By State › Vermont

Vermont: Local Resources

Download all of Vermont as PDF Print

Vermont Emergency Management (VEM)

VEM coordinates statewide emergency planning, training, and CERT program support across Vermont’s towns and cities.

Where to find it: vem.vermont.gov.

UVM Extension: Master Gardener Program

University of Vermont Extension runs the same category of program as every other state covered on this site.

  • UVM Extension Master Gardener Program: an application and background check are required, followed by a course each winter/spring (January-May) covering botany, soil fertility, and landscape design, then 40 hours of volunteer service to earn certification. Cost is $400 for Vermont residents, $550 for out-of-state.

Where to find it: uvm.edu/extension/mastergardener.

CERT: state-supported training, but independently run teams since 2020

Vermont’s CERT Basic Training is a 20-hour classroom and hands-on course covering emergency traffic control, fire safety assistance, light search and rescue, and disaster medical assistance. Since February 1, 2020, individual CERT teams have operated as independent nonprofits rather than units managed directly by VEM for activation, insurance, equipment, and reimbursement, a structural change that lets teams fundraise and apply for grants on their own.

A genuinely different organizational model

Most states covered on this site run CERT either through a single state agency, county offices, or city departments. Vermont’s 2020 shift to independent team nonprofits is a structurally distinct model: VEM still supports training, but day-to-day team operation and funding now sit with each team itself.

Where to find it: vem.vermont.gov/programs/cert.

Sources