FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 22, 2022
CONTACT: Gwendolyn Causer, Audubon Vermont, gwendolyn.causer@audubon.org
Audubon Vermont receives grant from the Vermont Community Foundation to host Outright Vermont’s Gender Creative Kids Outings in every season.
Huntington, Vermont - Audubon Vermont recently received a grant from the Vermont Community Foundation’s Spark Connecting Community grant program. This grant will allow Audubon Vermont to provide a safe, inclusive environment that celebrates gender creative youth and sparks joy in outdoor spaces.
Hosting free Outright Vermont's Gender Creative Kids Outings outdoors in Huntington in every season of the year will create connections to nature and community for youth and their families. We will delight in bird migration and ephemeral wildflowers in spring, catch frogs and salamanders in the summer, immerse ourselves in the colors of autumn foliage in fall, discover animal tracking and fire-building in winter, and explore bird-friendly maple sugaring in late winter/mud season.
Building community takes time, consistency, and trust. It is essential to hold space that intentionally celebrates gender creativity for youth and provides opportunities for families and caregivers to connect with each other. Returning to an outdoor space repeatedly in every season of the year can create a sense of stewardship, ease, and comfort – both for youth and adults.
“Building community for gender creative kids and their families in the outdoors makes my heart sing. It brings happy tears my eyes when I see kids striking up an easy friendship while catching tadpoles. I love hearing caregivers connecting about trans joy and celebrating their kids’ bravery and creativity. I’m lucky to be a part of this community.” Gwendolyn Causer, Audubon Vermont
Gender Creative Kids is a social group organized by Outright Vermont for kids under 13 and their parents/caregivers. We loosely define gender creative as kids who fall outside traditional ideas of gender, but welcome other definitions.
"Many gender creative children in Vermont may be the only child in their class or community who is challenging gender norms. Parents often feel alone in their experience of raising a transgender child. Gender Creative Kids helps reduce that disconnection by creating essential opportunities for trans or gender creative children and their caregivers to build community with families who share their story. Families come from all over the state to create connections and resilience, a necessary antidote to the isolation they may experience socially or geographically." Amanda Rohdenburg, Outright Vermont.
Audubon has been a long-time leader in environmental education and is passionate about creating safe and inclusive spaces for those who have traditionally been excluded from the environmental movement. We know that when we create intentional opportunities for specific groups to participate in outdoor activities, they show up. This means that we can support our entire community and help more people find their place and feel represented in the great outdoors.
The Spark Connecting Community grant program puts building and nurturing community front and center. The Foundation aims to support the work happening throughout Vermont’s 251 towns that builds social capital. These grants—where a small amount can make a big difference—are intended to light the spark that keeps Vermonters healthy and happy.
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Audubon Vermont is a state office of the National Audubon Society, an organization committed to protecting birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. Audubon works across Vermont using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation. Our programs, members, chapters, and partners give Audubon an unparalleled wingspan that informs, inspires, and unites diverse communities in conservation action. Audubon believes in a world in which people and wildlife thrive.
Learn more at vt.audubon.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
The Vermont Community Foundation inspires giving and brings people and resources together to make a difference in Vermont. A family of hundreds of funds and foundations, we provide the advice, investment vehicles, and back-office expertise that make it easy for the people who care about Vermont to find and fund the causes they love.
The heart of the Community Foundation’s work is closing the opportunity gap—the divide that leaves too many Vermonters struggling to get ahead, no matter how hard they work. We are aligning our time, energy, and discretionary resources on efforts that provide access to early care and learning, pathways to college and career training, support for youth and families, and community and economic vitality. We envision Vermont at its best—where everyone has the opportunity to build a bright, secure future.
Visit vermontcf.org or call 802-388-3355 for more information.
