Teen mental health, flood resilience and food insecurity are three examples of topics that could be tackled in a new program designed to support Vermonters as they study and address complex issues within their own communities. Vermont Folklife has teamed up with youth storytelling program Conversations From the Open Road to create the Vermont Community Fellows Program, an initiative allowing Vermonters ages 16 and up to conduct field research and collaborate with the people they meet to explore local solutions to a variety of problems. "We believe all people have unique knowledge of their own experience," Vermont Folklife director of education and media Mary Wesley said in a statement announcing the fellowships. "This process channels that knowledge and creates a pathway for creative responses to complex issues." U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) secured $665,000 in federal funds to launch the program, which will give fellows a stipend, mentorship and training. Fellowships will last 12 to 18 months and will be divided into two cohorts of seven to 10 fellows each. Applications for the first group, which begins working in February, will be accepted until December 15. The application period for the second cohort, which starts work in summer 2026, has not yet been announced. Participants will learn the methods and ethics of ethnographic research, including interviewing, audio recording, photography and media editing. They will seek out and document diverse viewpoints, examine past and current efforts to address the issues they are studying, and collaborate to create an action plan. "Our goal," Vermont Folklife executive director Kate Haughey said in the statement, "is to foster a multi-generational network of skilled ethnographers and documentarians who will work with others to identify local concerns and explore solutions." The Vermont Folklife archive, a collection of photographs, texts and more than 7,000 audio recordings, is expected to be a valuable resource. "Odds are good that Vermonters in the past faced the same or similar challenges as Vermonters today," Vermont Folklife associate director and archivist Andy Kolovos said. "The recordings in our archive provide insight into past perspectives on life here — perspectives that can help inform action in the present." Federal funds have allowed Vermont Folklife to hire an additional archivist to assist the community fellows. Vermont Folklife is an education and ethnographic research nonprofit that has studied and collected the diverse cultural experiences of Vermonters since 1984. Founded by educator Mary Simons in…