Place-Based Education

A Conversation with Nepal's Kopila Valley School

aestey — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 19:47:55 +0000

A Conversation with Nepal's Kopila Valley School aestey Mon, 10/21/2024 - 15:47

The Kopila Valley team at Shelburne Farms this summer: Sustainability Coordinator Sunita Bhandari; BlinkNow Co-founder Maggie Doyne; Principal Rajen Karki; and early educator Samjhana Neupane. (Photo: Andrea Estey)

From more than 7,000 miles away, we were thrilled to welcome a team of educators from Nepal's Kopila Valley School to Shelburne Farms for professional learning this summer. (Despite the distance, Kopila is a longtime partner of Shelburne Farms and participant in Cultivating Pathways to Sustainability.)

At the end of their time in Vermont, we asked these four changemakers—Sunita, Maggie, Rajen, and Samjhana—to tell us about their school and share their reflections on sustainability.

Q: Tell me a little bit about Kopila Valley School and what you do.

Rajen: We provide free education to more than 400 students, from nursery school through Grade 12. We give priority admission to children who have been orphaned, abandoned, or who might otherwise not have access to an education. We also admit children from marginalized and socially disadvantaged ethnic groups.

As principal, I collaborate with and mobilize the school team to have the greatest impact on students’ knowledge. We also prioritize sustainability, health and wellness, and planning for students’ futures. Together, we support students to be engaged and productive so that they can learn. Also we want to instill in students love, care, and respect for nature to develop stewardship of the environment.

Kopila Valley School.

Q: What’s the story behind how Kopila Valley School came to be?

Maggie: Nineteen years ago I co-founded BlinkNow, which is the U.S. 501(c)(3) entity or the engine that fuels the work of Kopila Valley School. Kopila Valley is Nepali-run and governed by its own board.

Our goal was to go into an incredibly impoverished, struggling region and try to end cycles of poverty and marginalization, amongst children especially. The greatest opportunity to end poverty is through education. But the education that we saw there was just not up to standard, from basic infrastructure to instructional practices. We set out to build a full-service community school that could not only serve children but model what education could look like around the world. A lot of times, the Global South and regions struggling with poverty get less services, the bare minimum. But we wanted to create a school that we’d want our own children to go to, that’s loving, nurturing, safe, and nature-based.

We brought together some of the best architects, environmental engineers, farmers, and leaders who shared that vision. Slowly, step by step, we started building a school that was integrated with the community. Now sustainability is everywhere at Kopila—we have rainwater harvest, solar power, edible landscaping, a garden, and animals. Our school is very outdoors—you can’t go from one classroom to another without going outside. We built one of the world’s first rammed-earth schools, which is more resistant to earthquakes.

As part of our mission to address the needs of the whole child and family, we also operate the Kopila Valley Children’s Home, a loving family for children who have been left without parents. About 50 children live in the home now, and more than 30 have graduated into young adulthood and independent living. Knowing that it’s best to keep families together whenever possible, we also started the Kopila Valley Women’s Center to provide job training, empowerment courses, and social network support for local mothers and caregivers who are supporting their families.

We’re trying to raise the ceiling of what education can look like, while also raising the floor for the children who are struggling the most. It’s very challenging work. Ultimately, we’re trying to stop poverty in its tracks.

Q: What’s your role in advancing sustainability at Kopila Valley?

Sunita: Sustainability is one of our foundational beliefs. Part of my work as sustainability coordinator is to engage with teachers and their students to support them in integrating sustainability through everything we do, inside and outside of the classroom. Sustainable practices show up in our physical infrastructure and facilities and how we connect with our community. For example, we have a strong focus on creating sustainable food systems; to do this, we work on regenerative farming practices with local smallholder farms. We call ourselves the greenest school in Nepal!

As part of Cultivating Pathways to Sustainability, a virtual program offered by Shelburne Farms and UP for Learning, students learned about “Plants Around Kopila.” They researched their favorite plants, conducted a community survey to gather local knowledge, and tagged plants with support from experts.

