VITAL COMMUNITIES
VT Mini Grants
VTrans is offering $500 grants to municipalities and K-12 schools to assist in building a statewide outreach and advocacy network for the Go! Vermont Program.
Bike, Walk & Roll to School
Bike, Walk & Roll to School Day is fun for students, gets them outside and moving, plus it helps build good habits! And, it reduces vehicle exhaust and traffic around the school.
Check out our Bike, Walk & Roll to School Day toolkit (BELOW) to help you get started organizing this event at your school.
Bike, Walk & Roll to School Day Toolkit
Event Planning Timeline & Guide
Communication Templates
Sample Bike Route Map for Chaperones
Bike & Walk Safety Guide for Students
Smart Commute for Schools
Smart Commute helps Upper Valley schools improve the way students and staff travel to school. Our goal is to increase the number of students and staff who take the bus, walk, bike, or carpool to school and:
- Promote sustainability within the school
- Lower environmental impacts and conserve resources
- Build good transportation and exercise habits
- Save money
- Minimize traffic in town and around the school
What is Smart Commute?
Smart Commute creates a tailored commuting program designed to meet the goals and interests of your school community. Starting with a short, online survey, we establish baseline data on commuting habits and then develop a sustainable commuting plan and work with you to implement it.
Project Deliverables
- Sustainable Commuting Plan including:
- Free strategies like internal promotions, walk-and-bike to school days, Way to Go! commuter challenge
- Low-cost strategies like bike racks and bike repair kits at school
- More ambitious, long-term options like infrastructure improvements
- Tools to connect carpoolers
- Annual surveys to track savings
- Ways to engage students and parents
Is it Affordable?
Vital Communities offers Smart Commute at no cost thanks to the support of the U.S. Department of Energy, The High Meadows Fund, Canaday Family Foundation, Vermont Agency of Transportation, and our many member organizations and individual donors.
Contact us by email or call Bethany at 802.291.9100 x111 to get your school involved.
Participating Schools
Lebanon School District
Frances C. Richmond Middle School
Marion Cross Elementary School
Hartford Memorial Middle School
Ottauquechee School
Resources
- VERMONT SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL
- Learn how to enroll as a partner school and browse their downloadable toolkits, curriculum materials, and web-based seminars on the Program Resources page
- NEW HAMPSHIRE SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL
- Learn how to enroll as a partner school and apply for startup grants
- BIKE SKILLS AND LOANER PROGRAM FOR SCHOOLS
- Local Motion is a Vermont-based nonprofit that promotes people-powered transportation and recreation
- DISCOUNT BIKE HELMETS FOR SCHOOLS
- Schools are eligible to purchase discounted bike helmets from Safe Kids Vermont. Contact Krissy Keating at 802.847.2291 or by email
- WALK AND BIKE TO SCHOOL DAY
- National Center on Safe Routes to School’s page on how to organize bike and walk to school days
- HOW TO ORGANIZE A BIKE-WALK EVENT
- This resource from Massachusetts Safe Routes to School includes a walkability and bikeability checklist and other resources
- GO! VERMONT
- Vermont’s website to connect commuters with carpools, vanpools, transit information, and bike and walk information
- FEDERAL SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL
- NATIONAL CENTER ON SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL
- SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP
Success Stories
Attention, Vermont Schools: It’s WAY TO GO! Time
This year's statewide Way to Go! School Challenge is September 25 - October 6. It’s a great way for schools to battle carbon pollution head-on!
[...]
More Bus Service for the Bradford Area and I-91
Exciting new bus service improvements from our partner, Stagecoach Transportation Services!
Expanded RIVER ROUTE (Wells River-Newbury-Bradford-Fa [...]
Gear Up for Everyday Bicycling
Do you want to bike more? Ready to take the next step, but not quite sure where to start? Vital Communities can help! In just one short hour, parti [...]
Hartford Middle Schoolers Bike and Walk
Around 150 students participated in Hartford Memorial Middle School’s first Bike & Walk to School Day on May 6. Organized by Vital Communities, [...]
Lebanon School District
In 2013, Smart Commute recognized the Lebanon School District as the small workplace of the year for its Safe Routes to School program, the use of bio [...]
