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Retiring Chief Forester Betsy Lesnikoski reflects on the changes and advances she has seen over her 42 years with Burlington Electric Department.

Heating season is here. Is your heat pump or heat pump water heater ready for the cold months ahead? Brandon Hayes from VGS joins us today to talk about maintaining your heat pump to help it work at peak efficiency and for many years to come.

Dave Roberts of Drive Electric Vermont joins to talk about the state of EVs and EV incentives.

Darren Springer, Burlington Electric Department General Manager, discusses the state of electric vehicle incentives at the Federal level and how BED is responding with enhanced rebates for our customers.

How are today’s schoolchildren dealing with news surrounding our climate? Aziza Malik, 5th grade teacher at Champlain Elementary and Teacher of the Year 2024, and Jen Cirillo, Director of Professional Learning at Shelburne Farms talk about the strategies and realities of guiding students through this topic.

Christina Erickson, Executive Director with Local Motion, joins us to talk about the 25-year history of the organization, the Bike Ferry and the bridge over the Winooski River, their state-wide advocacy work, advocating for Safe Routes to School Program including a call for more crossing guards, and more.

Zoe Richards, Director and Founder of Burlington Wildways. Zoe is a Wildlife Biologist and currently chairs Burlington’s Conservation Board. Wildways is a partnership that cares for the wild places and paths of Burlington, Vermont.

Burlington City Arborist V.J. Comai talks with us about the Emerald Ash Borer, the history, variety, and age of Burlington’s canopy, lessons learned from the 1998 ice storm, and plans for Main Street and Church Street.

Nour El-Naboulsi shares the exciting – and at one point harrowing – story of converting a shipping container into the home of Village Hydroponics. The all-electric grow operation is based in the Intervale and currently supports local families from Congo, Rwanda, Nepal, and elsewhere. Nour also discusses the business model and their plans going forward.

Kevin Chu, a Vermonter from birth, is now Executive Director of the Vermont Futures Project, an independent non-partisan organization working toward encouraging long-term economic growth for Vermont. Kevin talks about how they provide useful data and recommendations to achieve this goal.