June 2023 | Programs, resources & stories for educators

Two high school aged students hold a historical black and white photo in Burlington Vermont

Educator Signe Daly is the co-founder of Burlington City and Lake, a program we offer in partnership with Burlington School District. She has an inspiring new piece in Edutopia on the value of place-based learning. Signe writes:

To me, place-based learning means exploring the question, what can we learn right here, right now? It's learning that's authentic to your place and time, shaped by the people involved and current issues. In each semester of Burlington City and Lake, we engage in learning that couldn't happen anywhere else.

Read Signe's blog on Edutopia for tips on creating a place-based experience at your school.

For more inspiration, join us for professional learning this summer or fall! There's still time to sign up for opportunities including:

Project Seasons for Young Learners: Cultivating Joy & Wonder, July 10–14
Immersion in Education for Sustainability, July 25–27
A Forest for Every Classroom, October 2023–Summer 2024

See all professional learning.

Four educators sit in tall grass in Hawaii. They smile off camera while listening to a story.

BLOG

Hawai'i and Vermont, Place-Based Partners

Educators–including Shelburne Farms' Aimee Arandia Østensen and Joan Haley–traveled to Hawai'i this winter to immerse themselves in place- and culture-based education practices, with the aim of informing how we amplify Indigenous education in Vermont.

Read Now

A Shelburne Farms staff member smiles at two educators gathered in a circle

JOIN OUR TEAM

Professional Learning Facilitator

We're hiring! Work with teachers, early childhood providers, and other educators to integrate sustainability into the learning experiences of students.

Three high school aged students smile at a school cafeteria table

CASE STUDY

Farm Fresh School Meals for All

School meals and food systems education are deeply intertwined, and making school meals more equitable means healthier students who are fed and ready to learn. Here's a spotlight on the coalition advocating for Universal School Meals in Vermont, of which we're a member.

Read Now

An educator smiles while holding a cherry tomato

FREE ACTIVITY

Tomato Planet

In this two-part activity, discover how many seeds are in plants, and learn what seeds need to grow. A great activity for the growing season ahead!

See activity

Upcoming Learning Opportunities

Apply for the Education for Sustainability Graduate Certificate

•

Project Seasons for Young Learners: Cultivating Joy & Wonder, July 10–14

•

Foundations in Education for Sustainability, July 17–21

•

Immersion in Education for Sustainability, July 25–27

•

Apply for the 2023-24 Education for Sustainability Leadership Academy

•

A Forest for Every Classroom, October 2023–Summer 2024

•

Cultivating Pathways to Sustainability, Fall 2023–Spring 2024

•

All 2023 professional learning programs

What We're Following

June is National Dairy Month! Here's a story about the Dairy in the Classroom program, plus free classroom resources.

•

AI could save education, but not in the way you think, writes educator Dov Stucker, co-teacher of Burlington City and Lake. Via 2revolutions.

•

South Burlington High School teacher Christie Nold is using her experience working with Ukrainian students to help teach current events to Vermont students. Via Vermont Public.

•

Not sure how to start a climate conversation with your elementary students? Climate Generation has a new education resource for K–2, Healthy Habitats: Climate Change Action.

Shelburne Farms is an education nonprofit on a mission to inspire and cultivate learning for a sustainable future.

The Shelburne Farms Institute for Sustainable Schools offers professional learning programs and resources for PreK-12 educators. All of our offerings prepare educators to facilitate learning experiences for students using a lens of sustainability. We believe in the power and potential of students to address the world's most pressing issues. We see schooling as a pathway to create healthy and just communities, successful lives, and a more livable world for all. In partnership with students and communities, educators are changemakers.