Q: What about in the early childhood classrooms, how does sustainability show up there?

Samjhana: Place is the most important thing. From place and by connecting with nature, kids learn lifelong skills. As an early childhood educator, I love taking my kids outside, observing and working with nature and the community. We try to make our kids...nature kids.

For many of our children, they have a lot to overcome. Sometimes, we need to start inside, just hold them, connect with them, and help them get ready to start to learn. We have the opportunity to make them better humans. At Kopila, they can feel surrounded by people, nature, all of the natural creatures from their place.

Q: Can you say a bit more about the context you work in?

Maggie: We work in the Karnali Region of Nepal, and it’s struggling in particular. There was a civil war in Nepal just before I arrived. It’s a food-deficient country and one of the poorest in the world. There are more than one million orphaned children in Nepal. And our region is incredibly remote because of the Himalayan Mountains, and very underdeveloped. Not only that, we get hit with natural disasters. My BlinkNow co-founder is from the region and an orphan himself, so we knew when we started that “development” is not just one thing, it’s not a quick fix. It’s an integrative, complicated web. So we said, let’s start with the child. What does a child need to thrive and grow? And, the community needs healthy, thriving children, but you need one to take care of the other. So, we take a very community-based approach. Women and mothers are integral to our work—we want to stop children from becoming orphaned in the first place. Health and wellness, family development and social work, food, nutrition, it’s all part of it.

Q: I’m struck by all the ways sustainability is woven into the school. For the last two weeks at Shelburne Farms, you’ve heard many ways that schools in America want to be more like Kopila. How are you thinking about that as you go back to Nepal?

Maggie: Yeah! Like, our school lunch is grown by local Indigenous farmers, and the kids get to know the farmers. When those lunches come to school, there’s no disposable packaging on them. There’s no vehicles on campus—we all ride our bikes or walk. In Nepal, you know who your neighbors are. Some people think of our region as being really backwards, but in many ways, I think we have sustainability right. So yes, I’m thinking about how we can uplift that wisdom and also equip our students for the modern world that they’re emerging into. How do we celebrate Nepal and our ways of being?

Samjhana (left, in middle) and Sunita (right) learn with early educators at Shelburne Farms’ pond. (Photos: Andrea Estey)

Q: Really what you’re talking about in the case of Kopila and much of Nepal is, sustainability is a way of life. It’s core to survival, right?

Maggie: Exactly. It’s life-saving, and life-giving. Climate change is deeply felt for us. Like, if you don’t get your monsoon on time, you don’t have a rice harvest. If you have a bad crop, you don’t eat. There’s a lot more at stake for the Nepali community. When we talk about Himalayan springs and the lack of water, irregular seasons, heat waves...sustainability feels mission-critical, just like food, just like clean water. Sustainability isn’t a luxury, it’s our way of being and surviving. Coming away from this experience at Shelburne Farms, we need to remember that as Nepali people, we have so much of what the rest of the world wants: nature integrated into life, people living in community, solidarity.

Rajen: We cannot afford to be unsustainable in Nepal. In training here these last two weeks, we’ve talked about a lot of things our students already do, like gardening, composting, outdoor learning, and visiting farmland.

What I’ve learned here is program design and execution. I'm also impressed by the documentation processes. I look forward to sharing these takeaways in my school. Each and every moment spent at Shelburne Farms has been very fruitful and a good learning experience, especially with relation to sustainable practices and how we can replicate the ideas in our school.

Samjhana: I’m very grateful that I got the opportunity to participate in these programs. It’s very helpful for me to get new activities and ideas that I can bring to my children.

Sunita: This training has been an amazing opportunity to reflect on our work, to get to know the contexts and experiences of educators from around the U.S., and their perceptions of Nepal. I see Nepal as a model country, and Kopila Valley as a model school for all the schools around the world in terms of sustainability. I urge everyone to get to know a little more about our work—and if you have recommendations, tell us!

Q: What else might you want to share with educators here in the U.S.?

