Living the Good Green Life in Vermont

Vermont is synonymous with environmental consciousness, sustainability, creativity, and the entrepreneurial spirit; concepts that are slowly being adapted in other regions, however, these are qualities that have been an integral part of the Vermont lifestyle since the 18 th Century.

Early residents reflected the entrepreneurial spirit. In 1790, Samuel Hopkins of Pittsford received the first United States patent issued for a process that made potash out of wood ashes, an important ingredient in making glass and soap. Vermont inventors influenced the world. Thaddeus Fairbanks invented the platform scale in St. Johnsbury in 1830. By 1880, Governor James Hartness held over a hundred different patents, including the turret lathe and the turret equatorial telescope. Samuel Morey operated a steamboat on the Connecticut River in 1793, before Robert Fulton. People who live or work in high-rise buildings can thank Elisha Graves Otis, inventor of the Otis elevator. William B. Clapp was the very first to can meat in the nation. John Deere invented the plowshare that tamed the West, and Charles Orvis made fly-fisherman happy all over the world with his ventilated fly-fishing reel. The company he founded in 1856 is still in business. Over 30 Vermont inventors received hundreds of patents in the 19 th Century for machinery and products that are still used today.

Domenico Grasso, Dean of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences at the University of Vermont, moved to Vermont three years ago from Northampton Massachusetts where he was the founding director of the engineering program at Smith College. When it comes to environmental issues, Grasso is an expert. He recently stepped down as Vice Chair of the EPA Science Advisory Board in Washington, D.C. and is now chairing the Governor's Commission on Engineering, the Environment, and Economic Development. "Vermont is a great place to relocate to," he says. "This is just a great environment, and the people's and state's commitment to the environment is one of the reasons I chose it and one of the reasons I live here."

When the Grassos moved to Shelburne, the family had no problems settling in. "The kids love it. My wife loves it. They feel like they've lived here their entire lives." They especially love the year round access to outdoor recreation they now have. "When we were in Northampton, even though it was cold in the winter, we didn't have as much accessibility to the mountains. In Vermont, winter is as great a season as the summer because you can get out and enjoy winter sports. We have a boat, so the summer is as much fun for us as the winter."

There are two things special about Vermont, Grasso says. "The first is natural beauty and the second is the unique nature of the people. I think staying involved and working with the people to help protect both of those is something I will continue to do and find exciting."

Melody Brown Burkins, Associate Dean for Economic Development and Research Partnership at UVM had no problems adapting to Vermont winters--she was born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska. A former environmental aide for Senator Patrick Leahy, Burkins had the opportunity to work on renewable energy issues, an involvement that made her fall in love with Vermont even more.

"I moved to Vermont in the early 1990s. It felt like home, like what I knew in Alaska--open spaces, and independent people who know how to embrace the natural environment around them. It felt immediately like home. It's the place I want to raise two high-energy boys." She and her husband chose a home in Jericho. "My husband is a stay-at-home dad to our four-and-a-half and three-year-old. Vermont is what he uses every single day. They're out biking, hiking and walking every day. We've imbedded ourselves in Jericho. I serve on the Jericho Planning Commission, and my husband is on the Conservation Commission."

Burkins is the liaison to the business community for her department. A Geology major at Yale, she has always been a true lover of the outdoors. She concentrated on earth and environmental sciences in grad school, receiving her doctorate in that discipline. Her career and her lifestyle are an extension of her interests.

"In Vermont, you can have the beauty of nature and be connected with the world," Burkins says. "I work with people in D.C., in New York, and overseas. Our college works with people in China. Vermont is a beautiful state where you can find a peace and still be connected with the world."

Vermont has long attracted those who wanted a lifestyle that enhanced their creativity. Marie Tedford, author and Rare Book dealer moved to Vermont from Hawk Ridge, New Jersey in the fall of 1968. "We had talked about Vermont with friends of ours--about getting way from the city and traffic, and from just the general complexion of things down there. The whole atmosphere was changing. We wanted to move where we could have some land, freedom, and woods."

