Shelburne Farms Institute for Sustainable Schools

December 2024 | Programs, resources & stories for educators

Sharing our gratitude for you and all you do for your students, schools, and communities. We wish you a restful holiday season!

A group of young students pose with their teacher in front of a classroom chalkboard

CASE STUDY

Climate Action and Food Waste: One School's Story

Empowering students—and reducing waste—at Norwich, Vermont's Marion W. Cross Elementary School.

Get inspired

A small boat moored on the ocean at sunrise as seen from the coast

VIDEO+BLOG

What We Can Learn From the Gulf of Maine

Teachers in our Climate Resiliency Fellowship visited Hurricane Island, where waters are rapidly warming—and adaptations are underway.

Read the story

Four adults smile while standing on a lakeshore

INTERVIEW

A Conversation with Nepal's Kopila Valley School

Four educators share their perspectives on sustainability and takeaways from two weeks learning at Shelburne Farms.

Read the interview

Upcoming Programs

Save the date for 2025 professional learning programs, including:

Farm to School Institute Adaptation Program, year-long, begins June 23–27, 2025

•

Education for Sustainability Graduate Certificates, multi-year, begins Summer 2025

•

Foundations in EFS, July 7–11, 2025

•

Cultivating Joy and Wonder, July 14–18, 2025

•

EFS Leadership Academy, year-long, begins July 29–31, 2025

•

A Forest for Every Classroom, year-long, begins August 5–7, 2025

See all professional learning offerings

What We're Following

New podcast alert! The Northeast Farm to School Collaborative has a new monthly show exploring creative ways that local food is getting into cafeterias and classrooms. Hear the first episode.

•

With funding from the USDA, we're seeking two complementary research studies exploring how farm to school programs influence student success across different populations, time scales, and regions. RFP due January 31. Get full details.

•

In Vermont's Addison County, a repurposed school bus has become a classroom on wheels, delivering after-school science lessons. Via Seven Days.

•

Anyone can plan a Youth Climate Summit with this free toolkit from The Wild Center. Access facilitator guides, timelines, and sample agendas to design your own energizing, solutions-focused gathering.

View as Webpage

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.