Building Watershed Resiliency in Vermont and Beyond

Yestermorrow is offering a tuition scholarship for Vermonters working on water infrastructure issues in response to last year's severe flooding. The school is offering an important class July 8-13 for those working to recreate Vermont's water infrastructure following the destruction caused by last May and August's floods.
Design for Watersheds, Ecosystems, and Infrastructure is a 5-day course that will explore how we develop our water infrastructure as a functioning part of the greater watershed—as a contributor to hydrological and ecosystem health. To support efforts to build resiliency in Vermont, Yestermorrow is offering a 20% tuition discount to all municipal and state employees and to anyone volunteering on recovery projects.
"When we saw the damage Irene did here in Mad River Valley and along the East Coast, we knew that our community of instructors could help bring insight and expertise to the work ahead," explains Kate Stephenson, Yestermorrow's Executive Director. "We asked two of the nation's thought leaders on this topic to join us in Vermont this summer to share their expertise. We want to make this knowledge accessible to people doing this important work."
Taught by Pete Muñoz and Joel Glanzberg, experts in environmental design and engineering who have worked on water restoration projects across the country, the class will take participants through a journey of understanding watersheds; how they work, and how to work with them to provide for human needs. Utilizing the Mad River watershed as a case study, participants will explore the benefits of, and approaches to, human-made and adapted "green infrastructure," including bioswales, constructed wetlands, and water gardens, as opposed to typical pump and pipe systems. The class will also look at floodplains and discuss where and how development is (and is not) appropriate. An additional weekend workshop, Redesigning Wastewater, is being offered immediately preceding this course.
Design for Watersheds, Ecosystems, and Infrastructure begins Sunday, July 8, and runs through Friday, July 13; the course can be taken for credit through the University of Vermont. For more information or to request the tuition discount, contact Monica DiGiovanni, Admissions Director: [email protected]. You may also register for the course at www.yestermorrow.org or by calling 888-496-5541.