Her husband, Ted, was a reporter for the Bergen Record. He was hired to work for the Burlington Free Press. Also a writer, she wrote for quilting magazines, wrote poetry, and also wrote children's books for educational media. Ted became an editor at the Free Press. "When my husband said we were moving to Vermont, I said, "not unless I can have a rooster!' And then we got one," she says. "We moved to Irish Settlement Road at a time when people were insulating homes. We took advantage of the tax breaks, burned wood, had our own vegetable garden, raised chickens, and had sheep and horses. We had open space and the neighbors were wonderful. Vermont was everything we thought it would be."

Don Mayer, CEO of Small Dog Electronics in Waitsfield, left his native Chicago and the University of Illinois to attend Goddard College, packing up his family to move to Vermont. "I always had an interest in alternative education and by the time I decided to move I had two children. It seemed that the type of learning offered at Goddard was best suited for the position I was in." The environment wasn't his initial attraction, although he was looking for a rural lifestyle. "When I got here, I learned a lot. I was soon enamored by the environment, the state's commitment to the environment, and all of the things that make Vermont such a unique place."

This commitment helped grow Small Dog from a home business in 1994 to a company with 41 employees and the position of a major player in the sales of Apple computers and electronic peripherals. "Basically we ascribe to a philosophy of multiple bottom lines to describe our success--people, planet, and profit. Protecting the impact we have on our environment and protecting our planet is very essential to the DNA of our company."

Vermont made his success possible, Mayer says, "because of the commitment of Vermonters to energy conservation and protection of the environment. Being good neighbors made it easy to emulate those values and be accepted because we are emulating those values."

The daughter of a gentleman farmer, Melinda Moulton grew up on a 900-acre farm in Pennsylvania. Moulton and her husband moved to Vermont from Denver in 1974 to be closer to his family in New Hampshire, and to be closer to her hometown. When they moved to Huntington, they were concerned with issues of the time. "Vermont was more progressive in its thinking. We really believed there would be a day not far away that we would have to be able to sustain ourselves. We were prepared for nuclear holocaust. Then that didn't come. We got involved with our careers and life went on."

Moulton teamed up with Lisa Steele and redeveloped land on the Burlington Waterfront. "We decided that we wanted to make local business in Burlington a beautiful experience. Everything we are oozed from our pores into our work. We didn't know any better, we just were who we were and our work represented that." Main Street Landing has transformed the Waterfront, providing live theatre, cultural offerings, office and retail space. "Everything we do in our lives is focused on the greater good of social consciousness and environmental integrity. When my husband brought me to Vermont, I thought, 'what am I going to do here?' I was nervous I would be stuck on top of a mountain. That's not what happened. He was right. Now I actually revere my commute. I love the peace of the mountains."

Other businesses have been prospered after their owners moved to Vermont. Burton Snowboards is an example. Jake Burton Carpenter moved to Vermont to start Burton Snowboards in 1977. The first couple of years were a struggle, but the company has grown to employ over 350 people and the sport he pioneered is now officially an Olympic competition.

Daniel Fogel, President of the University of Vermont, was recently named 2007 Vermonter of the Year by the Burlington Free Press for his leadership and commitment to ensuring that UVM is in the forefront of sustainability research that encourages the development and growth of environmentally friendly entrepreneurial businesses. As a result, the University was named as one of the top six schools in sustainability on the Sustainable Endowments Institute's College Sustainability Report Card, which measures campus greening efforts and related endowment practices. The top grade earners, each of which were given an A-, are Harvard University, Dartmouth College, Middlebury College, Carleton College, the University of Vermont, and the University of Washington. UVM's use of biodiesel, switching most of its fleet to natural gas, and the formation of an environmental council dedicated to reducing the institution's carbon footprint contributed to its high score.

Written expressly for www.BurlingtonVermontHomes.com by MaryAnn DiSpirito Wales

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