Maddy Murray, project manager with Green Mountain Power, answers questions at the Chittenden Energy Fair in Chittenden on Thursday, November 12, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell, VTDigger CHITTENDEN — Sue Priest’s freshly mowed grass has recently found a new purpose: feeding her family’s cattl e. Priest and her husband participated in the Chittenden Energy Challenge, which called on residents of the small town in Rutland County to participate in 500 creative sustainable actions over the past year.  In addition to sustainability measures they’ve taken in the past, the couple decided to mow their lawn less, repurpose the grass and embrace bike commuting, including on trips to the grocery store. “We’ll carry back 20 to 40 pounds worth of groceries, and so save a car trip that way,” Priest said. A fair held Thursday at Mountain Top Resort marked the end of the challenge. But the event wasn’t simply an ending. At a community dinner after the fair, a “Menu of Ideas” placed on dining tables at the resort served up inspiration for future projects. The challenge and corresponding fair were intended to enhance community awareness and excitement for saving energy and the environment. There were learning opportunities throughout the challenge that incorporated experts in eco-friendly transportation, renewable energy transitions and invasive species, among other things. But the project was about more than enthusiasm for sustainability. It was designed, as many other energy fairs across Vermont are, to bridge the gap between affordability and green energy investments. “This isn’t just for the wealthy,” said Melanie Paskevich, chair of the Chittenden Energy and Climate Committee. “This isn’t just for, maybe the low income either. We can all do this.” The fair featured giveaways of everything from travel mugs to weather-proofing supplies. Energy experts set up tables in an event room at the resort and answered community members’ questions. Bekah Kuster of Efficiency Vermont, left, speaks with Robert Baird at the Chittenden Energy Fair in Chittenden on Thursday, November 12, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell, VTDigger Bekah Kuster, community engagement manager at Efficiency Vermont, fielded questions from residents about their personal energy goals and ways to make them happen through rebates and other cost-saving measures. Efficiency Vermont, a statewide energy efficiency utility designed to help Vermonters reduce their energy consumption, provides a variety of rebates, advice and financial assistance for renewable energy projects. Awareness is a crucial part of the puzzle when encouraging residents to go green, Kuster said. It’s important to help people find economic resources to implement measures like heat pumps and weatherization, Kuster said, and educate them about smaller measures that people can take. These conversations become increasingly important when households are preparing for worsening winter weather, Kuster said. And people are especially concerned this year, she added, due to rising prices for energy and other everyday essentials.  “My hope is just to make people aware of the ways that they can save energy this winter and be more comfortable with rising energy costs,” Kuster said. Priest has taken advantage of rebates in the past when updating appliances to energy-efficient alternatives, she said. “We always look before we buy something to see if there’s a rebate available to help with the cost,” Priest said. John and Ellen Bodin, residents of North Chittenden and relatives of Priest, attended the event. They have had a long interest in sustainability, investing in solar panels and heat pumps and replacing their appliances with higher-efficiency models. For this year’s challenge, they decided to carpool more, hang laundry outside to dry and cut their lawn less. The Chittenden Energy Fair is one of many energy fairs that have sprouted across Vermont to encourage community involvement in conservation. There’s also an annual Waterbury LEAP Fair in April focused on educating residents on saving energy and costs. Another event, the Net Zero Energy Festival in Burlington, centers on electrification and reducing fossil fuel use.The festival was in August this year. Robert Harness, left, speaks with Paige Prouty of Downvalley Bike and Apparel at the Chittenden Energy Fair in Chittenden on Thursday, November 12, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell, VTDigger Last week’s event in Chittenden was somewhat unusual because of the series of workshops and community events that spanned a year leading up to it, according to Sean Beatty, a regional planner with the Rutland Regional Planning Commission who worked one of the event tables. “It’s a real chance to educate people,” Beatty said. “And especially on a smaller scale, where this is really only Chittenden residents, where we can get pretty specific to some of the problems that Chittenden residents might have.” The challenge’s goal was to record 500 actions taken by community members during the year, Paskevich said.  Chittenden exceeded expectations and recorded 624 actions. The “Menu of Ideas” featured different options for energy-saving actions. Options ranged from individual community support, including home energy visits and a community firewood lot for residents in need of heat assistance, to townwide actions such as a rideshare system. People who attended the event voted on the possible actions to implement. The most popular was safer walking and biking routes. As for community energy support, the favorites were volunteer weatherization/project help and home energy supply kits. John Bodin said going green is a matter of “individuals coming together to make it happen.” He highlighted the efforts of the energy committee for organizing the project. “It exposes more people to it,” Bodin said, “so that they’re aware of what opportunities there are and what kind of financial rebates there are, which makes it a little less scary when, if you’re thinking in dollars and cents, which we often are these days.” Read the story on VTDigger here: Saving pennies, saving a planet. ...read more read less