Sunita: All the work we are doing is also related to justice. Nepal is one of the most vulnerable countries in terms of climate change, and every livelihood is being impacted by it. Climate change is very, very visible, so sustainability is a must for us. We must do something about that. And we feel motivated to work on this for the justice of our people. I urge educators around the planet to see Education for Sustainability as a medium for creating a just, compassionate, and hopeful world.

Rajen: Ultimately, we all are traveling in one spaceship that is Mother Earth. Maybe some of us will get impacted earlier by climate change, but later on, it will come back to every one of us. And I’d like to say about the people of Nepal, despite all of the scarcity, despite not having basics like access to safe drinking water, sanitation, health care, or education, they try to live sustainably, and I feel they are happy despite these extremes. Our government must have more focus on these things, and we need to work together to eradicate the cycle of poverty.

Young kids, they will change this world. They are the future. How we teach them, we are developing the future. By making things more sustainable, we’re making this a planet where everyone can flourish.

Read more stories from Kopila Valley School in our publication, “Learning Locally, Transforming Globally.”

Follow BlinkNow on Instagram for updates on their work and news about the documentary "Between the Mountain and the Sky," featuring Maggie and the Kopila Valley children. Watch the moving trailer below.

Andrea Estey

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October 22, 2024

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In BCL, The City is Both Classroom and Curriculum

aestey — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 18:09:06 +0000

In BCL, The City is Both Classroom and Curriculum aestey Mon, 10/07/2024 - 14:09

Burlington City & Lake begins its 13th semester of immersive, place-based learning for high school juniors and seniors

Already this fall, BCL’s 22 students have engaged with several community partners to deepen their understanding of place, including Burlington’s lead urban park ranger Neil Preston. (Photos: Burlington City & Lake)

A quick Google search for news about Burlington will give you a window into the challenges and possibilities facing Vermont’s largest city. But reading the news is, of course, no substitute for getting to know a place firsthand. In Burlington City & Lake Semester, a program for Burlington High School juniors and seniors offered by Shelburne Farms and the Burlington School District, students learn about their community not through screens or textbooks but through hands-on, immersive experiences.

Burlington City & Lake (BCL), now in its 13th semester, uses the city as both classroom and curriculum in pursuit of understanding what it means for a community to thrive. Students spend several full days each week off-campus talking with the people that call their city home, consulting with officials and community leaders, exploring streets and parks, learning the history of various neighborhoods, immersing in cultures, and reflecting on their experiences through creative and investigative projects. Along the way, young people develop a sense of care for Burlington—and themselves—as citizens and community members.

The program recently welcomed Christie Beveridge (left) as a teacher, who facilitates the program with teacher Dov Stucker and BCL fellow Emily Taylor. “All education should be like this,” says Christie, whose background includes 18 years as a classroom teacher and, most recently, several years as a program director with UP for Learning. “I wish every student could get this type of experience. BCL is a special combination of real-world, relevant learning, and we form a community that can be vulnerable with each other in a way that students often can’t in traditional classroom settings.”

Already this fall, BCL’s 22 students have engaged with several community partners to deepen their understanding of place. They’ve taken a walking tour of the city’s Old North End neighborhood with Judy Dow (below, right), an artist, educator, and historian who is of French Canadian and Abenaki descent; met with Burlington’s lead urban park ranger Neil Preston; and talked with a panel of local organizers about the housing crisis. Students then dug deeper, exploring several frameworks related to equity and justice—and filling pages of their notebooks with questions and reflections.

