VINS offers events to mark anniversary of Irene

The Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) is offering several free events during the month of August to mark the one-year anniversary of Tropical Storm Irene. These events are intended to help residents of the Upper Valley understand the storm’s long-term impacts, both on people’s lives and the environment.
On Wednesday, August 15, from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, Marie Levesque Caduto, the Agency of Natural Resources Watershed Coordinator for southeastern Vermont, will present a lecture entitled ‘Irene Impacts and Recovery ‘Why, Where and When?’Caduto will discuss the reasons behind the areas affected and not affected, and recovery time for our rivers and streams.
The second lecture in our Irene series will feature Vermont State Climatologist and University of Vermont Associate Professor of Geography Dr. Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux speaking on ‘Revisiting Tropical Storm Irene one year later ‘The New Flood of Record for Southern Vermont’on August 20 from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
Then, a very special community event, as Starting Over Strong Vermont (SOS-VT) presents ‘A Year after the Storm: What We Can Learn from Nature and Each Otherabout Recovery-Rebuilding-Resilience,’a two-part program at the VINS Nature Center on August 27. The first part of the program, from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm, will be for children and features arts-and-crafts, a puppet show, and emergency preparedness exercises.
Following this, from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm, adults and teens are invited to participate in a workshop addressing issues of emotional recovery after disasters. Drawing on the example of Nature’s resilience for inspiration and understanding, participants will learn and share from fellow attendees’knowledge and experience supporting each other in their struggles and successes.
And finally, on the one-year anniversary of the storm, August 28, VINS will offer free admission to the Nature Center. All of these special events are VINS way of helping the community to cope with and move beyond the effects of Irene, and to provide a place where all residents of the Upper Valley and beyond can come to understand the changing natural world. For more information about all VINS Nature Center’s programs, activities, and events, please visitwww.vinsweb.orgor call802-359-5000.
Founded in 1972, the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) is a nonprofit environmental education, research, and avian rehabilitation organization in Quechee, Vermont. VINS' mission is to motivate individuals and communities to care for the environment with a priority placed on making high-quality, compelling, and fun environmental education programs and learning opportunities accessible to more people and communities. Stay connected with VINS through our website atwww.vinsweb.organd nature blog atvtnature.blogspot.com.
SOS-VT is supported by FEMA grant funding and is administered by Washington County Mental Health Services in conjunction with other designated mental health agencies and community services in the hardest hit regions of our State. They provide free short-term support for individuals, groups, and communities impacted by flooding from Tropical Storm Irene. Their goal is to promote recovery and resilience for those affected, on any level, by the storm. SOS-VT teams conduct community and home-based outreach, door-to-door counseling, and psycho-educational services at group meetings and programs, free of charge. Find out more atstartingoverstrongvermont.org.
Soruce: VINS