Thank you to everyone that came out to our successful Legislative Day Feb. 18th. Pictured here: Board Member Peter Murray chats with Rep. Casey Toof from St. Albans, VT.
Registration open for October Conference!
Registration is open! Due to Covid-19, our 9th annual conference has been moved to October 27th, and will be held online. Click here for more information.
Spring Conference 2018 date announced!
Spring 2018 Environmental Conference
The State of Vermont’s Water
June 6, 2018
Vermont Technical College, Judd Hall
Randolph, Vermont
Presented by VEC and the Dept of Environmental Conservation
The conference will include topics like groundwater and storm water rule updates, nitrates and chloride in water, agricultural best practices, permits, and more. Stay tuned for final agenda and speakers. Registration and sponsor opportunities will be open shortly! Questions regarding events can be sent to info@vectogether.org or call 802-747-7900.
VEC in Green Energy Times, October 2017 issue
Green Energy Times, October 2017 Issue
Regional Energy Organizations Lean into the Future with Long-term Goals
By Hope O’Shaughnessy
A number of regional New England organizations formed to address urgent environmental issues are expanding their mission to include access to renewable energy and sustainable communities. The Vermont Environmental Consortium (VEC) in Rutland, VT led by Miles E. Waite, PhD is another exemplar of energy and
environmental awareness in northern New England. One of the VEC’s signature efforts is to increase awareness of green careers. This fall they are sponsoring several career panels, which are free to members and non-members. The panels will be presented by VEC board members. Read full article here.
VEC Holds First Mixer Meetup
The Vec held their 1st Mixer at the Green Mountain Power Energy Innovation Center in Rutland on September 28 that was well attended. We heard from Weston & Sampson, Efficiency Vermont, EcoGlobal LLC and others. Mixer sponsors included Stone Env., Community Investments, Weston & Sampson, EcoGlobal, and VT Rural Water Association. We hope to have another mixer in Southern Vermont for members and others in the environmental community in December around the holidays, date TBA. The Mixers are free to members and non-members, have snacks/appetizers and drinks, and allow for networking, education, and speakers on various environmental topics in Vermont.
“Evolving Regulations and Emerging Contaminants” Conference
“Evolving Regulations and Emerging Contaminants”
Thursday, May 25th, 2017
Vermont Tech, Randolph, VT
Open for registrations, exhibitors, and Sponsors! Learn more here.
December 2016 E-newsletter
To view the VEC December 2016 e-newsletter please click here. Topics include: new members, membership renewal reminders, calendar of events, VEC projects, and more!
September blog post on VT Business Mag online
Read the VEC September blog post online here http://vermontbiz.com/news/september/vec-explains-pfcs-pfoa-pfos
Contributed by Steven LaRosa, Weston & Sampson
The 5th Annual Water Quality Conference open for registration
The Vermont Environmental Consortium and Vermont Technical College (VTC) are excited to announce registration is open for the 5th Annual Water Quality Conference. The conference will be held June 8, 2016 at VT Technical College in Randolph, VT. Vermont faces numerous water quality challenges attributable to human activity. Wastewater management, storm water runoff from impervious surface associated with roads, homes and businesses, drainage from farm fields and logging roads, and historic hydrologic modification of our streams and rivers all impact current surface water conditions. Act 64, Vermont’s 2015 Clean Water Act, validated that healthy waters are essential to our economy, health, property values, recreation, fisheries and wildlife, and the Vermont brand.
The 5th annual Water Quality Conference will highlight the tremendous opportunity for innovation in water quality management by showcasing a wide-range of efforts currently underway in Vermont to protect, restore and enhance clean water. The day’s events will include four panels; related exhibitors; keynote speaker; and more!
Read the full event press release>>>
VEC Presents Career Panel at UVM, where will the next one be?
The Vermont Environmental Consortium (VEC) recently presented a panel discussion for University of Vermont students on opportunities in environmental careers for all potential majors and degree programs. The first of these discussions was hosted by UVM in the UVM Career + Experience Hub in Burlington. VEC has designed and is offering these panel discussions free of charge to Vermont universities and colleges to meet the educational outreach component of its mission. The panels will be comprised of VEC members with diverse professional backgrounds in Vermont’s environmental sector.
