BENNINGTON — The Bennington A.T. Community Committee is inviting the public to a meeting on May 23 at 6 p.m. to give an update on activities, share plans for this summer, and to solicit input on future efforts.
The meeting will be held at the Bennington Fire House multi-purpose room on the third floor. The facility is located at 130 River Street in Bennington and is handicap accessible.
In 2019, a group of citizens and volunteers came together to pursue an “Appalachian Trail Community” designation for Bennington. That successful effort culminated in Bennington becoming Vermont’s third town to gain this status, along with Manchester and Norwich.
Anyone interested in the outdoors, hiking, stewardship of the trail, and improving Bennington as a destination for outdoor recreation is encouraged to join in the discussion to learn more about the local Green Mountain Club chapter and how the community can support the A.T. designation.
The meeting will begin with a presentation about what it means to be an A.T. Community and what activities and events the town has been doing so far. There will also be discussion about last year’s Trailfest event, its impact, and learn about planning and ideas for this year’s Trailfest. Representatives from organizational partner, the Bennington Chapter of the Green Mountain Club, will talk about their plans for this year and how everyone can engage with them to be more involved.
Most important is the committee wants to hear from the community. How can we maximize the benefit to our community by having this designation? What ways can we do more to support hikers visiting our town? What ideas do you have to make us more hiker friendly? What ways can we be leveraging our status as an A.T. community to focus attention on the outdoor recreational resources we have available?