In students’ words:

“The first walk with Judy was very personal and captivating as we were able to listen and essentially observe what many people who lived in the margins had to go through. I really learned more about the history of Burlington in the hour-long walk than I did in the majority of social studies or history classes I have taken. It was also very interesting to hear about the darker side of Burlington history, as I had zero idea that there was such an oppressive period in our city.” —BCL student Remy

“There are a lot of flaws in Burlington and in this state, but there’s also hope. There are people working to better our city, and it makes me wish I could do more. Maybe with more people knowing about these details, more people will volunteer. These experiences are very different from the normal school stuff I’ve done before, but I’m glad to get more involved instead of being stuck at a desk.” —BCL student Pramudita

“My perspective on Burlington has changed after hearing the input and stories told by the community partners. My perspective on Burlington’s past, and how Burlington is handling societal issues in the present, have changed. Going into the future I’m now going to be more aware of the present problems with insufficient housing. I’m also walking away with a better understanding of equity, equality, and belonging, and what they mean in our community.”—BCL student Glenna

Students walked Burlington’s waterfront parks with head ranger Neil Preston. Said student Jacques: “From these walks my perspective has changed for the better. I am realizing I need to be more involved with my community.”

“We believe BCL isn’t just beneficial for our students, but it’s beneficial for the city as well,” says Christie. “In a few weeks, we’re meeting with the group that is working on re-developing Memorial Auditorium. We’re also consulting with developers on the future of Pomeroy Park. Through these conversations, sitting at the table with decision makers, students get a say in their city. And these talks could also inspire them to see future career paths.”

Students are now beginning the first of three “inquiry projects,” investigating topics of their choosing in Burlington. “One student is studying Abenaki stories. One is looking at basketball courts in Burlington—the impact and role of courts in neighborhoods, who chooses where they go,” says Christie. “Within each inquiry project, students have to interview someone, and they have to go out and have an experience related to their topic that helps them better understand it. It empowers them to investigate and branch out.” The semester will culminate in a community theater piece created with guidance from local playwright Gina Stevensen.

While Christie is new to BCL, she says there are elements that are familiar from her time teaching in other contexts. “Experiential learning, or learning hands-on, have always been a thread through my teaching because I know that’s where the realest, most relevant learning happens,” she says.

You can continue to follow along with the BCL experience this semester on their blog.

Andrea Estey

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October 7, 2024

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'Sage' Magazine Celebrates Place-Based Educators

aestey — Mon, 16 Sep 2024 14:55:36 +0000

'Sage' Magazine Celebrates Place-Based Educators aestey Mon, 09/16/2024 - 10:55

Our own Aimee Arandia Østensen is among those featured in a zine showcasing stewards of Vermont

When you hear the words “college capstone project,” you may immediately think of a weighty research paper or lengthy presentation. What you might not expect is the latest issue of Sage, a beautiful, 72-page magazine chock full of stories on what it means to care for a place.

Bella Brodsky has produced Sage for the past seven years. For this latest issue, she collaborated with Carina Crane; the zine served as their culminating project for the Place-Based Education Certificate program offered by the University of Vermont and Shelburne Farms.

The issue is a celebration of Vermont and the people who steward place in many different ways, including several folks with connections to Shelburne Farms: Vermont Teacher of the Year Aziza Malik (a current Climate Resiliency Fellow); former Burlington City and Lake teacher and farm staff member Signe Daly; and Shelburne Farms educator Aimee Arandia Østensen, who teaches in the Place-Based Education Certificate. (You can read Aimee’s full conversation with Carina below.)

“Through the Place-Based Education program, we learned so many ideas of what ‘place’ is,” says Carina. Adds Bella, “One of our main intentions with this issue was to show that community care and stewardship can take so many forms. And to show that place-based education doesn’t just happen in elite private education spaces. It can mean so many different things—art, farming, ecology, storytelling, activism.”

Shelburne Farms educator Aimee Arandia Østensen at the top of Lone Tree Hill. (Photo: Bella Brodsky)

Both Bella and Carina took the course Foundations of Place-Based Education with Aimee. “It was a really cool class. We had experiences in so many different communities within Burlington and UVM,” explains Carina. “The size of the program and the class was special. It made it a great environment for connecting with your professors and your peers.”

Another memorable class: an elective on resiliency-based education taught by UVM Associate Professor Simon Jorgenson, a frequent collaborator of the farm. “Simon and Aimee do a really wonderful job of demonstrating non-hierarchical learning. They break down a lot of the boundaries of ‘teacher and learner’ that can be intimidating. Both teach in a way that feels really warm, loving, and caring,” says Bella. “It’s the kind of teaching that opens you up to feel fulfilled by the learning and to be able to learn.”

