Vermont boasts hundreds of rivers and streams — iconic swimming holes and fabled paddlers’ trails that draw more than a half million Vermonters and visitors each year to splash, float, and fish with families and friends. Unfortunately, the future of these areas is often a string of “no trespassing” signs, cutting communities off from their beloved rivers.
We help make sure Vermont communities have the chance to celebrate rivers for what they are — key parts of vibrant downtowns and village centers. To do this, we work with communities to reframe their relationship with their waterways and take action locally. We call it ‘Face the River’, a powerful combination of education and outreach that adds up to community-driven projects that reimagine how we connect with our local rivers.
To do this, we organize community conversations in towns big and small, and lead presentations for kindergartners and conservation commissions – all to help people understand how rivers move and shift over time, why they need space, benefits rivers provide to the community, and ways to take action to protect their local wetlands, streams, and rivers.
We also connect people with rivers through hands-on stewardship, outreach, and education. We work with volunteers to build riverside trails, plant trees and shrubs along riverbanks, pick up trash, and help keep our waterways in tip-top shape.
We’re connecting with people across southeast Vermont, leading volunteer activities, field walks, art workshops, and community conversations to ask: How could our communities turn to Face the River?
Vermont’s capital is a river city, with four rivers meeting downtown. When we asked people what future they’d like to see for these rivers, responses were nearly unanimous: riverfront parks and cafes, access for splashing, tubing, and paddling, and fewer dams. Now, we’re working to make that dream a reality.
Spend a day in the field, help at the office, lend your photography, or help in another way. Get a glimpse into the many ways volunteers make a difference for our rivers, and then add your name to make sure you’re the first to know about upcoming opportunities.