MONTPELIER – The Center for an Agricultural Economy in Hardwick, Salvation Farms in Morrisville, and the Town of Plainfield Energy Team are included in the awardees for the fourth competitive round of the Vermont Council on Rural Development’s (VCRD) Climate Catalyst Innovation Fund. The funding supports projects that make a meaningful, community-scale impact. VCRD received more than $224,000 in requests and was able to fund 24 projects totalling $85,000 to support local climate solutions in Vermont.
Local projects include moving the Center for an Agricultural Economy’s (CAE) existing community garden beds from CAE-owned, flood-prone, public greenspace, to higher ground at the Hazen Union High School; Salvation Farms to expand year-round gleaning services to the communities of the Lamoille Valley and Northeast Kingdom; and the Town of Plainfield’s Energy Team to promote weatherization in community households, and help to pay down the cost of professional energy audits for each building.
Projects are practical and creative efforts that expand community resilience, reduce energy use, and create new approaches to challenging problems. Projects funded this year include solar generators, a farmer resilience network, youth climate projects, and many more.
The Climate Catalyst Innovation Fund award amounts range from $500 – $4,000, are selected by a panel of partners, and are based on demonstrating a mix of innovation, equity, resilience, replicability, collaboration, leverage, and meeting climate and energy goals. VCRD anticipates opening a new round of applications in the fall of 2025.
