Vermont State Parks

Writing in a nature journal is a great way to spend time. Here is a little secret: things you enjoyed as a child are still super fun now. My daughter and I live right in town and have a postage stamp sized front lawn, but that doesn’t stop us from having wonderful, revitalizing outdoor adventures together just as I enjoyed with my siblings when I was eight. My daughter and I started writing and drawing in our nature journal daily. The last entry   before this was in December, and now we are packing our journal full of wonderful observations, illustrations, and descriptive words each day. We are looking closely at nearby nature, and watching the seasons change from winter to spring in our yard. This is an exciting time as spring is an awakening and rebirth of life in our yards and neighborhoods. Crocuses springing out in a front yard. You do not need to go far to find signs of spring. We had crocuses pop up out of the dried grass and winter weeds in our flower beds ...

Lady's Slipper Thank you to all who participated in our Cabin Naming Contest. We had over 400 entries and so many of them were wonderful, which made deciding on two winners very difficult. The stories, poems, pictures, and reasons people submitted for their entries were touching, entertaining, and very interesting. We hope to share some of them with you over the next couple of months. The most popular flower submitted was Red Clover or Clover, but unfortunately, even though it is our state flower, it's actually native to Europe. Even though there were so many wonderful entries, there can only be two winners. These lucky folks will receive a weekend in their named cabin and there will be a poster placed in each cabin for the season, explaining how the cabins got their name. Congratulations, you have made park history! The winners are... Lady's Slipper From Jennie Kolenda of Proctorsville, Vermont As youngsters, we were always roaming through the wood...

Many of the flowers you see in the northwestern state parks are the product of a surprising source, the flower program at the Northwest State Correctional Facility. This women-only facility operates a flower program as part of their rehabilitation, which supplies some of Vermont State Parks with beautiful blooms. John Cross, the automotive teacher at the Community High School located in the prison, has helped to run the program for six years, though it was his son, Paul, who first thought of the idea. Paul, on staff at Grand Isle State Park , put his father's gardening program and the park's need for low-budget plants together, essentially creating the program that exists today. The parks appreciate the local flower supply and cost savings, and the women in the program learn about and enjoy growing plants from seed. Plus, they get to do gardening before the snow has fully melted! John believes that in order for the participants to succeed in their rehabilitation, ...