Vital Communities Program News
Renewable Energy Funding for Small Bussinesses
Get the information you need to move forward with a renewable energy or energy efficiency project in Vermont or New Hampshire. Join Ken Yearman, Rural Development Energy Coordinator for Vermont and New Hampshire; a farmer ...more
Renewable Energy Funding for Farms and Small Businesses
Get the information you need to move forward with a renewable energy or energy efficiency project in Vermont or New Hampshire. Join Ken Yearman, Rural Development Energy Coordinator for Vermont and New Hampshire; a farmer ...more
Make Your Pitch to The Local Crowd UV!
We're accepting proposals for the next round of The Local Crowd Upper Valley crowdfunding campaigns! Do you have an incredible project just waiting to happen—one that would strengthen your business, our community, and the local economy—if ...more
Improve Your Small Business Digital Marketing Presence!
Calling all Upper Valley farms and small businesses! Could your business benefit from professional consulting services to improve your marketing? With Rural Development funding, Local First is hosting free marketing workshops AND providing an opportunity ...more
TLC Upper Valley Success!
Local Investing Success with TLC Upper Valley! The Local Crowd (TLC) Upper Valley is a locally based crowdfunding platform that empowers individuals to invest in the businesses, organizations and initiatives that support vital communities in our ...more
Flavors of the Valley Vendor Registration is Open!
Registration is open for the 19th annual Flavors of the Valley, the Upper Valley's premier local food tasting expo. With 50+ vendors and more than 800 attendees, Flavors is a valuable marketing opportunity for farms and ...more
Canaan Keeps FarmRaisers Alive
Kale. Carrots. Beets. Potatoes. Powerkraut®! These are just a few of the delightful local foods I've received from Root 5 Farm over the past few months as part of my fall FarmRaiser—a community-supported agriculture (CSA) fundraiser ...more
Canaan Keeps FarmRaisers Alive
Kale. Carrots. Beets. Potatoes. Powerkraut®! These are just a few of the delightful local foods I've received from Root 5 Farm over the past few months as part of my fall FarmRaiser—a community-supported agriculture (CSA) fundraiser ...more
Efficient Heating in Vermont
Check out this newly produced, six-minute YouTube video on Efficient Heating in Vermont, created by Two Rivers Ottauquechee Regional Commission. The video describes the types and benefits of home heating options and describes the current rebates ...more
Nov. 19 Green Real Estate Crash Course
Vital Communities is offering its popular Green Real Estate Crash Course again on Tuesday, November 19, at Service Credit Union, just off I-89 in Lebanon, NH. Earn 3 elective credits in VT and NH. Register online at vitalcommunities.org/greenrealestate This is NOT your average CE ...more
Fall Guided Quest: Trees of Dartmouth Quest
Join Vital Communities' Valley Quest Coordinator Beth Roy on a guided treasure hunt of the trees of Dartmouth. Celebrate fall as we discover many exotic trees around the Dartmouth College Campus and learn about their ...more
A New Quest to Celebrate the Mascoma River Greenway!
Have you been on the Mascoma River Greenway yet? If not, it is time to check it out. I had a fantastic time follwing the new Quest of the Mascoma River Greenway. I took my ...more
Celebrate Farm to School Month With Our Fall Farm to School Forum
Meet Your Local Farm to School Network! The Upper Valley Farm to School Network invites you to gather in your region to build local connections with peers and Farm to School practitioners, and access resources. Find ...more
A New Quest in Pomfret, Vermont
Earlier this summer I had the fortune of working with the amazing staff of the Artistree Community Arts Center in Pomfret, Vermont on offering a Questing Camp. Over the week the campers learned about the ...more
Stand in Your Circle of Strength and Lead
Ed. Note: On May 30, Vital Communities honored 12 community leaders who’ve added immeasurably to the vitality of the Upper Valley at its annual Heroes & Leaders Celebration. The following are the event’s keynote remarks ...more
Heroes & Leaders: Creating a Vital Upper Valley
Every spring, Leadership Upper Valley, a program of Vital Communities, hosts the annual Heroes & Leaders Celebration to recognize individuals who make significant contributions to the Upper Valley. In 2019, we are pleased to honor ...more
12th Annual Roundtable - May 7
You're Invited! The 12th Annual Upper Valley Energy Committee Roundtable is Tuesday, May 7, 5-8 pm in West Lebanon! This annual gathering of local energy volunteers is open to all, whether you serve on an energy committee, wish to ...more
A Lot Lighter with More Hands: Leadership Upper Valley
On the bright, sunny morning of June 13, Cobb Hill was waking up, and the soon-to-be graduating 2018 Leadership Upper Valley class was just arriving for their final meeting. Before the ceremony at Harpoon Brewery, ...more
