an Emmy award-winning producer of films such as the four-part PBS series Bloom on sources and solutions to nutrient pollution in Lake Champlain. He was Interim Dean of the Rubenstein School (2012-2014) and Managing Director of UVM's Gund Institute for Ecological Economics (2009-2012), serves on the board or advisory committee of numerous nongovernmental organizations.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559695 Wed, 14 Aug 2013 15:00:00 -0400 4056 1 7 full false Episode 6 - Angella Gibbons Episode 6 - Angella Gibbons Angella Gibbons, Founder and Director of EarthWalk has been connecting groups of children to the Earth for 25 years.

She was the founder and director of Lotus Lake Discovery Center in Williamstown, VT. from 1993-2003, creating and leading environmental and adventure based school programs for over 15,000 students, teachers, and community members. Angella led the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum Summer Kayak Building Expedition Program for teens, from 1998-2004. Her experiences also include teaching 1st and 2nd grade, and 7th and 8th grade science in CostaRica. Her certifications and coursework include: B.A. from UVM (1983), expeditions with the National Outdoor Leadership School and Outward Bound, and certification in Wildlife Track & Sign (Level III). Angella is a certified lifeguard and Wilderness First Responder.

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]]> Angella Gibbons, Founder and Director of EarthWalk has been connecting groups of children to the Earth for 25 years.

She was the founder and director of Lotus Lake Discovery Center in Williamstown, VT. from 1993-2003, creating and leading environmental and adventure based school programs for over 15,000 students, teachers, and community members. Angella led the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum Summer Kayak Building Expedition Program for teens, from 1998-2004. Her experiences also include teaching 1st and 2nd grade, and 7th and 8th grade science in CostaRica. Her certifications and coursework include: B.A. from UVM (1983), expeditions with the National Outdoor Leadership School and Outward Bound, and certification in Wildlife Track & Sign (Level III). Angella is a certified lifeguard and Wilderness First Responder.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"
 

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559713 Fri, 02 Aug 2013 15:00:00 -0400 4216 1 6 full false Episode 5 - Amy Seidl Episode 5 - Amy Seidl As a practiced ecologist, activist and mother of two girls, Amy Seidl writes with a lucid and passionate eye about the state of life itself in the age of global warming. By drawing on her 20 year career studying ecology, evolution, and butterflies across the North American continent, she illuminates the historical significance and the everyday impacts of global warming upon the 21st century landscape.

A passionate speaker on contemporary environmental issues, Amy frequently keynotes and lectures on climate change, renewable energy, local food systems, and the emerging field of sustainability science. Her research in ecological systems and alternative energy makes her a sought-after lecturer on global warming and she emphasizes the need to innovate and build new physical infrastructures that do not rely on fossil fuels.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"
 

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]]> As a practiced ecologist, activist and mother of two girls, Amy Seidl writes with a lucid and passionate eye about the state of life itself in the age of global warming. By drawing on her 20 year career studying ecology, evolution, and butterflies across the North American continent, she illuminates the historical significance and the everyday impacts of global warming upon the 21st century landscape.

A passionate speaker on contemporary environmental issues, Amy frequently keynotes and lectures on climate change, renewable energy, local food systems, and the emerging field of sustainability science. Her research in ecological systems and alternative energy makes her a sought-after lecturer on global warming and she emphasizes the need to innovate and build new physical infrastructures that do not rely on fossil fuels.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"
 

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559748 Fri, 21 Jun 2013 15:00:00 -0400 3282 1 5 full false Episode 4 - Elizabeth Courtney Episode 4 - Elizabeth Courtney Elizabeth Courtney began her career as a printmaker and ceramicist. After moving to Vermont in 1974, she developed an interest in land use issues.

In 1979, she enrolled in the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and graduated in 1982 with a Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture, she returned to Vermont to practice land use planning. Madeleine Kunin appointed her to the Vermont Environmental Board in 1985 where she served three governors over nine years and was chair from 1990 to 1994. She is a 1995 Harvard Loeb Fellow in Advanced Environmental Studies. She served on the Vermont Law School Board of Trustees from 1995-2004. Elizabeth was the Executive Director of the Vermont Natural Resources Council from 1997 to 2011 and the Legacy Project Director from 2011 to 2012, during which time she authored, with Eric Zencey Greening Vermont: The Search for a Sustainable State.

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]]> Elizabeth Courtney began her career as a printmaker and ceramicist. After moving to Vermont in 1974, she developed an interest in land use issues.