So what exactly is place-based education? Laughs Carina, “I get that a lot. I’d describe it as the type of education that directly surrounds us. It’s going out in your community and forming connections and relationships, and through that, you’re learning in ways that are digestible, that you can relate to, and in ways that are emotional. You develop a much deeper sense of love and care for the issues you’re learning about.” Adds Bella, “It’s education that nourishes you.”

With undergrad degrees and place-based education certificates under their belts, Carina is now working as an environmental mentor at Bread and Butter Village School in Shelburne and Crow’s Path in Burlington; Bella is a farmer at Dandelion Farm in Westford and a student in the UVM Food Systems master’s program concentrating in agroecology. Bella and Carina plan to continue producing issues of Sage, too; their next issue will be available in Winter 2025.

You can purchase a copy of Sage Issue 9 on their website.

A Conversation with Aimee Arandia Østensen

From Sage Issue 9
Written by Carina Crane
Photography by Bella Brodsky

Photo by Bella Brodsky

My name is Aimee Arandia Østensen. The place that is my heart home is a small homestead on six acres of land on a mountainside in the Catskills on Esopus Munsee land. It's in a little dead end valley, surrounded by mountains. I think it is the place that I feel most deeply connected to. This little place in the mountains is my heart home, and I describe it that way because I've deepened my relationship with that particular place through seasons and seasons and seasons. And there has definitely been an exchange of breath, learning and care between the place and me in that time.

I grew up in the suburbs of Syracuse, New York and I never really felt home there. It was where I was born, it was where I spent my youth, but I never felt a sense of belonging. I felt there was this longing for natural and open spaces and deeper connection to the natural world. I had a commitment to, and this understanding that I needed to be more in touch with all that sustains us.

What does place mean to you?

I think it's all about relationships. The land exists, whether or not we humans are there to witness it. But when I start talking about Place, I think what I'm talking about is the relationship between individuals and communities and the land. That relationship is what makes Place.

Aimee splits her time between her home in the Catskill Mountains and Vermont, where she works as a professional learning facilitator with the Shelburne Farms Institute for Sustainable Schools. Working in many different environments, she weaves in values of justice and sustainability in various educational contexts.

In some ways, when we think about education, we think about the formalized institution and organized learning, but I think there's also a side of education which is just learning to live better, and living to learn. I think learners and students should experience that education is both things.

The purpose of formalized education for me has evolved. I think “How can we learn to be in relationship with the land, the communities we're in, and ourselves?" such that we are creating regeneration. Living in such a way that all beings and people that we're in relationship with have the opportunity to thrive. I know that sounds very glorious and maybe unrooted, but I think in small ways, if we're just starting to tend to the relationships immediately around us, and learning how to then do that in bigger circles, it is possible.

Storytelling is a way of understanding for Aimee; giving meaning to all that is around, deepening her connection to place.

I get so much joy from the tiny things: the way that the sunlight hits a leaf or a petal, the way that there's a sparkle that might move on the water, a certain feeling in the wind or a certain expression that I might perceive on the faces of other people that I'm with. I find so much delight in those things, and I often find that when I'm having gloomier days or more stressed out days, it might be that I haven't stopped to take a moment to notice the multitude of joys that are around me.

I like to think of the world as a place that is filled with a multitude of stories; stories that are there to teach and stories that are there to learn from and stories that just exist. Learning how to listen to those stories—whether they're verbally shared or just alive in the ways that ecosystems are functioning and individual plants and humans are functioning—there's so much to learn. The limitations of a textbook, for example, or any single source of material is that it can only bring you so many stories and so many perspectives. Once we kind of lift our heads up and look around and go outside, and move in the community—then there—the potential to tap into the richness of the stories that exist, is endless.