This program builds on the Vermont Green Careers Website, developed by VEC for the Vermont Department of Labor. A wide variety of “green jobs” and careers can be researched on the website, including: Environmental Protection; Green Building, Manufacturing & Transportation; Green Education & Research; and Energy Production. The website guides a visitor to job description, educational requirements, wages, job trends and projections, specific to each potential job or career choice. A video accompanies each section where people discuss that specific environmental career. The website can be found at: http://www.vermontgreencareers.org/ or under the “Projects” tab of VEC’s member website www.vectogether.org. Career related events will be posted under the News tab on the Green Careers website.
Vermont educational institutions interested in hosting a VEC career panel should contact Kurt Muller at (802) 229-4600 or JKM@jcomail.com to learn more. To hear more about the first panel hosted at UVM please contact; Anna Smiles-Becker, Career Counselor & Internship Coordinator for Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources / University of Vermont at Anna.Smiles-Becker@uvm.edu or 802- 656-3002. Read the full press release here.
First panel hosted at UVM on March 15, 2016
December E-news
Check out our December e-newsletter with important information about membership for 2016 and upcoming events like our December 17 Holiday Party/Annual Meeting at Local 64 and our February Legislative Breakfast at the Statehouse! http://conta.cc/1OCFLB2
Event: A New Way of Seeing the Landscape Dec. 8, 2015
Save the date!
A New Way of Seeing the Landscape:
Tools for Helping Engineers and Licensed Designers Develop with Natural Resources In Mind
December 8th, 2015
9:00am-1:00pm
Vermont College of Fine Arts, Montpelier
Approved for 2 non-soil credits for licensed designers
Register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/a-new-way-of-seeing-the-landscape-tickets-19301038927
About the course
Civil engineers and licensed designers are key players in land development, providing advice to their clients that can influence how land is subdivided, developed, and managed in Vermont. These decisions create the built and natural landscapes that characterize the identity of the state.
Much of Vermont’s economy – including real estate, second home development, tourism, working lands, and recreation – is built on this brand and relies on a high-quality landscape. Part of what contributes to a high quality landscape are healthy watersheds, intact and productive forests, and wildlife habitat.
Given the importance of an intact, scenic, and healthy landscape to Vermont, this workshop-style training will focus on developing with natural resources in mind. It will provide engineers and licensed designers with background information and strategies for a) including natural resources in discussions with landowners; b) maintaining viable working forests; (c) promoting strategic site design for natural resource conservation; (d) reducing forest and habitat fragmentation; and e) encouraging options for forestland management and conservation during the land development process.
VEC Annual Meeting & Holiday Party
Please join us for the VEC Holiday Party & Annual Meeting being held on Thursday, December 17th, 2015 at Local64 from 5-7pm! We will be electing our board of directors, providing an update on VEC business, and enjoying refreshments and networking with members! Please RSVP to info@vectogether.org or call 802-747-7900.
Local64
43 State Street, Second Floor West – above Asiana House
Montpelier, VT 05602
5:00-7:00pm
4th Annual Water Quality Conference to include video viewing and biodigester tours!
During an extended lunch break at the 4th Annual Water Quality Conference on May 29, 2015 , Vermont Tech will offer self-guided tours of their “Big Bertha” Bio-Digester that is now at 100% production or the VTC campus farm. The water quality video, “What’s Your Watermark?” will have two showings moderated by Jen Fleckenstein, Marketing & Class II Water Operator from Clear Water Filtration. Learn more at https://vectogether.org/vec-events/spring-conference/.
VEC Welcomes New Board Members
The VEC would like to welcome New Board Members:
Jared Duval, Vermont Department of Economic Development
Martha Roy, The Verterre Group/Subterra Locating Services
The VEC would like to thank John Forcier for his past service on the VEC Board of Directors!
The VEC welcomes new member The Clark Group LLC!
The VEC would like to welcome The Clark Group, LLC who is the first member to join in our 2015 membership campaign! Since their founding in 2001, The Clark Group has been a leading provider of regulatory, policy, and strategic planning services. http://www.clarkgroupllc.com
VEC named in the Vermont 2020 CEDS
In June, 2014, Vermont became one of the few states in the nation to complete a statewide comprehensive economic development strategy (CEDS). The Vermont 2020 CEDS was completed with immense help and input from stakeholders around the state and with the generous guidance and funding from the U.S. Economic Development Authority. It was approved by Governor Shumlin and accepted by the EDA in July 2014.
