Closing a chapter & huge thank-you to Corrie!All good things must come to an end, and so we are letting you know that Corrie Miller is stepping down as executive director with Friends to take on a new role with the Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP) as Aquatic Organism Passage Restoration Specialist. She has led Friends of the Mad River for eight and a half years and helped our Mad River Valley community tackle issues of climate change, flood resilience, and watershed health.  Corrie on Burnt Rock, the watershed divide, with Camel's Hump in the background. In nearly a decade as executive director, Corrie has transformed this organization. Her work connected Friends to a wider network of partners across the state and within the Mad River Valley. Through careful stewardship of these networks, she brought resources and expertise to the community, made important conservation planning and projects a reality in the Mad River Valley, and shared on-the-ground ideas and learning with statewide colleagues in support of clean water and resilience. Corrie has done extraordinary work over the last eight years, expanding Friends' programming and deepening our engagement in community initiatives throughout the Mad River watershed. A thriving Valley community requires a healthy Mad River ecosystem, and Corrie has been a dedicated advocate for nature in a changing climate. We will miss her energy, vision, and leadership." We are excited that Corrie will take her experiences in the Mad River to her new role at the Lake Champlain Basin Program. She will continue to be a leader in advancing restoration projects and fostering collaboration across New York and Vermont. We look forward to working with her in this new capacity on aquatic organism passage projects here in the Valley. A note from Friends board leadershipCorrie is leaving us in a strong position, with a number of successful programs and partnerships and a strong team in place to take the next steps. Over the last few years, we’ve had several new members join the board, bringing new energy and a breadth of expertise. And, Ira Shadis, Friends stewardship manager, has been working closely with Corrie on key initiatives and has played a growing and vital role across the organization. We are developing a robust recruitment plan to find our next executive director. We are confident in what the future holds, and we are so excited to continue learning and working with this community in the coming years to steward clean water, safeguard the ecosystem’s health, and build the community’s resilience to climate change. We have been so lucky to have Corrie on our team these last few years and now we want to celebrate all she has accomplished.”  Corrie & Ira sharing Friends of the Mad River's work with the community at Lareau Farm - Photo Credit: Clark Amadon  Since October of last year, the seventh-grade students at Harwood Union Middle School have explored the web of water, and life, that surrounds their school. The exploration culminated in a month-long artist-in-residency project this March. The Watershed Project brings art and science together at schools across the greater Winooski watershed. At Harwood, this meant inviting two teaching artists, Renee Greenlee and Alissa Faber, to join up with Friends of the Mad River to design and offer a project that brings artistic expression and watershed science together. The Lozelle Brook, which runs through a wooded area behind the school and is crisscrossed by Harwood’s cross-country trails, has become the muse for the students’ artistic exploration of their place in the watershed.
Throughout March, the students created watershed-inspired art that combined block prints, screen prints, and poetry. The art will be installed on wooden signs throughout the trail network at Harwood and help students and visitors learn more about Lozelle and Dowsville Brooks, both of which run through school property, as well as the wider watershed. “I used to think that the watershed was much smaller, but now I know how far it really goes,” says Harwood student Jade Lawson. “[The Watershed Project tells] the story of how the landscape changes over time, and how the life in that area changes and adapts with it, because the land, plants, creatures, and watershed are all connected,” says Harwood student Harmony Devoe. “The Harwood property is an amazing resource for implementing place-based learning. The opportunity to integrate art into our learning experience has broadened students’ understanding of the natural systems that connect us, and deepened the students’ connection to place,” says Harwood teacher Angela Selvaggio. “Having a personal connection to nature is not only good for you, but it also tends to lead to more active participation in caring for the environment,” says Friends of the Mad River Stewardship Manager Ira Shadis. “The idea of a watershed can be a little abstract. It's not always easy to picture the huge basin formed by the surrounding mountains or the path all the streams and brooks take before they reach the Mad River (and the Winooski River and Lake Champlain beyond). This is where art, storytelling, and getting outside can make a big difference.”  Holly Greenleaf Students at Champlain Elementary School and South Burlington High School are also engaged in the Watershed Project with support from Friends of the Winooski River. “Big topics like climate change can feel overwhelming,” says Michele Braun of Friends of the Winooski River. “This project helps students see changes in the landscape and the weather through a local lens and share information about a nearby brook with their community.”
“I want [the community] to think about where plants and animals grow and live. I want them to see that if you affect their environment, it affects them. I want them to realize that their actions count,” says Harwood student Sydney Schaller. “A place that connects us all, a place that we call home, that is the Mad River Watershed,” says Harwood student Marley Greene. The signs and artwork will be finished over the next few weeks and installed at the school this Spring. The Watershed Project was funded bу an agreement awarded bу the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to NEIWPCC in partnership with the Lake Champlain Basin Program.  Since 2015, the Ridge to River Coalition has found success supporting strategic clean water and flood resilience actions in the Mad River Valley. In addition to fostering communication and collaboration across the watershed – among planning commissions, selectboards, road crews, and engaged community members – the 5-town coalition laid the foundation for the Storm Smart program and ongoing stormwater mitigation planning and construction efforts. In 2021, members of the coalition came together to recognize the strong ties between clean water, flood resilience, and the broader picture of how this Valley may be impacted from a changing climate. Seeing an opportunity to use their established 5-town structure and their experience doing excellent flood resilience planning and turning it into action, the group considered broadening their scope. In 2022, Ridge to River participants will consider next steps as they seek to adapt and craft a vision and plan for climate resilience in the Mad River Valley. A critical part of this effort is the inclusion of broad and diverse voices and ideas. Are you interested in joining with neighbors across our 5-town watershed as part of the Ridge to River Coalition and working together to build our community’s resilience to climate change? Learn more about Ridge to River's past work by visiting Ridge To River - Friends of The Mad River and take the first step towards helping to define what work comes next by contacting us at info@friendsofthemadriver.org.  Photo Credit: (Top) Ira Shadis for Friends #madshedlove (Above) Friends, 2017 Ridge to River led Road Roundtable that brought road crews from the five towns together |
Friendsof the Mad River Archives
September 2022
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