Working Toward Environmental Justice in the Lake Champlain Basin

By Julianna White, Research Program Coordinator (Email the author)
February 10, 2021

Water quality and climate change are the environmental issues of greatest concern to Vermonters in communities characterized by high environmental burden or relatively large populations of low-income people and People of Color, according to a 2019-2020 survey led by Dr. Bindu Panikkar. Forty percent of respondents expressed concerns about water quality, and 35 percent expressed concerns about climate change and the impact these have on their daily lives.

Panikkar conducted the survey of 571 people in communities characterized by high environmental burden or relatively large populations of low-income people and People of Color, in collaboration with Rural Environmental Justice Opportunities Informed by Community Expertise (REJOICE). Panikkar is a member of the REJOICE team and an assistant professor in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont.

Panikkar presented this research in a talk called “Environmental Health Disparities in Vermont” on January 27, part of a Lake Champlain Sea Grant Research Seminar Series. The seminar is also available on the Lake Champlain Sea Grant YouTube channel. Full results from the survey, which covers environmental, economic, and social issues, will be published in the coming months.

When reflecting on current environmental justice issues, many Vermonters probably think of groundwater well contamination caused by indiscriminate use of the human-made chemical PFAS, notably in Bennington and Pownal. Others may point to questions about how the herbicide, and probable carcinogen, glyphosate—which is used at a higher rate in Vermont than in other New England states—may affect farmers and farm workers. But environmental justice is a more comprehensive concept, Panikkar explained.

“There are multi-dimensional approaches we can use to understand well-being and vulnerability and their connection with the environment,” said Panikkar. “The research team has applied mapping and probabilistic associations to existing data.

“Though there are many holes in the existing databases, the data reveals evidence that there are inequities within the state that need attention,” she added.

Lake Champlain Sea Grant strengthens commitment to environmental justice.

The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks, and others in the summer of 2020 prompted examination of systemic racism across the nation. In the Lake Champlain basin, Lake Champlain Sea Grant staff developed a values statement and an action plan and committed, individually and as a group, to take steps to explore our racial biases more fully and to work openly and actively within our personal and professional networks to breakdown systemic racism and contribute to a more equitable and just society. Each staff member is incorporating actions into their individual work plans in an effort to fully operationalize the plan and take action in the short-term to effect change.

Panikkar’s informative presentation and a recent training on bias awareness and bystander intervention training educated Lake Champlain Sea Grant staff and environmental professionals, educators, and members of the public.

With partners, we initiated an undergraduate Lake Champlain Sea Grant Scholars Program for University of Vermont first- and second-year undergraduate students to be selected based on academic ability, commitment to a career in science or related field, financial need, and first-generation college student status. 

In December, we issued a call for research proposals that includes research topics related to socio-economic influences on lake use and management, especially those with an environmental justice component, and use of traditional knowledge for lake use and management, particularly Indigenous knowledge. Pre-proposals are due March 5, 2021.

Lake Champlain Sea Grant recognizes that climate change and other intensifying ecological stressors are likely to exacerbate environmental and economic injustice in the Lake Champlain basin. We will continue to double down to ensure our mission to develop and share science-based knowledge to benefit the environment and economies of the Lake Champlain basin reaches low-income and BIPOC communities.

Northeastern States Research Cooperative announces Indigenous Forest Knowledge Fund.

The Northeastern States Research Cooperative (NSRC) supports cross-disciplinary, collaborative research in the Northern Forest — a 26-million acre working landscape that is home to about two million residents and stretches from eastern Maine through New Hampshire and Vermont and into northern New York, including forests in the Lake Champlain basin. Jointly directed through the USDA Forest Service's Northern Research Station, Hubbard Brook Research Foundation, University of Vermont, University of New Hampshire, University of Maine, and the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, the NSRC aims to ensure that the priorities of Tribal Nations in the Northern Forest region are addressed in its research program.

Thus, NSRC recently announced a call for proposals for the Indigenous Forest Knowledge Fund to support:

  • The education, mentorship, and training of Indigenous youth in applied forest research and/or Traditional Ecological Knowledge about forest systems;
  • New applied forest research that advances Tribal Priorities; and
  • The synthesis and translation of forest research and/or Traditional Ecological Knowledge to advance communications, outreach, and economic programs for Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities.

Proposals are due April 2.