VITAL COMMUNITIES
Valley Quest is an award-winning, place-based education program that uses treasure hunts to celebrate community, natural history, cultural sites, stories, and special places.
Super Quest 2019: Our Top 25 Quests
Celebrating Vital Communities’ 25 years with our best Quests.
What's Happening
Quest Spotlight: Trees of Hanover Quest
With this amazing stretch of sunny days we've been having, I wanted to get outside and do more Questing! This week, I went out to do the Trees of Hano [...]
Quest Spotlight: Quest for the Kestrel
This month, I wanted to spotlight a Quest on the Super Quest list!
If you haven't signed up for the Super Quest yet, there is still time! Register [...]
New South Royalton Quest!
We are excited to announce the Royalton Historical Quest, a new Valley Quest! This Quest will take you around the green in South Royalton while teachi [...]
New Brownsville VT Quest
I’m happy to announce that we have a new Quest! With the help of Mr. Butler’s 3rd & 4th grade class at the Albert Bridge School, there is a ne [...]
Intern with Valley Quest!
Are you passionate about the Upper Valley? Do you feel motivated to share our region’s special places with the community at large? Love working with [...]
Thank you, Ben!
This summer we had the privilege of working with Ben Fletcher, pictured second from left. Ben brought an incredibly well suited array of skills to Vit [...]
Bird and Quest
The Vermont Center for Ecostudies lists 382 species of bird that occur in Vermont, whether year-long resident or migratory visitor. The VCE’s Vermon [...]
Subbasin Spotlight!
This year's Aquatic Adventure Super Quest showcases the 5 subbasins that make up the Upper Connecticut River Valley, or, more fondly, the Upper Valle [...]
A Valley Side-Quest
While Questing is an absorbing hobby in its own right, it opens the door for a number of Side-Quests that you may find enrich the experience. One su [...]
The Connecticut River and Its Watershed
Since this year’s Super Quest explores the Upper Valley’s aquatic features in all their myriad forms, this makes for an opportune time to focu [...]
Photo Gallery
Vital Communities Program News
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
Fat Hat Clothing-Keeping it Local for 40 years
Forty years ago Joan Ecker started Fat Hat Clothing Company with free fabric remnants and a treadle sewing machine. Today F.H. Clothing Company is a nationally known family business that designs, produces and sells stylish, ...more
Housing: Regional Challenge—Local Solutions
Housing: Regional Challenge—Local Solutions We live, work, shop, and play across state and town lines, so it makes sense to work together to meet our shared housing challenge. Here is what some towns are doing, and how ...more
Celebrate Our Independents!
July is a time to celebrate not only our independence as a nation but the entrepreneurial spirit and freedom that is embodied by our local and independent businesses. Independents Week is an annual opportunity to ...more
Free Power of Produce Clubs for Kids!
Bring the kids to free, drop-in, fun and educational Power of Produce (POP) Clubs between now and August 18. Thirteen area farmers' markets host POP Clubs! Bring kids to the POP Club table where they ...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
Eat. Meet. Buy. Flavors of the Valley 2019 Vendors are here!
Check out the hottest new vendors and returning favorites! Samples are listed if the vendor has provided sampling information. Vendors will also have many delicious items for sale! April 7, 11 am - 3 pm at Hartford ...more
April Meet-Up Series for Beginning Farmers
We have an exciting project for new farmers in the White River valley portion of our region! The High Meadows Fund is supporting a series of free peer-to-peer gatherings for beginning farmers to build community and learn. ...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
Apply for a Farm to School Mini-Grant!
We are excited to announce the 2019 mini-grant program from Vital Communities' Upper Valley Farm to School Network! Funding is available to both Vermont and New Hampshire schools. Start dreaming up your farm-to-school projects—we want ...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
Beth Roy
Food & Farm Manager
Valley Quest, Food & Farm
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.