Harvest Lessons

UVFTS Community-curriculum (17)Teach students about healthy eating, local food, and natural history with standards-based, hands-on lessons around seasonal foods for grades K-4. Lessons can be used by teachers, or  volunteers (parents, community members, teachers, and high school students). The program has been very successful in Barnard, Pomfret, Hartland, Windsor, Fairlee and West Fairlee, receiving praise from teachers and the volunteers, and inspiring excitement and learning in students.

For more information on trainings, lessons, and programs contact our staff at uvfts@VitalCommunities.org.

Harvest Lessons Program Manual

Harvest Lessons Program Manual

Lessons To Use Again and Again

Lessons To Use Again and Again

Apples

Apples

Dry Beans

Dry Beans

Beets & Rutabagas

Beets & Rutabaga

Berries

Berries

Broccoli & Cauliflower

Broccoli & Cauliflower

Herbs

Herbs

Kale

Kale

Mixed Greens

Mixed Greens

Winter Squash

Winter Squash

Tomatoes

Tomatoes

Cabbage

Cabbage

Parsnips

Parsnips

Eggs

Exploring Eggs Lesson Plan
Egg Diagrams
MyPlate Coloring Sheet
Eggs Measurement Worksheet
Eggs Background Information
Eggs Take-Home (Recipes)

Zucchini Challenge

Zucchini Challenge Lesson Plan
Cards for Game
Zucchini Challenge Take Home
Plant Journal Materials
Plant Growth Chart
Tomato Planet Activity
Soil Recipe Activity

Whole Grains

Whole Grains Lesson Plan
Match the Grains Activity Sheet
Diagram of a Wheat Kernel
Whole Grains Take-Home (Recipes)

What Local foods Can We Eat in March?

Eating Locally in March Lesson Plan
Magic Pink Dip Recipe Full Page
Magic Pink Bean Dip Recipe Half Page
Eat Locally Coloring Sheet
Background Information on Local versus Industrial Food

Seedy Mystery Snack

Seedy Mystery Snack Lesson Plan
Little Sprout Activity
Seedy Mystery Snack Recipe
Seedy Mystery Snack Recipe Half Page
Photo Clues for Mystery Snack

Harvest of the Month

Learn More

harvest of the monthThis is month is Parsnips, here is some info for you and recipes, etc.

Search Our Valley Food & Farm Guide

What's Happening

Visit Our Food & Farm Blog

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Calendar

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Vital Communities Program News

Oct. 26 Guided Valley Quest: Trees of Dartmouth

  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

Join Us: Open House December 6!

Our annual Open House is one of our favorite events of the year—a chance to catch up with old friends of Vital Communities, make welcome new connections, and celebrate positive change in the Upper Valley ...more

Exciting TLC Projects to Fund!

The Local Crowd Upper Valley is gearing up to launch nine amazing projects that will build Upper Valley community and economy. Here they are! Amplified Arts Toybox Theater Amplified Arts LLC, is a collaborative arts venue in ...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

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

Chime In: 9/18 Hartford Hearing on Affordable Housing in Vermont

Concerned about the need for more affordable housing in both Windsor County and Vermont? Join a discussion with local business leaders, affordable housing advocates, and community members on the challenges facing Vermont and the possible local ...more

Welcome Norwich Solar Technologies!

We are proud to welcome Norwich Solar Technologies as a Local First Promoter Sponsor!  The White River Junction-based renewable energy company provides end-to-end solar solutions to businesses in Vermont, New Hampshire, and throughout New England. ...more

Have an Idea That Could Use a Lift?

Local Businesses, Farmers,Entrepreneurs, Nonprofits, Community Initiatives: Do you have an incredible project just waiting to happen? Want to grow your organization, our community, and the local economy, but don’t have access to capital? The Local Crowd (TLC) Upper Valley is ...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

2nd Annual Curb The Car Day - Friday, May 17!

On May 17, 2019 the rest of the country is celebrating National Bike to Work Day, but here in the Upper Valley we’ll be taking it a step further with our second annual Curb The ...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

Dazzlingly Reflective, 80's Style

We love pairing style with nighttime visibility, so we've ordered REFLECTIVE SLAP BRACELETS to reward people who bike or walk to Flavors of the Valley on Sunday, April 7! If you bike and walk to the ...more

Get your bike, boots, or shoes ready!

Get your bike, boots, or shoes ready! From our friends at Local Motion comes the Winter Edition of Vermont's Bike-Walk Challenge, February 1 to 8! Simply record two bike or walk commutes in the Go! Vermont app ...more

Seeking Bids from Solar Installers by Nov. 30

Vital Communities is teaming up with Kearsarge Climate Action to launch a Solarize Kearsarge campaign in spring 2019, following on the tails of the upcoming Weatherize Kearsarge campaign launching in January 2019. We are seeking proposals ...more

Lebanon Area Businesses - Join us on Sept. 27

So many small businesses in the Upper Valley are burdened with high energy costs. And not enough time to do anything about it! We've got some good news for you. A group of Lebanon residents are ...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

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Staff

Becka Warren

Food & Farm Coordinator

Food & Farm

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Food & Farm

— Becka Warren, Food & Farm Coordinator

Part of Vital Communities' Food & Farm team since 2012, Becka fosters relationships that keep agriculture a daily part of community life in the Upper Valley. She works with current and future farmers, businesses, schools, and partners across Vermont and New Hampshire to build connections that support farm viability and keep our landscapes working. Becka lived in Seattle for many years, where she worked for the Washington State University Small Farms Program, Cascade Harvest Coalition, Seattle Tilth, and area vegetable farms. Becka is also a writer, founding and writing Ask Umbra at gristmagazine.com until 2009. She holds a BA from Brown University and lives in Hartland, Vermont, with her family.



Beth Roy

Food & Farm Manager

Valley Quest, Food & Farm

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Valley Quest, Food & Farm

— Beth Roy, Food & Farm Manager

Beth leads Vital Communities' Food & Farm team, including its Upper Valley Farm to School programming, and also oversees Valley Quest. Before joining Vital Communities, Beth Roy worked in the environmental and place-based education fields for 17 years in various positions around New England including at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science and as the Director of Education at the Nature Museum in Grafton, Vt. Beth is also on the boards of the Vermont Science Teacher Association (VSTA) and the Vermont State-Wide Environmental Education Programs (SWEEP), a coalition of dozens of individuals and organizations promoting sustainability and environmental education in Vermont. Beth is a New Hampshire native and lives in Hartland, Vt., with her husband and two children. When Beth is not working you will find her exploring the woods around her home with her family or cooking up a new taste test (made of local foods, of course!) for her children.



Nancy LaRowe

Food & Farm and Local First Coordinator

Local First, Food & Farm

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Local First, Food & Farm

— Nancy LaRowe, Food & Farm and Local First Coordinator

Nancy joined Vital Communities as the Food & Farm Coordinator in 2014. She works to support and grow our local food system and economy. Nancy has lived, worked, and farmed in the Upper Valley for more than 25 years and believes our community is healthier and stronger when our connections to food and the farms that produce it stay vital.

Nancy's informal job title is Farmer-in-Residence: she also runs a pasture-based cattle farm in Norwich. Nancy is on the Board of the Norwich Farmers' Market and a retired Norwich volunteer firefighter and EMT. She loves puttering in the garden, hiking with her dog, and visiting farmers' markets.