Shelburne Farms Institute for Sustainable Schools

May 2024 | Programs, resources & stories for educators

Summer is fast approaching, and there's still room in a few of our programs!

Education for Sustainability Graduate Certificates with the University of Vermont, including a new elective course option, Climate Change Education
Education for Sustainability Leadership Academy, year-long, begins July 30–Aug. 1
Climate Resiliency Fellowship, year-long, begins Aug. 13–15
Climate Farm School for Farm-Based Educators, Sept. 15–19

View our calendar

BLOG

Discovering the Wondrous World of Pollinators

Ecologist Leslie Spencer on introducing students to native pollinators—and how we can each take actions to support them.

Buzz over to our blog

ACTIVITY

Natural Fabric Dyes

A kid-friendly, hands-on project that gives food and fabric scraps a second life. Educator Hannah says, "It feels a little like playing with magic potions!"

Get the activity

Two women talk while seated on a grassy lawn

VIDEO

Farmer-to-Farmer Connections

Hear from members of the Agricultural Educators Cohort, a peer-to-peer learning program for farmers interested in connecting with schools and hosting youth for hands-on agricultural education. Offered in partnership with NOFA-VT.

Watch the video

What We're Following

We'd like to congratulate the teams who were selected for the 2024–25 Farm to School Institute Adaptation Program: Arizona, North Carolina, Missouri, and New Jersey. In the next year, teams from these states will work to adapt the Northeast institute model to their unique regions across the country.

•

Meet a few of the outstanding graduates of the University of Vermont College of Education and Social Services Class of 2024 including Emma Von Licht, who completed the Place-Based Education undergraduate certificate (offered with UVM) and served as an education fellow here last year.

•

Our Farm to School Director Betsy Rosenbluth co-authored a chapter in the just-released book, Transforming School Food Politics around the World.

•

A strong case for the academic and psychological benefits of nature journaling in Edutopia.

•

Shelburne Farms' dairy, garden, and woodlands managers share how they're responding to the more unpredictable weather patterns brought on by climate change.

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.