BRATTLEBORO — The Windham County Natural Resources Conservation District is offering a series of free webinars aimed at helping current and prospective landowners manage their properties to protect southern Vermont's natural resources.
These programs are the result of collaboration with the Lake Champlain Sea Grant, UVM Extension, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Southeast Vermont Cooperative Invasive Species Management Association.
Upcoming free webinars include:
• Mapping Tools for Landowners: Use your smartphone to map invasive species on your property, plan a tree planting project, or map a new trail. Consulting forester Andrew Morrison will provide you with the basic skills you need to make a custom map of your property, or anywhere else in Vermont, and send it to your smartphone so that you can use it to navigate, mark important locations, make a track of your travels, and much more.
This presentation will walk you through the process of creating a map using Vermont's free online Web Mapping Portal and then transferring it to the Avenza Maps application on an iPhone or Android device. Attendees will have the chance to see these tools in action and ask questions.
The program streams Tuesday, June 1, from 7 to 8 p.m. Register at bit.ly/614-mapping.
• Septic Systems for Current and Prospective Homeowners: Roughly 85 percent of Vermonters rely on an on-site waste system. Septic systems can have a significant impact on water quality and, without appropriate maintenance, systems can fail, leading to expensive repair or replacement.
Vermont hydrogeologist and sedimentologist Cristin Ashmankas will present a two-hour program covering how septic systems work, the various kinds of systems installed in the state, the regulatory framework for on-site wastewater systems and potable water supplies, and permit and approval issues that might occur when buying and selling property.
Participants can learn how to access online resources for answers to site-specific question and permit applications and how to contact regional managers.
The program streams on Wednesday, June 3, at 7 p.m. (register at bit.ly/614-septic-wednesday), or Thursday, June 17, at 10 a.m. (register at bit.ly/614-septic-thursday).
• Wetlands 101: What Every Vermonter Should Know: Vermont wetlands ecologists Rebecca Chalmers and Julie Follensbee will present on a variety of topics: how to help wildlife on your property, the role wetlands play in the state's changing landscape, how they protect water quality and reduce flooding, responsibilities of landowners, how to manage a wetland on your property, and opportunities for support and funding for restoration and conservation.
The program streams Wednesday, June 10, at 7 p.m. To register, visit bit.ly/614-wetlands.