DUMMERSTON — Needed trail work, a publication highlighting local hikes, the support for a townwide natural resource inventory, and a natural resources training program for a local community all are expected to go forward thanks to recent grants awarded by the Association of Vermont Conservation Commissions.
In addition to Dummerston, grants were awarded to conservation commissions in Bradford, Milton, and New Haven. Each will receive $600 from the AVCC Tiny Grant program.
The Dummerston Conservation Commission received help to pay for the creation of a brochure with trail descriptions and maps of trails in the town. The brochure, Walks and Hikes in Dummerston, will also note places in town selling local food.
“We are proud to be able to help advance, in a small way, conservation projects identified and carried out by local conservation commissions,” said Jake Brown, chair of AVCC. “Supporting this sort of work is what AVCC is all about.”
AVCC has offered this grant program for several years and plans to continue to do so in the coming years. Conservation commissions (or groups working to become conservation commissions) who are members of AVCC are eligible.
For nearly two decades, the nonprofit AVCC has supported the growth and success of local conservation commissions, acting as a clearinghouse for information for local conservation commissions, publishing a newsletter, maintaining a listserv, and holding an annual meeting.
Conservation commissions are non-regulatory bodies designed to advise planning commissions and selectboards on natural-resources issues. Often these commissions get involved in natural resource inventories and land management of town-owned lands as well as many other types of projects.
Dummerston's Conservation Commission is at www.dummerstonconservation.com.