Community Led Resilience Pitch 2022

 Summary

This proposal would scope out and evaluate communities’ need for resiliency infrastructure through facilitated discussions and identification of project support, including access to existing and future resources for community-based and community-scale climate solutions to move forward.

This proposal would facilitate comprehensive community resilience by centering those most affected by climate and energy injustice in Orleans and Washington Counties. These two rural and energy-burdened areas often experience a “resilience divide” (USDN source) due to characteristics like low population density and a population that is inadequately included, valued, or compensated. Additionally, infrastructure and community support systems are often dispersed, under-resourced and therefore not readily accessible or utilized to their full potential. Through regionally-specific co-creation and community-led design, we would support and enhance pre-existing community capacity (leadership/people power and infrastructure) making Vermont communities in that region more equitable, thriving, and climate-resilient. Toward these goals we will evaluate the ability of existing models to increase community capacity and shift power to community-based decision makers for designing and implementing effective and equitable climate-resilient solutions. We will focus on existing research/approaches to rural resilience with an emphasis on those taking an integrated community-centered approach, including a review of existing community-based listening sessions to hear local priorities and initiatives already being implemented across the state.

Pitch + Summit Q&A

Presented by

• Sam Lash,  Climate & Energy Planner, Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission (CVRPC)
• Laura Cavin Bailey, Climate Economy Program Manager, Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD)
• Allie Webster, Energy Planner, Northeastern Vermont Development Association (NVDA)