Bordertown

The Bordertown Flood Series!

The Bordertown Flood series will introduce you to some of Vermont’s small businesses, community members, government officials anyone in the community that is collectively experiencing the 2023 flood disaster in Vermont. 

On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover

Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet
 
 If you’ve been to Montpelier, you know that this is one of the best small towns in America. Ask most people why they live here and they will talk about the community and the small-town feel. We hope that listeners will learn a bit more about our town, get connected or stay connected…and if you can, make a donation to help with flood relief. I ask you to please visit Montpelieralive.com and see how you can help.

 Today on the podcast we welcome Cindra Conison, owner of the Quirky Pet. The Quirky Pet is an independent pet store located at 5 State Street in downtown Montpelier and has become a tourist destination from folks traveling from all over the world. The store opened exactly 12 years ago today!

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the Upper-Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

Visit the Quirky Pet website
Make a donation to the Montpelier Flood Relief at Montpelier Alive
Make a donation to the broader Vermont flood effort through the Vermont Community Foundation.
Special Thanks for Ward Joyce for his generous support of this podcast
Music for this Podcast - Mighty River by Railroad Earth

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This episode features my daughter Elena, and her friend Juniper! Recorded on Dec. 16th, 2019 this is a fun conversation we had at the Rabble Rouser Chocolate Factory! A fun chat with two 9-10 year-olds...pre-pandemic!

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Cara Robechek is the Executive Director of the Vermont Energy Education Program, whose mission is to build a deep understanding of energy through education, encouraging choices that result in sustainability in our communities, economy and environment. Cara has been with VEEP since 2014. Cara has worked in nonprofit development and managemen at the Center for While Communities in Waitsfield, served on the board of Planting Hope, as an elected Parks Commissioner for the City of Montpelier, and as a member of the Montpelier Energy Advisory Committee. She has a BA in Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College, and an MS in Renewable Natural Resources and Development form the University of East Anglia. She lives in Montpelier with her husband and two children.

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Skyler currently worksin Washington DC as Project Manager for the Center for the Advancement of a Steady State Economy. He joined that organization in June, 2018, following his completion of his Masters program in Community Development and Applied Economics from the University of Vermont. Skyler also received a certificate in Ecological Economics from the Gund Institute at UVM. Skyler’s research focused on ecological economics and sustainable food systems.

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Libby Bonesteel is the Montpelier/Roxbury School District Superintendent. Prior to that she was the director of communication and instruction at Franklin Northwest Supervisory Union. She also has experience as a consultant, adjunct professor, teacher, co-principal, principal and teacher. 

Libby holds master’s degrees from Michigan State University and Teachers College-Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree from Hobart and William Smith colleges.

She resides in Jericho with her family 

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In this episode we welcome Michele Braun, the Executive Director of the Friends of the Winooski River.

Michele took the helm at the Friends of the Winooski in 2018. She was the founding president of the watershed organization twenty years earlier. In her prior role as the planner for the Town of Northfield, Michele was responsible for the acquisition and demolition of 18 homes damaged in Tropical Storm Irene. Following that buyout, she coordinated a multidisciplinary project team focused on restoring the floodplain to reduce flood risk and enhance downtown recreation opportunities.

Previously, she worked as an environmental policy analyst, responsible for managing projects, designing and facilitating multi-stakeholder meetings and workshops for city and state governments, US EPA, watershed organizations, environmental health associations, and multi-partner collaborative environmental planning projects. Michele has a Master of Science in Natural Resources Planning from the University of Vermont, and she earned her bachelor of arts degree in Government & Legal Studies and Romance Languages from Bowdoin College. She has served on the Board of the Montpelier Roxbury Public Schools since 2013, and enjoys a busy life in Montpelier with her husband and children.

Music for this episode: "The Good Life" by Railroad Earth.

This episode is sponsored by the Cosmic Cotton Tie Dye Studio. (enter "Bordertown" at checkout to receive 20% off your purchase)

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n this episode we welcome Tom Sabo, the Executive Director of the Center for Sustainable Systems.

Tom is an award-winning high school teacher, leading sustainability educator, prominent local food activist, and most recently the founding executive director of the Center for Sustainable Systems. He is a chief architect of a model of service learning that integrates curriculum through a school greenhouse and gardens that provide food for the school system’s lunch program, using soil derived from the cafeteria food scraps.

Sabo is a member of the state-wide Farm To Plate Education and Workforce Development Group, and serves on the Vermont State Standards Advisory Board for science. He is also a member of the Steering Committee of the Central Vermont Food Systems Council and co-chairs the Food Education Committee. Through this work, he coordinates the Growing Local Fest, an annual community celebration that promotes local food and music, while raising money for school gardens.

Tom is a 2009 recipient of the Milken National Educator Award and a 2011 Rowland Foundation Fellow. He has taught biology and environmental science at Montpelier High School for the past 24 years and holds an M.S. from the University of Massachusetts at Boston.

Music for this episode: "Storms" & "Been Down This Road" by Railroad Earth

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In this episode we welcome Jim Birmingham, Food Service Director of the Montpelier Roxbury School District.

He is a graduate of Johnson State College and attended culinary school at Le Cordon Blue, London, UK. He is an American Culinary Federation Certified Executive Chef who spent several years working in resort hotel kitchens around Stowe, VT and more than a decade as a Chef Instructor at New England Culinary Institute in Essex and Montpelier. Jim lives in Waterbury with his wife and two teenage sons. He enjoys gardening, hiking and is an avid alpine and backcountry skier.

Rob Meehan provided the music for this episode.

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In this episode we welcome David Zuckerman, The Lieutenant Governor of Vermont.

David Zuckerman is the co-founder of Full Moon Farm, a NOFA-certified organic farm in Hinesburg, Vermont.

Inspired by then Congressman Bernie Sanders, David first ran for the Vermont House in 1994 while enrolled at the University of Vermont. He lost by 59 votes, but came back two years later to become the fourth Progressive Party member ever to serve in Montpelier.

David served for fourteen years (1997-2010) in the Vermont House of Representatives representing the City of Burlington in Chittenden 3-4. He served on the Natural Resources and Energy Committee (6 years), Agriculture Committee (6 years, 4 as Chair) and Ways and Means Committee (2 years). David’s leadership spans many issues including renewable energy, affordable housing, livable wages, cannabis reform, GMO legislation, universal healthcare, progressive taxation, marriage equality, and end-of-life choices.

David served in the Vermont Senate as a Progressive/Democrat since his election in 2012. He was the Vice-Chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture.

In 2016, David was elected as the 80th Lt. Governor of Vermont.

Music for this episode: "The Good Life" & "Lovin' You" by Railroad Earth

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In this special "Halloweed Episode" we welcome author, William Alexander.William shares a few ghost stories and his experience as an author of fantasy, science fiction, and other unrealisms for young readers.

His novels include Goblin Secrets, Ghoulish Song, Ambassador and Nomad. His latest novels are the companion set A Properly Unhaunted Place and A Festival of Ghosts.

Honors include the National Book Award, the Eleanor Cameron Award, Junior Library Build Selection, Mythopoeic Award Finalist, International Latino Book Award Finalist, Calvino Award Finalist, Minnesota Book Award Finalist and Earphones Award for audiobook narration.

William studied theater and folklore at Oberlin College, English at the University of Vermont, and creative writing at the Clarion Workshop. He currently serves as the faculty chair of the Vermont College of Fine Arts in the program in Writing for Children and Young Adults.

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