Work began in mid July\u00a0on excavation and site preparation for a new\u00a0bunkhouse at the NorthWoods Stewardship Center. The four-season 54 x 24 foot building will\u00a0include bunks for 18 students and an annex with handicapped-accessible bathrooms and\u00a0showers.<\/p>\n
The bunkhouse will expand the Center\u2019s capacity and ability to offer its educational\u00a0programming over multiple days to groups from a wider geographic area. For over 25 years\u00a0NorthWoods has provided school and adult education programs as part of its mission of\u00a0\u201cconnecting people and place through education, science, and action\u201d, but groups have been\u00a0limited to single day visits, camping, or hosting at the homes of board and staff members. \u201cAfter\u00a0a few years of planning, permitting, and fundraising, we\u2019re all very excited to see this dream now\u00a0become a reality\u201d said NorthWoods Operations Director Jayson Benoit.<\/p>\n
In addition to its camp and school programs and conservation corps, NorthWoods provides\u00a0forestry consulting services to private landowners and manages its own 1,500-acre\u00a0demonstration forest in Charleston and Morgan. The Center has also hosted workshops and\u00a0trainings for landowners and college-aged students for decades and the bunkhouse will support\u00a0expansion of these offerings.<\/p>\n
Funding for the project began with a seed grant from the Canaday Family Charitable Trust<\/a> and\u00a0has grown to include grants from the USDA Rural Development Community Facility program<\/a>, the\u00a0Vermont Department of Buildings and General Services<\/a>, and Vermont Electric Coop\u2019s\u00a0Community Grants program<\/a>, as well as donations from a host of local individuals and\u00a0businesses including Columbia Forest Products<\/a>, Passumpsic Bank<\/a>, Community National Bank<\/a>,\u00a0and Plum Creek<\/a>.<\/p>\n Construction is expected to be finished by late fall 2016 and will involve local contractors (RG\u00a0Gosselin<\/a>, Wrights Plumbing and Heating<\/a>, Green and Sons Concrete<\/a>, Rusty\u2019s Electric, and\u00a0Dennis Choquette Construction), as well as a number of volunteers.<\/p>\n Groups who are interested in NorthWoods educational programs or booking a stay in the\u00a0bunkhouse should contact Maria Young at maria@northwoodscenter.org.<\/p>\n We will keep this page updated with\u00a0photos as building progresses. Stay tuned, and thank you for your support!<\/strong><\/p>\n