Andrea Estey

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Meet a Changemaker: Gerlisa Garrett, Stowe Middle School

aestey — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 12:56:46 +0000

Meet a Changemaker: Gerlisa Garrett, Stowe Middle School aestey Wed, 06/12/2024 - 08:56

Teacher Gerlisa Garrett and students talk about the future of the land. (Photos: Andrea Estey)

In the woods behind Vermont’s Stowe Middle School, a group of sixth graders predicts the future.

Each student holds a small notebook, filled with writing and pencil sketches. “I think in one hundred years, Stowe will be a bigger city with factories and maybe more pollution and trash,” says one student. “I drew a spaceship with all of us headed to Mars, because we’ve destroyed the planet,” says another. Gulp.

But there are more hopeful predictions, too. Says one student, “I drew Stowe with bridges and culverts to show ways we’ve done a better job with water to prevent flooding.”

These drawings are part of a weeklong immersion in nature, piloted by sixth grade language arts and science teacher Gerlisa Garrett. Every day for a week, students spent science class outside, learning about the past, present, and future of the landscape surrounding their school. They looked at historical documents and maps and searched for clues in the woods like tree diameters and animal tracks, gathering more details about who’s alive on the land today. “If we can identify how this land has been used in the past and how it’s being used today, what do we hope for in the future? What challenges will we see?” says Gerlisa. “My hope is this week will give them a stronger foundation for our next unit, talking about climate solutions and the ways humans impact our environment.”

Gerlisa started her career in environmental education, where she saw firsthand the impact that immersive experiences in nature can make. “My dream since becoming a classroom teacher has been to figure out how to bring what works about environmental education into a more traditional classroom setting, and to create meaningful connections between my students and their local community and environment,” says Gerlisa.

In a place with as much natural beauty as Stowe, Vermont, you might be wondering, is it really that hard to take a class of kids outside? The short answer is, yes. “In a traditional middle school context, getting kids outside takes a lot of resources: safety plans, additional support staff, accessibility accommodations, outdoor gear. Plus there are things to navigate like schedules and mandatory curriculum.” Overcoming these obstacles and developing this unit was the focus of Gerlisa’s time in the Education for Sustainability Leadership Academy, a year-long program offered by Shelburne Farms Institute for Sustainable Schools and the University of Vermont.

Gerlisa Garrett. (Photo: Bear Cieri)

Gerlisa points to many good reasons to get kids learning outside: people of all ages, but especially children, are increasingly disconnected from natural spaces and the environment. And, there’s been a recent rise in social-emotional and mental health difficulties, across the state and around the country. A growing body of research shows exposure to nature and nature-based learning opportunities benefit social-emotional health and academic and physical wellbeing, and even increases stress resilience.

“These challenges extend beyond the scope of my classroom or even my district, but there’s one strategy within my reach, and that’s increasing students’ connection during the school day and their sense of place and belonging through nature- and place-based outdoor learning,” says Gerlisa.

Beyond the benefits to students, the hope is that the planet benefits, too. “I’m responsible for teaching them our climate curriculum, and we know climate education is most effective if students have a connection to the place they’re in, and they actually want to create change,” says Gerlisa. “All of this reinforces for me that my long-term goal of increasing students’ connections to their community is worthwhile, and maybe more urgent than ever.”

And what were the results of this weeklong experiment? “I collected data on the impact of one outdoor class experience on students’ social-emotional state. They were each asked to choose a word to describe how they felt at the beginning of class and again at the end. Overall, the response was very positive,” says Gerlisa, “from 56% of students saying they felt positive before going outside to 86% after. That’s a significant increase.”

In students’ words:

“Being outside helps me learn and makes me very calm.”

“I LOVE peace and quiet…I don’t get it at home.”

“It was fun and made it easier to learn and connect with nature. It also helped me focus better.”

“Learning outside is more fun because you get real life examples of what you are learning about.”

“Can we do more sketching and poems and hikes?”

“Gerlisa’s work on the nature unit enriched the lives of our school community and our students. It was inspiring to see students sit in nature—observe, think, draw, and write. It was both inspiring and something that there should just be more of,” says Stowe Middle School principal Misha Hudak. “We are so lucky to have Gerlisa as an educator at Stowe; she enriches the lives of our students and teachers each and every day.”