Designed to help Vermont build become more resilient in the face of economic and natural challenges, Vermont 2020 is a strategic document that lays out goals we hope to achieve over the next few years and some initial projects and initiatives that will help us achieve them.
As mentioned in the report, “The Vermont Environmental Consortium has been working for the past several years to identify and work with green businesses to build on the strengths of the cluster.”
You can view the complete CEDS report here.
Over 125 attend VEC 3rd Annual Water Quality Conference this June!
On June 4, 2014 almost 130 people gathered on a beautiful summer day on the waterfront of Lake Champlain at Main Street Landing in Burlington for VEC’s Third Annual Water Quality Conference. At the event Gov. Peter Shumlin signed into law legislation that sets new permitting standards for building within 250 feet of the state’s lake shorelines, The Shoreland Protection Act, which will take effect July 1 and applies to all lakes and ponds greater than 10 acres in size. We would like to thank all involved, including sponsors, presenters, panelists, exhibitors, and many more!
View VT Digger article By JOHN HERRICK / VTDigger, 06/05/2014: Shumlin administration weighs taxes and other means of funding Lake Champlain cleanup.
View our VEC Facebook page to view all photos from the event.
Call for Sponsors!
The VEC is currently seeking support for their upcoming 3rd Annual Water Quality Conference on June 4, 2014. Become an event sponsor today!
Green Careers website completed!
Green Careers Website Completed!
The VEC is excited to announce that the new Vermont Green Careers website is now live at www.vermontgreencareers.org!
The website was developed to assist users in finding information about identifying and beginning a green career in the Green Mountain State. The Vermont Department of Labor contracted with the Vermont Environmental Consortium to develop the Green Careers Website. The website is one aspect of a larger Vermont Business Sector Analysis project conducted by the Vermont Department of Labor and Vermont Technical College. The project was created to develop strategies and tactics to align the state’s workforce education and training resources with the needs of employers. It addresses the Vermont’s Next Generation Commission’s finding that one of the most significant barriers to business development in Vermont is a lack of skilled workforce. (The full Commission’s findings can be found here: Next Generation Report (PDF)
Website Highlights!
- Learn about careers in Environmental Protection; Green Building, Manufacturing & Transportation; Green Education & Research; and Energy Production.
- Watch video interviews of people in green careers!
- Read recent 2013 reports from the Vermont Department of Labor Economic and Labor Market Information Division
- Get detailed job descriptions, educational requirements, wages, job trends and projections, and more!
Save the date for VEC Spring Conference
Mark Your Calendars!
The Vermont Environmental Consortium Presents:
3rd Annual Water Quality Conference: Stormwater
June 4, 2014
Main Street Landing, Burlington, VT
8:00am to 3:30pm
Guest Speaker: Pierre Leduc, Corporation Baie Missisquoi
Please join the VT Environmental Consortium, VT Department of Environmental Conservation, VT Agency of Transportation, VT Agency of Agriculture, VT Rural Water Association, municipal leaders, environmental advocates, technical experts, and others to debate the issues of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Lake Champlain Phosphorus Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), and to discuss policy changes, funding, and program development.
More details to be announced shortly.
VEC’s Annual Meeting & Trade Show
*SAVE THE DATE*
Thursday November 21, 2013
Vermont Environmental Consortium’s Annual Meeting and Trade Show
CELEBRATING ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN VERMONT’S ENVIRONMENTAL BUSINESS SECTOR
Sponsored by VEC and Green Mountain Power
At GMP’s Energy Innovation Center
Merchants Row, Rutland VT
8:00 AM – 6:00PM
The Trade Show will provide an opportunity for small/emerging Vermont businesses in the environmental sector to participate in an affordable trade show while sharing the stage with established green businesses. Vermont educational institutions that have been recognized for their environmental programs and projects will be invited to attend and showcase their efforts as well. There will be a panel of Vermont investors who focus on environmental investments and opportunities for a limited number of companies to make presentations about their work during the course of the day. A complete agenda and information about sponsorship opportunities will be forwarded shortly.
If you would like information about sponsorship opportunities or to participate in the Trade Show we encourage you to contact Jill Michaels (802-765-4102) for more information or look for a more detailed announcement about this event in September.