RIPTON — The Association of Vermont Conservation Commissions (AVCC) will hold its Annual Summit on Saturday, Sept. 28, at the Bread Loaf Campus of Middlebury College in Ripton. The summit is a day-long educational and networking event for community volunteers engaged in planning and caring for natural resources, with a particular focus on Vermont Conservation Design (VCD). 
Vermont Conservation Design is Vermont’s current framework for investing in the state’s conservation future so that the state can sustain its valued natural areas, forests, waters, wildlife and plants for generations to come.
Keynote speaker Liz Thompson, director of Conservation Science at the Vermont Land Trust, will provide a layered history of conservation planning in Vermont, and highlight how these concepts can be applied at the local level. 
Breakout sessions will focus on working with people in local communities to protect natural resources; land conservation for community value and ecological function; using VCD maps on forest blocks and habitat connectors; using VCD as a model for guiding bird conservation efforts; and much more. 
This year’s program also features an optional post-summit field trip in which participants will walk to a grove of old growth forest and learn about Bread Loaf campus land conserved by Middlebury College in 2015.
“For 27 years, AVCC has provided citizen conservation commissions with the support and resources they need to protect and enhance the natural resources in their communities while effectively engaging in local and regional governance,” said Nancy Everhart, AVCC board chair. “The annual summit is a way to bring commissions and other conservation experts and enthusiasts together so they can compare notes and learn new skills and perspectives.”
To register for the summit, and for a schedule of sessions, head online to vtconservation.com/conservation_summit.