Vermont Center for Ecostudies

Vermont Center for Ecostudies Uniting People and Science for Conservation As mounting human activity transforms ecosystems around the world, many wild animals face an uncertain future.

The problem is complex and international in scope, but the Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE) has developed an effective strategy to conserve biodiversity. We deliver the science people need to make good decisions for wildlife. We then join with partners to implement and evaluate conservation actions. Our programs capitalize on VCE’s core strengths to advance three complementary goals: to sustain

the health of northeastern ecosystems, to protect vital Caribbean habitats, and to map biodiversity for conservation. Each program monitors for warning signs, identifies threats to wildlife, and promotes science-based actions before populations become imperiled. Involving citizen scientists in this work creates advocates for sound conservation policy. Collaborations with government agencies and other non-profits puts good policy into practice. In this way, we translate robust conservation science into measurable benefits for wildlife.

Join us July 7-10 for our four-day immersive community science workshop! This course is designed for science educators l...
06/18/2026

Join us July 7-10 for our four-day immersive community science workshop! This course is designed for science educators looking to deepen their understanding of community science and incorporate field methods into curricula.

A $150 stipend will be provided for participants. Continuing education credits are also available.

Learn more and register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Vn3i1XXOuYD5_aKcbUct__B-u82qpbKX5wc1BTdcK4U/edit

Join us for June’s Youth Birding Club meetup!VCE Emeritus Executive Director Chris Rimmer and local birders Erica Faughn...
06/17/2026

Join us for June’s Youth Birding Club meetup!

VCE Emeritus Executive Director Chris Rimmer and local birders Erica Faughnan and Joe Ransdell-Green will lead this trip at Post Pond and Chaffee Wildlife Sanctuary, Lyme NH.

🐦 Sunday, June 28, 7:30-8:30 a.m.

🐦 Meet at the Post Pond boat launch just off Route 10, ~1 1/4 miles north of Lyme village

🐦 Ages 7-14 (plus parents and/or grandparents) with an existing or potential interest in birds

🐦 Binoculars will be provided for anyone who doesn’t have them

🐦 Trips are limited to 15 spots for kids. Please register in advance. Registration is first-come, first-served
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdcHxpDTBvW24uZZg0732krVhi60dqfIj94N3er-0HWVINZUQ/viewform

06/10/2026

VCE conservation scientist Desirée Narango was unaware that as she released a banded Blackpoll Warbler on the top of Mount Mansfield, she had an audience! Meteorologist Alex Wasilenko and his team had been watching her work all morning via their live weather feed, and decided to share his excitement on live TV. If only all our scientists could be hyped this way!
We study the migratory birds on Mansfield to better understand how the populations are doing and what we can do to conserve them. That day Desirée was trying to capture a blackpoll warbler she calls ‘the WCAX bird’ because his territory is right across from the WCAX TV building. And she was successful!! The team recovered a small ‘backpack’ from the bird that stores data that will tell us all about his migratory journey last year-where he went, how long it took him to get there, and how fast he flew. These birds spend the summer on Mansfield and migrate all the way to South America to spend the winter. Learn more at our Mount Mansfield Songbird Research project page: https://vtecostudies.org/what-we-do/projects/mansfield

Tis the season!
06/09/2026

Tis the season!

05/28/2026

Biologists from the Vermont Center for Ecostudies and a community scientist tell us about the hundreds of insect species in Vermont.

On moonlit nights, our volunteers listen for the increasingly rare song of the Eastern Whip-poor-will. Monitoring these ...
05/22/2026

On moonlit nights, our volunteers listen for the increasingly rare song of the Eastern Whip-poor-will. Monitoring these birds helps us track their prevalence, a key step on the road to setting conservation priorities and management plans.

We encourage you to bring a friend on one of our open routes: Averill, Orwell, Pawlet, Salisbury, Vernon, or South Tunbridge, VT.

Interested? Email Sarah Zahendra at [email protected].

And if you want a taste of the experience, read VCE Associate Director Dan Lambert's reflection on the meditative power of these nighttime surveys: https://vtecostudies.org/blog/in-the-silence-of-whip-poor-wills

Photo by Ben Fletcher

VCE’s original Birdathon team, the Green Mountain Goatsuckers, will be starting their Birdathon day before dawn tomorrow...
05/18/2026

VCE’s original Birdathon team, the Green Mountain Goatsuckers, will be starting their Birdathon day before dawn tomorrow. They’ll bird throughout the Champlain Valley, from Middlebury to the Canadian border, in hopes of finding over 100 bird species in one day. Right now, every bird species they find will raise an additional $7.15 for VCE’s biodiversity research. Challenge these five fearless VCE staff members to find as many species as they can by making a per-species pledge to one of the team members today!

https://charity.pledgeit.org/VCEbirdathon2026/teams/

Tomorrow, one of VCE’s staff Birdathon teams, the Backwater Bogsuckers, will take to the fields and waters of the Upper ...
05/14/2026

Tomorrow, one of VCE’s staff Birdathon teams, the Backwater Bogsuckers, will take to the fields and waters of the Upper Valley with a goal of spotting 40 bird species throughout their Birdathon morning. Right now, every bird species they find tomorrow will raise an additional $1.92 for VCE’s biodiversity research! You can push that higher—challenge these VCE staff members to find as many species as they can by making a per-species pledge to one of the team members today, and stay tuned tomorrow for updates on their outing!

Make a pledge: https://charity.pledgeit.org/VCEbirdathon2026/teams/

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20 Palmer Court
White River Junction, VT
05001

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