courtesy of vermont research news
Vermont Research News:
Women at work, brook trout, comic book art and more…
October 18th, 2017
Center for Research on Vermont
WOMEN AT WORK Vermont’s solar energy industry is growing – and looking more female. The state ranks third highest in the country in solar jobs per capita, according to a recent report by the Solar Foundation. Also noteworthy: 48 percent of Vermont’s solar workers are female, significantly higher than the national average of 28 percent. Overall solar job growth increased 29.3 percent from 2015 to 2016.
The voices of women on Vermont farms are brought to life in a series of interviews by UVM researcher Mary Peabody, the director of the Women’s Agricultural Network. Women have always played a critical role on Vermont’s farms, Peabody says, and are increasingly becoming more visible.
BROOK TROUT POPULATION STABLE Vermont’s populations of wild brook trout have remained stable since the 1950s, according to a new study by the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Dept. Despite the species’ decline as a whole, data collected from 138 streams within 17 watersheds showed that the state’s official cold water fish is thriving. This is especially good news for Vermont’s environment—since brook trout need cold, clean water at high elevations to survive, they are direct indicators of a healthy aquatic environment.
DAIRY FARM DECLINE The Vermont Milk Commission recently met for the first time in six years, kicking off hearings to re-assess the health of the state’s Dairy industry and to plan for the re-authorization of the U.S. Farm Bill. While a 2016 report found that dairy brings $2.2 billion annually in economic activity to the state, unstable milk prices and other problems continue to challenge farmers. Today, there are just 786 cow-only dairy farms in Vermont, down from 1,051 eight years ago. Read more here.
VERMONT RANKINGS According to a 2017 ranking by social media company WalletHub, Vermont is the 3rd least diverse state in the U.S., on measures of socioeconomic, cultural, religious and household diversity. The rankings, based on latest U.S. Census data, place Vermont just above Maine (#49) and West Virginia (#50), and far behind California, Texas, and Hawaii (#1, 2 and 3, respectively).
The University of Vermont, Vermont Technical College, Lyndon State, Castleton University and Johnson State ranked 1-5 in a list of best colleges in Vermont, according to the website Schools.comand based on factors such as costs and flexible learning options. Middlebury College, where only 17% of students are accepted, ranked number 6.
MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT GAPS Mental health treatment in Vermont has recently come under fire after a woman was jailed for eight days—then removed forcefully with pepper spray and handcuffs—while awaiting a psychiatric bed. Last year, Vermont researcher Thomas Achenbach evaluated the gaps in treatment, naming narrow diagnostic categories as impediments to treating complex mental disorders, especially in children. Achenbach called for evidence-based assessments across cultures and practices to discern which treatments are truly effective.
Vermont’s aging population is one of the most widely discussed topics in the state’s political discourse. But how do we improve quality of life for our aging population? UVM student Autumn Reilly explored strategies to connect seniors to community resources in Franklin County, where 8 percent of those aged 60 and over live below the federal poverty line. Identifying the complexity of the medical service system as a barrier to care for older Vermonters, Reilly produced a pamphlet to be distributed at medical providers throughout the county.
Falls are the leading cause of death for those 65 years and older in Vermont. The Vermont Department of Health is working to address this issue through education and encourages the use of supplements to promote healthy bodies.
In his new book Lost in the Driftless: Trout Fishing on the Cultural Divide, author Tim Traver explores the history of the trout fishing regulations and practices that define and separate that of his home in Taftsville, Vermont from regions around the country.
The Greensboro Blockhouse Project: An Historical and Archeological Investigation in Greensboro, Vermont by Jill Baker and Patricia Haslam presents the history of the Bayley-Hazen military road and the four blockhouses constructed during the Revolutionary War.
The Meaning of “Maple” Champlain College’s Mike Lange recently published the Meanings of Maple, an ethnographic study of sugaring in Vermont, also available through Google Books.
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The Vermont Research News is a bi-monthly curated collection of Vermont research—focused on research in the Vermont “laboratory”—that provides original knowledge to the world and adds to understanding of the state’s social, economic, cultural and physical environment.Send your news items to Co-Editors Kirsti Blow and Madison Clark.
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