The Connecticut River Conservancy (CRC) is excited to add Clare Wangard to their team. Clare is an ECO AmeriCorps member serving with the CRC staff throughout Vermont as part of the American Climate Corps.
She began her service as the CRC’s Outreach, Education, and Restoration Assistant on September 17th, and will serve the organization until August 2025. Throughout her service, Clare will focus on water quality assessment of the Connecticut River and tributaries, organize and assist with community outreach events, visit schools and other education institutions to facilitate learning about water conservation and environmental issues, and develop and implement her own projects in the watershed.
Clare is a recent graduate from Xavier University in Cincinnati, where she studied Environmental Science. Throughout her studies, Clare took particular interest in aquatic ecology, regenerative agriculture, and environmental education. “Nature has served me as a classroom, a place for fellowship, and a place of grounding” she explains, “I think it is right that I spend time reciprocating what nature has offered me by serving the environment. As I was determining my next steps following undergrad, I felt unmoored—I decided ECO AmeriCorps provided a great opportunity to reconnect with community, service, and harmony with nature, values that are fundamental to my worldview while discerning what I hope to do in the future.”
The organization’s Brattleboro office will serve as the host site for much of Clare’s service, but Clare will have the opportunity to serve all of Vermont as she engages with Connecticut River watershed community members, assists with water quality sampling, and conducts flood response surveys—amongst other projects. “I’m thrilled to serve and immerse myself in Brattleboro’s vibrant community,” she continues, “I feel incredibly grateful to be serving alongside people deeply committed to preserving the Connecticut River and the environment.”
“CRC is very grateful for Clare’s service to the Connecticut River and our work over the coming year.” says Kathy Urffer, Director of Policy and Advocacy and River Steward in VT. “Her efforts will expand our capacity to do outreach and education around many of the issues that we are working on. We are very excited to be able to increase our capacity and the scope of our protection efforts for our rivers and the Connecticut River watershed in the eastern half of VT.”
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