For climate advocates, two truths often conflict: Individuals cannot, alone, solve the climate and biodiversity crises — and, small actions, on a local scale, can have a tangible impact on the climate and the environment.
Many Vermonters are prepared to honor this second truth on Saturday, as they gather for Green Up Day, an annual clean-up of the state’s roadways, waterways and public spaces.
Meanwhile, leaders and citizen scientists passionate about the natural elements of the Green Mountain State — and the larger, more troubling picture of climate change — have invited Vermonters to get involved on the ground.
VTDigger asked experts where help is needed this spring. Here’s what they said.
Search for butterflies (and other science projects)
Twenty years ago, the Vermont Center for Ecostudies divided the state into sections and asked Vermonters for help finding and identifying butterflies. Now, they’re conducting the study again, and the results will help scientists understand which butterflies call the Green Mountain State home, which have shifted their range and which might need extra conservation measures to thrive.
The Vermont Butterfly Atlas is “pretty much entirely powered by volunteer butterfly enthusiasts across the state,” said Nathaniel Sharp, a biologist with the center. Last time around, some volunteers spent hours in the field and traveled far distances for the work. Others stayed at home, monitoring their backyards to document the critters that came fluttering by.
Prospective volunteers can log their findings on the website e-butterfly.org, whose data is automatically swept up by the Vermont Butterfly Atlas.
Spring is a good time for beginners to get involved, Sharp said, because fewer butterflies are out and about, and the ones that emerge early are easier to identify.
“Right now, it’s just a handful of species that are some of the first ones to emerge in the spring, so there aren’t a whole lot of ID challenges,” he said. “A lot of the butterflies are pretty big and colorful and easy to spot, like the mourning cloaks you might see walking around in the forest this time of year.”
The Butterfly Atlas isn’t the only citizen science project in need of volunteers. The Lewis Creek Association needs people power for water quality projects. The Vermont Center for Ecostudies is looking for help identifying vernal pools. On rainy and warm spring evenings, amphibian enthusiasts have been ferrying migrating salamanders across roads, helping them avoid the dreadful impact of a car tire.
Photographing and logging species on iNaturalist can help scientists in Vermont identify species that are invasive, endangered or new to the state.
Help the birds and the bees
Pollinators perform an essential role for both nature and humanity, transferring pollen from the male parts of one flower to the female parts of another, giving the fertilized plants the ability to produce fruit and seeds.
Pollinators are in decline, and climate change is expected to exacerbate the trend. But across the country, people are creating pollinator habitat in their backyards, which, if done correctly, can serve as a win for the critters, the plants that depend on them, and the larger food chain.
The key to a successful pollinator garden is research, according to Jane Sorenson, who owns Northeast Pollinator Plants and River Berry Farm in Fairfax.
While many companies sell pollinator seed mixes, it’s important to cultivate plants that are native to the area and will benefit the pollinators most in need, she said.
“Buyer beware, indeed,” Sorensen wrote in an email. “There are lots of companies toting pollinator mixes, but it’s super important that you are getting something that would be catered to your particular ecoregion or at least the Northeast region of the US.”
She suggested a fact sheet from the University of New Hampshire Extension that outlines how to create a wildflower meadow from seed. The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department also suggests a list of native plants that are beneficial to pollinators.
Don’t have a backyard? Pollinators need habitat in urban areas, too.
“Habitat is important everywhere, even in your window boxes and containers where you can provide some great pollinator foraging opportunities,” Sorensen said. “Some of our common annuals can supply great pollen and nectar treats including: Alyssum, Salvias, Lantanas, Zinnias, Dianthus, Calendula, Batchelor Buttons, Marigolds, Cuphea, Osteospermum, Portulaca, Cleome, and Torenia.”
Sorensen said interest in protecting pollinators has been “surging.”
Recycle well
Some recycling ends up unwanted overseas or in the ocean. That’s not the case in Vermont, according to state officials.
“About 90% of what does get recycled by Vermonters actually gets recycled, and the 10% is contamination that gets filtered out through the sorting process,” said Anne Bijur, materials management supervisor with the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation.
Most of Vermont’s recyclables are sold to facilities on the East Coast or in Canada, Bijur said.
The 10% of materials that can’t be sold typically head to the landfill. To avoid that fate, Vermonters can make sure their recycled materials are lightly washed to remove food residue.
“If you’re not going to go through the process of cleaning that peanut butter jar, it’s better to just put it in the trash because that’s going to contaminate the rest of the recycling,” Bijur said.
The Department of Environmental Conservation offers a list of recycling do’s and don’ts on its website.
Consider the food chain
Purchasing locally-produced food can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the amount of transportation needed to get from the producer to the consumer. In Vermont, many farms operate on a smaller scale than farms in other parts of the country or around the globe.
Often, farmers who are most engaged in work that helps the environment — protecting water quality, reducing reliance on pesticides and fertilizers, and managing soil for carbon sequestration — do so on thin financial margins. Lawmakers and advocates are currently searching for more markets and methods to keep, for example, the organic milk industry viable in Vermont.
Vermont’s organic certification is strict, which can make it more difficult for the state’s organic farmers to compete with other organic farms in different parts of the country.
“I don’t think people quite realize that when they choose to buy local, certified organic products, they’re getting the highest quality food and they’re supporting land-based businesses who are doing everything in their capacity to ensure the resiliency and thriving of Vermont’s natural resources,” said Christine Hill, communications director for the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont.
Eating locally helps support local farms, but it is not a financially viable option for many consumers — particularly during a period of financial hardship created, in part, by dramatic inflation.
Vermonters looking for a budget-friendly way to engage with sustainability in the food chain could get to know a local farmer, reduce food waste, compost responsibly or eat less meat.
Those who want to eat local, but don’t have the budget, can check out programs like Crop Cash and Farm Stand Match, which give Vermonters with 3SquaresVT or SNAP benefits extra money at farmers markets and farm stands. Farm Share provides subsidies for community supported agriculture shares (CSAs).
