Creating Resilient Communities is a partnership — an ad hoc association of state and federal agencies, municipal officials, watershed organizations, residents, consultants, and researchers — committed to making communities more resilient to flooding and the hazards of climate change. The group was launched in 2011 in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene, which devastated large portions of the Deerfield River watershed. Franklin Conservation District convened a meeting at that time to discuss restoration opportunities and promote resiliency to future extreme events.

The next meeting of Creating Resilient Communities is slated for summer 2023
check back for details

10th Anniversary Meeting

Over 10 years of collaborating on research, grant proposals, and restoration within the shared watershed and Franklin County, the group now includes Vermont counterparts within the Deerfield River watershed. The video below is of the 10th Anniversary Meeting, held on March 10, 2022, which includes presentations by representatives from several partner organizations.

Meeting attendees also participated in a World Cafe-style process to envision:
1) What could healthy and resilient communities in the Deerfield Watershed
and surrounding region look and feel like?
2) Considering the social/environmental/economic issues facing the region
(particularly under conditions of climate change), what actions and/or
equitable new directions could help create truly resilient communities?
3) What is needed to advance the work of the Resilient Communities
partnership and other initiatives in the region over the next 10 years and
beyond?

This “tablecloth” document is a synthesis of the responses generated from the discussion of these questions by the small groups.

After clicking the play arrow, hover over the bottom margin of the video window to see the progress bar to advance to your desired timestamp.
Creating Resilient Communities 10th Anniversary Meeting March 10, 2022

00:00:00
00:09:06

00:27:22

00:34:59
00:46:04

01:15:08

01:37:45
01:45:32

Introduction (Michael Leff & Carolyn Shores Ness)
FCD Resilient Communities Collaboration Retrospective (Michael Leff)
Understanding Healthy and Degraded Rivers/Protecting Infrastructure by Working with Our Rivers (Christine Hatch, UMass)
The Vermont Rivers Program (Marie Caduto, VT DEC)
The Science of Fluvial Geomorphology (Nic Miller, Field Geology Services)
How to Create Resilient Communities/Riversmart Communities (Christine Hatch)
Q & As (Kimberly MacPhee, FRCOG)
END

Past recorded meetings of the
FCD Creating Resilient Communities partnership

After clicking the play arrow, hover over the bottom margin of the video window to see the progress bar to advance to your desired timestamp.
Creating Resilient Communities Meeting June 24, 2021

00:02:50

00:06:45


00:25:55
00:38:45

00:49:25

01:20:00
01:28:56

Welcome and Overview (Carolyn Shores Ness, FCD; Michael Leff, FCD & MACD)
Vermont DEC’s Aquatic Invasive Species Program in Upper Deerfield River Basin (Jack Widness, VT DEC; Cory Ross, Windham County Conservation District)
FCD’s Sustainable “River Access” Report (Michael Leff)
Outdoor Recreation on Deerfield River Long-Term Planning and Short-Term Management (Jessica Atwood, FRCOG)
Mohawk Woodlands Trail Partnership, Story Map (Kimberly MacPhee, FRCOG)
Open Discussion and Partner Updates
Adjourn