When the place where we live makes it easy for everyone to exercise and eat well, fewer people will suffer from injury, cancer, diabetes, stroke, heart and lung disease. Our goal is to help shape our communities to support health and well-being. To do this we:
- promote safe, pleasant and accessible places for all people to walk, roll or bicycle
- promote use of public transit
- ensure access to healthy and affordable food
- ensure safe, quality housing
We work with community organizations, municipal and regional planners, schools and health care providers. We begin with conversations to learn what is important to our community. From there, we find ways to weave in health and wellness improvements that fit the priorities of our towns, such as economic development. All Vermonters will thrive when our living condiitons help to eliminate differences in health for different groups of people.
Use the Public Health Data Explorer to learn about health and wellness where you live.
We supported Brandon and Poultney to incorporate specific language into their town plans that considered recreational opportunities, access to healthy and local foods and pedestrian and bicyclist safety.
The town of West Rutland is collaborating with Rutland Town on a Smart Growth Plan to incorporate Complete Streets planning into a redesign of Business Rte. 4A. Click here to read the Smart Growth Plan.
- Pine Hill Park, Rutland City
- The Pittsford Trail Network
- The Delaware and Hudson Rail Trail connecting Poultney and Castleton
- Find more walking and hiking trails in our area on Trail Finder
Walking and biking to school helps students develop independence, improves academic performance, reduces traffic congestion and air pollution and creates a stronger community. The Safe Routes to Schools program provides guidance and encouragement on how to engineer, implement and evaluate programs that make it safer, easier, and more fun for students and their families to walk and bike to school.
What does 3-4-50 mean?
3 behaviors – lack of physical activity, poor diet, and tobacco use – lead to 4 chronic diseases – cancer, heart disease and stroke, type 2 diabetes, and lung disease – that are the cause of more than 50 percent of all deaths in Vermont.
This understanding inspires us to take action. Communities that are built to support physical activity, safe walking and biking, use of public transportation, and easy access to fresh foods are essential for good health.
Related resources
Active Living and Healthy Eating (link is external) - Vermont Healthy Community Design Resource
Examples for Creating Healthy Communites: Physical Activity, Healthy Eating, Tobacco, Alchol & Drug Abuse Prevention (link is external)- Vermont Healthy Community Design Resource
Complete Streets: Guide for Vermont Communities (link is external) - to assist towns with examples
3-4-50 Prevent Chronic Disease (link is external)
Physical Activity & Nutrition in Vermont Communities (link is external)
Health in All Policies Scorecard (link is external)
Environmental Health in Vermont (link is external)
Chronic Disease in Vermont - Data
learn more
Trail Finder (link is external)
VT State Parks (link is external)
Free Falls Prevention Resources (link is external)
Hunger Free Vermont (link is external)
Safe Routes to School (link is external)
CounterBalance (link is external)- a campaign directed towards the tobacco industry’s influence on youth
Contact Us
Bethany, Public Health Specialist
802-786-5115
AHS.VDHOLHRutland@vermont.gov