Press releases, staff articles, and other news published by the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund features our efforts to accelerate the development of Vermont’s agriculture and food systems, forest products, renewable energy, waste management, and environmental technology sectors.
Start-Up Whiteout Solutions Piloting Forest Inventory and Mapping Technology in Northeast Kingdom By Christine McGowan, Forest Products Program Director at Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund. Vermont’s first sawmill opened in 1738, nearly a century before the first chainsaw was invented, not to mention cars or telephones. And it was at least 150 years before that sawmill … Read More
Young Farmers in Vermont Met with Challenges and Opportunities By Shane Rogers, Farm to Plate Communications Manager at the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund The landscape of farming is changing throughout the country, and Vermont agriculture is by no means an exception. To see this borne out, one only has to look to the dairy industry … Read More
The Rough Cut Issue No. 1, May 2020 By Christine McGowan, Forest Products Program Director at Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund. Dear Network Friends, I hope this inaugural Vermont Forest Industry Network newsletter finds you healthy and safe. I’ve started to write this many times in the last few weeks, only to have the world change … Read More
One of Vermont’s oldest manufacturers shifts from wood products to personal protective equipment. By Christine McGowan, Forest Products Program Director at Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund. As stay-at-home orders rippled through Vermont’s business community last month, one of the state’s oldest manufacturers, J.K. Adams began to experiment with cutting plastic instead of wood. “We have … Read More
Considerations and Tips for Communicating with External and Internal Audiences During COVID-19 By Kelly Nottermann, Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund Communications Director We are all connected and, now more than ever, we depend on one another for understanding, support and partnership to get through a worldwide event that none of us has ever experienced before. Some … Read More
Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF) announces the selection of the Energy 2020 cohort of the DeltaClimeVT climate economy business accelerator. Nine early-stage energy companies from across the U.S. and Canada will work with climate economy leaders, industry experts, potential partners and investment professionals over the next three months while completing an intensive curriculum, developed by … Read More
By Christine McGowan, Forest Program Director, Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund As a young entrepreneur, Sam Hooper carefully considers every decision he makes for his business, and every dollar he spends. So when Hooper, who bought the hundred-year-old Vermont Glove last year, was faced with replacing the building’s ancient heating system, he did his homework. “We … Read More
By Jake Claro, Farm to Plate Director at the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund I encourage everyone to read through the Vermont Agriculture and Food System Plan recently released by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) and the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF) in fulfillment of Act 83. The jointly created 2020 plan … Read More
Supporting the economic viability of local farms and increasing food access for all community members are often treated as separate, or even conflicting, objectives. The Farm to Plate Network, however, works to address these issues simultaneously, as both are necessary for economic stability and thriving communities. While models can be developed and sometimes implemented by … Read More
A Letter from Farm to Plate Director Jake Claro to the Vermont General Assembly and Governor Phil Scott: This year’s Vermont Farm to Plate Annual Report features highlights of key projects from 2019, including grass-fed beef industry development, local planning for food access, wholesale markets, and small-scale on-farm composting. You will also see how Rooted … Read More
Women-only trainings target growing number of female landowners in Vermont. By Christine McGowan, Forest Program Director, Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund “Learning to use a chainsaw was the most empowering thing I have ever done,” said Caitlin Gosciminski, a natural resources major at the University of Vermont. Gosciminski was among ten women who participated in the … Read More
Burlington Electric Department and Green Mountain Power working with start-up EVmatch to reduce “range anxiety” for Vermont EV owners. Electric vehicles (commonly known as EVs), are widely seen as one of the most promising ways to move away from fossil fuels, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, and move Vermont closer to its clean energy goals. Reliable … Read More
