I am obsessed with Treasure Island, at Lake Fairlee. Treasure Island is public beach operated by the town of Thetford and is about 45 minutes from South Royalton. Sort of a drive, but worth it:  something about this place is pure magic. Upon arrival, you pay an entrance fee, based on the honor code. After paying, I always park my car beneath the shade of a big pine tree.

The beach is prime people watching. There are always kids running around on adventures and the trials of putting sunblock on young children is always entertaining. Just this weekend a little boy and  his buddy caught three huge frogs and a little girl and her friends were learning how navigate a mini-canoe. One of the girls paddled out too far into the lake, and couldn’t make her way to shore. Her dad had to swim out to rescue her and bring her back to land. That was an interesting scene.

If you get tired of people watching, there are tennis courts, a volleyball net and trails to the island.

After going to Treasure Island, I like to go to the Post Mills Airstrip and watch the little planes take-off. Last year, I nicely asked a pilot for a ride, and he took me up in his two-seater plane to launch a glider. The airstrip is also the home of the Vermontasaurus. The Vermontasaurus, a community-built wooden sculpture, has a legal history related to Act 250 and it’s environmental impact. The Vermonatasaurus also has some other interesting land-use issues related to permitting and town plans. This is definitely a must-see for the budding land-use attorney.

I do want to offer a tiny piece of advice for the inaugural Treasure Island trip: pack the Vermont Gazetteer, just in case you get lost, and bring the Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior. If you’re feeling really ambitious, you could bring the Act 250 Handbook (but for a more fun trip, I suggest “accidentally” leaving it on the kitchen table!).

Heidi

Monday-Friday: 8AM-10PM
Saturday & Sunday: 9AM-10PM*

*Saturday, June 16 & Saturday, June 30: 8AM-10PM EXAMS

The above is my welcome message to our new Chinese visiting students and attorney. I welcome their visit to Vermont Law School for the summer and wish they will have an enjoyable and unforgettable studying time here.

As some of the Chinese visiting students and attorney arrived yesterday, I want to put on a book display showcasing some of the Chinese books the library has on environmental law. As far as I know, there are 3 JRP students, 3 Renmin exchange students and Attorney Zhao, all of whom specialize in environmental law. As you walk into the library lobby, you will see a sample of collection of Chinese books. Many of the Chinese books the library owns come from generous donations of visiting scholars in the past few years. Thanks to their generosity, it helps diversify our library’s collection and caters to different groups of readers on campus. The library is always a hot spot for visiting students and scholars to study and research here. There is a vast collection of legal materials, especially on environmental law.

The library offers print books, ebooks, journals and electronic databases, which will bring a fascinating research experience for you.  You may want to start your research using our catalog JULIEN. To help our visiting friends learn more about using resources library has to offer, I will give a research session Friday, June 1st, an introduction of American legal research!

Chenfang Yang