High School Students Working with Town Selectboard for Cleaner Transportation
With thanks to students Jenna Thomas, Alida Apgar, Erik Oliver, Maedi Kowal, Gabrielle Atkins, their faculty advisor Jill Nichols, and VEEP’s Sophia Donforth.
Transportation is a funny thing—it is both very personal, and very community-dependent. We need a multitude of ways to get around depending on who we are, where we’re going, how flexible our schedules are and who is depending on us.
High school students in Lyndonville, determined to make a difference for the environment, chose to work with their town on getting electric vehicle charging stations installed. They determined this was the best use of their time, based on what other transportation resources were available in their community, and the interests of other community stakeholders. Vermont Energy Education Program (VEEP) worked with these students through Youth Climate Leaders Academy, and shares some of their story below.
In the students’ own words:
“The Lyndon Environmental Club is a recent addition to our school; it was formed in the fall of 2023. We are working to get electric chargers downtown to make our community more environmentally friendly and support a change towards electric vehicles. So far, through the help of VEEP, we have begun this project. We have communicated with the town select board, owners of potential businesses, the local electric department, and an electric charging install company. Slowly, we have been coordinating and communicating within our community, but this has proven to be a challenge for us due to the significant number of people involved in our project. Having an electric vehicle charging port in town will encourage more electric cars in our community and boost the town's economy when travelers stop to charge their vehicle. The next step for this project will be to apply for the Charge Vermont Grant; however, prior to this we will need approval from everyone involved. Overall, we hope to continue this project and bring change in our community to become more environmentally friendly.”
VEEP followed up with some further questions in an interview to learn more about the project and the process so far:
How/why did the Environmental Club choose to work on this EV charger project?
The Environmental Club had been looking for a project within our community to help make a move towards more environmentally friendly resources. We talked with our Town Energy Coordinator, who introduced us to multiple ideas. We ultimately determined this to be the idea we were most interested in.
What has it been like working with the selectboard and other groups you mentioned?
Throughout our process we have engaged with many members of the town community. The Town Manager was helpful in encouraging us to present our idea to the Select Board. With the Select Board, we generally found support for the idea, but they encouraged us to learn more about existing studies that had been done and to connect with the Lyndon Electric Department. It was there that we ended up partnering with the town store, The White Market, who was already interested in installing an electric vehicle charging station. We found this process of talking with the Select Board and other agencies to be incredibly beneficial, although at times challenging.
What's been the biggest obstacle so far?
Our greatest obstacle so far has been the slow nature of this project. There are so many people connected to a project of this scope that we did not originally account for. Prior to beginning this process, we believed we would be much further along. Despite this, we are continuing to move the project forward.
Will the Environmental Club be helping write the Charge Vermont Grant application?
The Lyndon Environmental Club will be helping with the Charge Vermont Grant application. However, prior to this, we need to solidify final details of the project, specifically determining which entity will hold the grant and if the project will ultimately be approved.
Do folks in Lyndonville seem mostly in favor of the new charger? Why or why not?
At this point we have not really communicated with the general public about this project, so we do not know how they will react. We believe this project can potentially be viewed in a positive light by community members as long as it is framed correctly.
While the actual installation of the charger may still be a while off, Lyndonville has a plan in place, potential funding lined up, and some very dedicated planners and stakeholders.
