Out-Doors: Local Gifts of
the Outdoors
by Elizabeth Bassett, December 15, 2011, page 14-15.....

Is the world catching up with me? For years I’ve been suggesting gifts that support our local communities. ‘Buy Local’ is suddenly all the rage, and I’m buying it. Here are some ways to buy Vermont for those you love this holiday season.

Local organic food
CSA memberships make great gifts. Community-supported agriculture (CSA) members invest in farmers’ costs in exchange for a share of production. Charlotte farmer Dave Quickel’s Stony Loam Farm has been around for years and has expanded its offerings to include bread, milk, cheese, meat and berries in addition to veggies and flowers. My garden has grown and our family shrunk, so we are no longer members, but I still use recipes I collected at Stony Loam years ago. Visit any CSA on pick-up day and you will see community in action – families and friends visiting, comparing recipes and picking beans together.
For a list of CSAs in our area, and there is a bounty of them, go to Northeast Organic Farm Association Vermont (NOFA): nofavt.org/find-organic-food/csa-listing.
Charlotte-based yourfarmstand (yourfarmstand.com) provides an online purchase and delivery option for food produced by a variety of local farmers. Gift certificates are available; contact Suzy Hodgson at suzyhodgson@gmavt.net with the recipient’s name, address and e-mail, and she will set up and credit a new account and send a welcome note.

Skiing
Sticker shock hits most of us when we look at the cost of a day ticket. Even Nordic skiing in Vermont can cost $20 on a weekend or holiday. The industry is quick to point out that costs are high: snowmaking, insurance, grooming, utilities, etc., and that last-minute skiers pay the highest price.
There are ways to circumvent the day ticket purchase price and some of these make nice gifts. Sleepy Hollow in Huntington offers ten-visit punch passes for Nordic skiing or snowshoeing for $115; Bolton Valley has five and ten-visit punch passes for Nordic; Catamount Family Center in Williston sells a ten-visit punch card for $120 that is good for two winter seasons and is transferable.
On the downhill slopes, Bolton Valley offers a dizzying array of passes including an Alpine side-by-side pass for two adults if they have a child younger less than 2 years of age. I’m guessing this means only one parent can ski at a time. Sugarbush sells gift cards that purchase a laundry list of items from season passes to day tickets, ski tuning, food and beverage, or childcare. Bottom line, if it’s for sale at Sugarbush, a gift card can buy it. Mad River offers a season’s pass for skiers 70 and over for $149. Most ski areas sell tickets off-site or online for less than the ticket window cost – a great gift. This is a way to shop online and support Vermont simultaneously.

Skating
Ideally we’ll soon be skating on local ponds and lakes. In the event that Mother Nature is not kind, buy a 10-visit punch card for Cairns Arena in South Burlington for $30. A single visit for open skating costs $4 for adults with skate rentals, $3 for all ages.

Your labor
Give a gift certificate for your outdoor labor – snow shoveling, leaf raking, washing the car, tilling the garden, a few hours of weeding next summer. That sounds great about now, doesn’t it!

SCHIP’s Treasure Resale Shop
If you are driving to town to buy gifts, stop first at SCHIP’s Treasure Resale Shop on Route 7, next to the Shelburne Library and Fire Department. Ten faith communities in the Shelburne Charlotte Hinesburg Interfaith Project (SCHIP) founded the shop in 2003. Since then the group has granted more than a quarter million dollars to nonprofits in the three towns. Many well-heeled folks donate their castoffs, so you may find last year’s high-end outdoor clothing for a fraction of its original price, and you will be supporting our local communities with your purchase.

Gift certificates that support Vermont Fresh Network
Vermont Fresh Network (VFN) encourages the building of a “flourishing Vermont food and farm economy,” i.e., local food. Member stores and restaurants work with local food producers to help strengthen working farms. Chefs who purchase local food are helping to keep Vermont’s landscape healthy, productive and beautiful.
Vermont Fresh partners include local restaurants, bakeries and cafes. Two of Charlotte’s food businesses are members, Little Garden Market and the Old Brick Store. A few miles from our border, Starry Night Café and La Villa are among 60 Vermont Fresh Network listings in northwest Vermont: vermontfresh.net/member-search.
Your purchase of party food or gift certificates not only strengthens these businesses but also helps to keep area farmers and food producers strong.

Shelburne Museum membership
If you are a member of Shelburne Museum, a local treasure with a national reputation, you may purchase an unlimited number of gift memberships for half price by December 18. Membership is a great way to visit the museum– an hour here, two hours there, across the five-month season: shelburnemuseum.org. With its carousel (unlimited riding with museum entry) and outdoor layout, the museum is a great place for children. They can navigate the decks of the Ticonderoga, walk through an elegant train car, participate in hands-on art projects, play with old-fashioned toys in the Owls Cottage, marvel at antique sleighs and fire engines, and watch a blacksmith at work. Don’t miss the hunting trophies – bears, deer, moose and more.

Donations that support the outdoors
Gifts are about showing love, and there are many ways to do that. Can’t figure out what grandma needs – she has everything and is trying to pare down her clutter? Make a donation in her name.
Every year, but particularly in the wake of two devastating floods this year, Vermont nonprofits leverage enormous volunteer energy in addition to their financial resources to protect the waters, fields and forests that make Vermont special. Consider a gift to a land trust (Charlotte, Lake Champlain, Vermont), an advocate for environmental preservation (The Nature Conservancy, Vermont Natural Resources Council), a steward of outdoor resources (Lewis Creek Association, Shelburne Farms, Green Mountain Club, Catamount Trail Association, Lake Champlain Committee) or advocates for pedestrians and bikers (Local Motion, Vermont Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition).

Charlotte trees
Honor someone special with a tree! Donate $150 to the Rutter Tree Fund and a dedicated tree will be planted in the name of the honoree.
Tax-deductible donations of any amount are welcome, with checks payable to the Town of Charlotte.

Remember, the outdoors will nurture us if we take care of it.
Happy Holidays!