University of Vermont
EN-10: Community Partnerships

In September 2022 the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) named the University of Vermont the northeast regional winner of the 2022 W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Engagement Scholarship Award in recognition of the extraordinary community engagement of the Agroecology and Livelihoods Collaborative (ALC),
Watch video: https://youtu.be/dwJ75Lv6gI0

The ALC works to help transform current food systems to ones that are ecologically sound and socially just. Its team of international scholars spans a wide range of disciplines—agroecology, ecology, sociology, entomology, soil health, geography, and others. The team uses a participatory action research approach that centers on the co-creation of evidence and knowledge, in partnership with farmers and other actors, to seek solutions to the challenges facing global food systems. They work primarily with small- to medium-sized farmers and nonprofits around the globe, from local growers in Vermont to smallholder coffee farmers in Mexico and Nicaragua.

One such partnership centers on the Benefits and Challenges of Urban and Periurban Agroecology in Vermont and Cuba. Initiated in 2016 with interests in Vermont and Cuba, this participatory action research (PAR) project is partnering with Vermont organizations conducting agriculture in the urban or peri-urban fringe of Burlington, Vermont. These include Intervale Center, New Farms for New Americans, UVM Catamount Farm, and Vermont Community Garden Network. A seed grant from the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics allows the project to undertake learning exchanges with urban and peri-urban agroecology counterparts in Havana, Cuba. Broadly, this initiative focuses on conducting a transdisciplinary agroecological analysis on the opportunities, challenges and resilience of urban and peri-urban agriculture for farmers, the organizations that support them and the cities where they are located.

Vermont-based projects, including the partnership described:
https://www.uvm.edu/agroecology/research/current-projects/local/

Partner descriptions:
https://www.uvm.edu/agroecology/community/partners/

The partnership simultaneously supports social equity and wellbeing, economic prosperity, and ecological health.

This ongoing, transformative project out of the Department of Community Development and Applied Economics works collaboratively with mobile home park residents and multiple agencies that serve them to inventory needs, and engage in collaborative and participatory research. As a result of these processes, driven by and responsive to residents’ concerns, residents are supported to engage in community organizing and advocacy.

For more information, please see: https://www.uvm.edu/~cdae

The Lake Champlain Sea Grant Institute develops and shares science-based knowledge to benefit the environment and economies of the Lake Champlain basin. The Institute is a cooperative effort of the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont (UVM) and the Lake Champlain Research Institute at the State University of New York College at Plattsburgh. It operates through partnerships with UVM Extension, state and local government agencies, and numerous other local organizations.

The institute hosts and partners in programs that coordinate outreach and education efforts across the Lake Champlain basin including:

Green schools

Lake Education and Monitoring Program

Vermont Lay Monitoring Program

Watershed Alliance

Watershed Forestry Partnership

Outreach topics include

Aquaculture

Boating and marinas

Climate change

Cyanobacteria

Flood resiliency and shoreline protection

Forests and water quality

Green infrastructure and stormwater

Lawn care and stormwater runoff

Oil spill prevention and response
Road salt and water quality

UVM Extension has many programs serving the state connected to sustainability in multiple dimensions: the Lake Champlain Basin Program which is working to reduce phosphorus run-off from farming practices that result in algae blooms; and the Northwest Crops & Soils project that supports Northern Grain Growers’ Cooperative, and is bringing heritage wheat back to Vermont in order to contribute to food capability.