In 1979, she enrolled in the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and graduated in 1982 with a Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture, she returned to Vermont to practice land use planning. Madeleine Kunin appointed her to the Vermont Environmental Board in 1985 where she served three governors over nine years and was chair from 1990 to 1994. She is a 1995 Harvard Loeb Fellow in Advanced Environmental Studies. She served on the Vermont Law School Board of Trustees from 1995-2004. Elizabeth was the Executive Director of the Vermont Natural Resources Council from 1997 to 2011 and the Legacy Project Director from 2011 to 2012, during which time she authored, with Eric Zencey Greening Vermont: The Search for a Sustainable State.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559771 Fri, 14 Jun 2013 15:00:00 -0400 3376 1 4 full false Episode 3 - Joe Bossen Episode 3 - Joe Bossen Joe Bossen owns Vermont Bean Crafters, a conduit for VT-grown organic grains, beans, and vegetables into institutions across Vermont and New England.

Bossen moved his operation to the Mad River Food Hub last November. He has come a long way from the kitchen he was using a couple years ago on a West Rutland farm where pigs snuffled outside the windows hoping for reject test batches and friends helped him out in exchange for sporadic paychecks, bean burgers and beer.

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]]> Joe Bossen owns Vermont Bean Crafters, a conduit for VT-grown organic grains, beans, and vegetables into institutions across Vermont and New England.

Bossen moved his operation to the Mad River Food Hub last November. He has come a long way from the kitchen he was using a couple years ago on a West Rutland farm where pigs snuffled outside the windows hoping for reject test batches and friends helped him out in exchange for sporadic paychecks, bean burgers and beer.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"
 

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559787 Fri, 07 Jun 2013 15:00:00 -0400 3664 1 3 full false Episode 2 - Ben Graham Episode 2 - Ben Graham Ben Graham is an architectural designer by trade with a B.Arch from the Rhode Island School of Design. He is also a third generation woodworker and housebuilder, learning homebuilding first-hand from his grandfather. He is a partner in New Frameworks, the Natural Design Build company located in Burlington, Vermont.

Ben has been at the front of developing the natural building movement in Vermont and the Northeast since 2000 as a professional contractor and an organizer for the Network of Natural Builders in the Northeast - NBNE. His advocacy work has brought him attention in books, newspapers, TV and conferences.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

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]]> Ben Graham is an architectural designer by trade with a B.Arch from the Rhode Island School of Design. He is also a third generation woodworker and housebuilder, learning homebuilding first-hand from his grandfather. He is a partner in New Frameworks, the Natural Design Build company located in Burlington, Vermont.

Ben has been at the front of developing the natural building movement in Vermont and the Northeast since 2000 as a professional contractor and an organizer for the Network of Natural Builders in the Northeast - NBNE. His advocacy work has brought him attention in books, newspapers, TV and conferences.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559812 Fri, 31 May 2013 15:00:00 -0400 4005 1 2 full false Episode 1 - Ben Falk Episode 1 - Ben Falk Ben developed Whole Systems Design LLC as a land-based response to biological and cultural extinction and the increasing separation between people and elemental things. Life as a designer, builder, ecologist, tree-tender, and backcountry traveler continually informs Ben’s integrative approach to developing landscapes and buildings. His home landscape and the WSD studio site in Vermont's Mad River Valley serve as a proving ground for the innovative land developments featured in the projects of Whole Systems Design.

Ben has studied architecture and landscape architecture at the graduate level and holds a master’s degree in land-use planning and design. He has taught design courses at the University of Vermont and Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum as well as on permaculture design, microclimate design, and design for climate change. He recently served on the Board of Directors at the Yestermorrow Design-Build School and teaches there from time to time.

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]]> Ben developed Whole Systems Design LLC as a land-based response to biological and cultural extinction and the increasing separation between people and elemental things. Life as a designer, builder, ecologist, tree-tender, and backcountry traveler continually informs Ben’s integrative approach to developing landscapes and buildings. His home landscape and the WSD studio site in Vermont's Mad River Valley serve as a proving ground for the innovative land developments featured in the projects of Whole Systems Design.

Ben has studied architecture and landscape architecture at the graduate level and holds a master’s degree in land-use planning and design. He has taught design courses at the University of Vermont and Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum as well as on permaculture design, microclimate design, and design for climate change. He recently served on the Board of Directors at the Yestermorrow Design-Build School and teaches there from time to time.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"
 

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]]> Vic Guadagno Buzzsprout-11559942 Fri, 24 May 2013 15:00:00 -0400 3461 1 1 full false