Find community, reinvigorate your teaching practice, and tap into the power of Education for Sustainability with 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

Join us for a program in 2025

Explore by area of focus below.

Focus on Education for Sustainability

Education for Sustainability (EFS) is learning that links knowledge, inquiry, and action to make positive change.

To grow your knowledge, apply for an EFS Graduate Certificate, offered with the University of Vermont. Or, try out one of the certificate's core courses. We recommend beginning with Foundations in EFS if you're new to this work.

Focus on Climate Change Education

All of our offerings have an integrated focus on climate change. These programs have an emphasis on education to inspire climate action.

For Early Childhood Educators

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.

Focus on Farm to School

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

For Farm-Based Educators

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

1500
educators from around the world participate in our professional learning opportunities every year.

What Educators Say

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.