As many people are staying at home these days, groups and individuals have organized ways for us all to stage engaged both physically and mentally. Here are some activities offered online by both local and national organizations.
Reader feedback: Several of our readers have suggestions for online shows worth checking out. Amy Graham found homecooking.com thanks to a Facebook post from Ilsley Public Library. “Samin Nosrat (author of the book “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat”) and Hrishikesh Hirway discuss ideas for what to cook while in quarantine and creative things to do with the random items you might have in your pantry these days. In addition to giving some helpful advice and ideas, they are just extremely funny and full of food puns and other good humor. A lovely accompaniment to my daily walk,” Graham tells us. 
Peter Reynolds recommends the podcast “Scene on Radio,” in particular the season titled “Seeing White.” He says, “I’ll never perceive race again in the way I always have.”
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Register to run and stay in shape. The Vermont Sun Triathlon and Run Series began in 1986 to help provide inspiration for people to have fun with their fitness training while they pursued the goal of completing a triathlon or a run.
With that in mind, they have not canceled any of their events during the current crisis. Rather, they have moved the Vermont Sun Half Marathon, 10K, 5K to Sunday, June 14, in hopes that social distancing and stay-at-home directives will no longer be in place.
Check out Vermont Sun’s events and register here.
“Stay positive, take care of your fitness, and keep training, there will be events to complete in the future,” says organizer Steve Hare. “Let’s all hope that the future can begin on June 14.”
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Be a historian. The Vermont Historical Society launched a website on April 14 to collect photographs and stories from Vermonters as they cope with the coronavirus pandemic. The COVID-19 Archive: Images and Stories from Vermont, employs digital technology and crowdsourcing to provide future researchers with a resource to study the impact the coronavirus had on the lives of Vermonters. Visitors can submit their own narratives about living through coronavirus in the form of photos, stories, poems, short videos, documents and more. 
Find COVID-19 Archive: Images and Stories from Vermont online here. Questions about the project can be directed to [email protected].
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Community portraits. The Henry Sheldon Museum may be closed, but they are featuring Rebecca Kincaid’s portraits of community members on their website. The portraits will be included in her upcoming exhibit this spring at the Sheldon. See who you can recognize here.
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How does the newt cross the road? One of Vermont’s great wildlife migrations is happening right now, and it’s taking place right at our feet. Biologists call it “a big night” on cool, wet evenings in early spring when thousands of frogs and salamanders migrate from their woodland wintering areas to vernal pools, ponds and wetlands to breed. If you come across a crossing, report the site to through the Vermont Reptile and Amphibian Atlas website. Vermont Fish and Wildlife is asking drivers to slow down and be cautious when travelling at night in early spring or to take alternate routes to avoid driving near ponds and wetlands where salamanders and frogs are crossing during their breeding season.
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eMakery branches out. The Makery is adding yoga to their online offerings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their first offering is Chair Yoga with Amika Gibbs on Thursday, April 16, from 5-6 p.m. A gentle way to practice yoga using a chair, this class will translate traditional yoga practice to a language most bodies will appreciate and understand. Participants remain seated for most of the class, but will have the option to get up and use the chair as a prop for some other poses if the student is able and comfortable doing so. 
A traditional yoga flow class with Prem Prakash will be offered on Thursday, April 23, from 5-6 p.m. Enjoy a traditional comprehensive yoga flow series that includes standing poses, forward bends, backward bends, spinal twists, upper body/core strength and relaxation poses. 
Both yoga classes require registration and are limited to 30 participants. Register here.
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Masks En Masse. EastView at Middlebury has organized a mask clearinghouse called “Masks en Masse,” a community-oriented, simple distribution system between area crafters of facemasks and the region’s friends and neighbors who need them most — those over 60 years of age and those with compromised immune systems. If you are interested in donating masks or if you are over 60 years of age or have a compromised immune system and are interested in receiving a free mask by mail, go here for information. You may also email [email protected] or call 802-989-7707.
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Digital Fort Ticonderoga. Fort Ticonderoga — right across Lake Champlain — recently launched its Center for Digital History, an new online platform allowing Fort Ticonderoga to bring award-winning educational programs and resources into homes and classrooms around the globe. The Center for Digital History provides a platform for educational resources featuring interactive live programs, museum artifacts through Ticonderoga’s online collections, and access to over 100 videos on Fort Ticonderoga’s YouTube channel, including the popular Collections Speed Dating series, where Curator Matthew Keagle explores highlights from the museum’s collection. Go here to check it out.
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Keep that recovery going. Recovery Vermont is providing daily online programming for those in recovery with weekly trainings and connections. Go here for more information.
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Forest to Woodshop Workshop. The eMakery is offering this workshop with Len Schmidt on Thursday, April 16, from 6-7 p.m. Learn to become a discerning user of high quality local forest products. Topics include how wood starts with forests and forestry, accessing local sawmills, water-managing moisture in wood, and using wood with forests in mind. It’s limited to 30 participants, and you can register here.
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Free Netflix movies and chats. The Cystic Fibrosis Lifestyle Foundation (CFLF) is hosting a Netflix watch party every Friday evening at 8:30 p.m. through the month of April. Log in to Netflix and download the Netflix Party extension. Here’s how: In Google Chrome, go here. Click “Get Netflix Party” for free. The site will redirect you to the Google Chrome web store page to download the extension. Click Add to Chrome. A pop-up box will open. Select Add Extension. You’ll now see a grey NP icon in your browser toolbar. Click on the NP area to open your chat window during the movie.
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Join the Blues Jam: Bluesman Tom Caswell is streaming his regular blues jam from his living room every Wednesday at 7 p.m. on Facebook. Caswell welcomes everyone to play along with him from home. “Drums, bass, guitar, keys, harmonica, vocals. Let’s get involved and know that everyone else is playing along as well, from their own living rooms.” Click here.