In January 2020, the Vermont State Legislature will be reconsidering Vermont’s role in action against climate change. The Green Mountain New Deal (GMND) is a growing idea within Vermont that surrounds the current climate crisis. It is the idea that environmental action, social justice, and a restricted economy can combine to revitalize our state.

Mission Statement

For our ENVS0310 Theories of Change course project at Middlebury College, we set out to build a shareable, adaptive toolkit for the local Vermont community to begin conversations about the Green Mountain New Deal. This serves as a space for us to come together to learn about and talk about the GMND. We thank those in the community that we have reached out to, who have responded to our inquiries and contributed to our project. We encourage visitors of this site to participate in productive discussion about Vermont’s environmental policies and our progress in climate action.

Coursework

In our Theories of Change course, we have examined a variety of organized efforts aimed at the achievement and progress towards the transformation of our world. Throughout the course of this semester, we have compared different conceptions of how social change happens. In analyzing underlying beliefs, hypotheses, and assumptions — i.e., “theories of change” — we have grappled with fundamental questions and clashing perspectives regarding the nature of power, political economy, and social struggle, which continue to animate sharp disagreements among activists. As we mobilize to confront multiplying socio-environmental crises, getting our theories of change right has never seemed more urgent.

Through in depth literature analysis, class conversation, and self reflection we have concluded that our own theory of change lies within the realms of community engagement. This project is our way of enacting this method to social, political, cultural and environmental change .

We hope that this resource will help to empower our community with the language and resources to engage with the Green Mountain New Deal.