Learn, grow, and be inspired with the Shelburne Farms Institute for Sustainable Schools. In each of our programs, you will:

  • Cultivate a sense of joy and wonder for the world around us
  • Learn strategies to connect you and your learners to social-ecological communities
  • Build your content knowledge, gain access to resources, and deepen your teaching practice
  • Tap into a network of support as you become an agent of change in a dynamic education system
1500
educators from around the world participate in our professional learning opportunities every year.

Education for Sustainability Graduate Certificates

Accelerate positive change in your school and community. Offered in partnership with the University of Vermont.

Explore All Programs

Click on your area of interest to see offerings.

Education for sustainability

To grow your knowledge, take our series of three EFS-focused courses:

  1. First, Foundations in EFS;
  2. Second, Immersion in EFS; and
  3. EFS Leadership Academy third.

Or, take all of these classes within the Education for Sustainability Graduate Certificate.

Farm-based education

Join us for the three-day workshop, the ABCs of Farm-Based Education, offered twice a year in spring and fall.

Early childhood education

Project Seasons for Young Learners: Cultivating Joy & Wonder is an immersive week-long summer workshop that will inspire your early childhood curriculum with fresh ideas.

Then, take our introductory workshop, Foundations in Education for Sustainability.

Climate change education

All of our programs and resources have an integrated focus on climate change. These year-long programs have an emphasis on education to inspire climate action:

Farm to school

Farm to school is a strategy for connecting classrooms, cafeterias, and communities to shape a better, more just future for youth and the planet. More about farm to school.

Form a team and join the Northeast Farm to School Institute.

Or, for states outside the northeast, apply for the Farm to School Institute Adaptation Program.

Upcoming Programs

Educator Programs
2023-24 Northeast Farm to School Institute
-
With Vermont FEED
Educator Programs
Immersion in Education for Sustainability 2023
-
$750

In Your Words

Shelburne Farms continuously helps me re-evaluate what high quality, place-based education can look like, while addressing so many current issues. I always leave inspired and with a broad set of resources to help me. Shelburne Farms' staff are also now providing a platform for us to share our program's story and build 'mycelium' with other educators doing this work.

Educator Kat Robbins smiles in a selfie while on a hike. She wears a bandana around her neck and carries a backpack.
Kat Robbins
Place-Based Learning Coordinator

Institute for Sustainable Schools

What are sustainable schools? Beyond bricks and mortar, they’re places where students build their ability to make a difference and are challenged to apply what they learn to improve wellbeing in their schools and communities. In all of our programs, you’ll tap into the power of education for sustainability and learn to use your place as an extension of the classroom.

The Institute for Sustainable Schools was formed in 2021 as a home for professional learning, a culmination of fifty years of service to teachers and schools.