Dear VCE friends,
In light of the current public health crisis, we at VCE want to update you on our evolving operational changes, and let you know about steps we are taking to keep our staff, volunteers, and communities safe and healthy.
As of Friday, March 13, 2020, the VCE office will be closed to visitors. However, please know that our important wildlife conservation work will continue uninterrupted. Our biologists will work as hard as ever from home offices advancing our wildlife research efforts, submitting grant proposals, planning field work, and communicating with colleagues and constituents. VCE’s administrative staff will continue to pick up mail, process donations, and keep things running smoothly, both remotely and through scheduled office visits. If you have a question about wildlife, citizen science, or anything at all, we’re just an email or phone call away. For all intents and purposes, it is business as usual for VCE – with just a few exceptions.
In addition to closing our office, we have decided, with reluctance, to cancel all public events in the near future (e.g., brown bag seminars, iNaturalist workshops, lectures, and, possibly, Suds & Science and grassland bird conservation workshops in April). We are also asking staff to curtail all nonessential travel, including attending meetings or presenting talks hosted by other organizations. We feel that we must avoid drawing groups of people together, as we seek to help slow the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.
Please keep an eye on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram sites for updates, or feel free to give us a call at 802-649-1431 if you have any questions about previously planned meetings or events. All of us at VCE wish you good health, and encourage you to continue connecting to our natural world for solace and inspiration during this unsettling time.
Warmly,
Chris Rimmer and the entire VCE team