This mini-unit is just the beginning, says Gerlisa. With systems in place and gear on hand, she aims to add an additional outdoor class every month throughout the next school year. “It’s my hope that increased exposures to outdoor learning will increase the benefits for our students. And that it will catch on. Even if a handful of other educators in my school add nature-based learning days to their year, the cumulative impact across a student’s time in middle school could be substantial.” To accelerate that work, Gerlisa initiated the middle school’s participation in a district-wide partnership with the Stowe Land Trust. While the partnership is still taking shape, the hope is that teachers will have enhanced access to training, spaces, and support for nature-based learning.

Reflecting on their week in the woods, here’s what one student had to say—in the form of a poem.

An orange needle to a green grass

To a breeze whistling to you.

A bird chirping to kids laughing and having fun.

A forest has everything. Even being a giant home.

Andrea Estey

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Amazing to see and read.
God bless you
Stay blessed and keep shining 🌟

As a retired teacher I am grateful to read about teachers finding creative ways to inspire students. Bravo to you Gerlisa for sharing your story and may others be inspired to think outside the box.

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What the Forest Can Teach Us

aestey — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 13:20:21 +0000

What the Forest Can Teach Us aestey Tue, 06/11/2024 - 09:20

Highlights from A Forest for Every Classroom 2023–24

A Forest for Every Classroom just concluded a year of convening teachers for transformative learning. (Photo: Andrea Estey)

It’s mid-January in Tunbridge, Vermont, and the snowy woods behind First Branch Elementary School look still and lifeless—that is, until you slow down and investigate.

“Miss Caitlyn! Miss Eliza! Midden! MIDDEN!” shouts a second grader, crouched at the base of the tree. A half dozen students come running to take a closer look. Sure enough, a Red Squirrel has created a cache of seeds and stems, called a “midden,” in this spot. The group read about the habits of these tiny forest residents earlier that day, and they can’t believe their luck.

These expeditioners are led by teachers Caitlyn MacGlaflin and Eliza Minnucci. Across the seasons, second graders seek to answer the question, “Who is the forest?” In the classroom, they read about the area’s plants and animals, building background knowledge; in the forest, they explore, identifying everything from animal tracks to tree bark to invasive plants. Later, they record what they’ve noticed—and what they’re still curious about.

Above, second graders record their forest discoveries in a journal. Below, teachers Caitlyn MacGlaflin and Eliza Minnucci in professional learning at Shelburne Farms. (Photo: Andrea Estey)

Caitlyn and Eliza developed this course inspired by their experience in A Forest for Every Classroom, a year-long professional learning program with Shelburne Farms Institute for Sustainable Schools, The National Park Service Stewardship Institute, and the US Forest Service. “During this year, I've moved quite a bit further in my teaching practice, from teaching in nature to teaching with nature, from lessons about counting branches on trees and doing read alouds inside, to exploring and discovering and observing and recording outside,” says Eliza. There are, of course, many more outcomes than discovering squirrel middens; these lessons meet dozens of standards in literacy, science, math, and global citizenship.

Crucially, students are developing habits of observation and reflection, and a sense of connection to and responsibility for their place. These are the underlying ideas of A Forest for Every Classroom: Learning to Make Choices for the Future, which just concluded a year of convening teachers for transformative learning. “These outcomes are unique to taking students to the forest—they happen because we’re going outside, and because we’re opening up to experiences as they unfold,” says Caitlyn, a second grade teacher. “Spending time with like-minded and passionate educators and experts through A Forest For Every Classroom helped to reinvigorate my own values and improve my outdoor teaching practices.”

Read on to hear a few more stories from the 2023–24 cohort.

Sandra Fary, grades 7–8 science teacher in Richmond, Vermont

Sandra's students learn from the land year-round.

Her ongoing work: Sandra immersed her students in a variety of forests throughout the year through field studies. Together they participated in a fall bioblitz, taking inventory of all of the tree species on their school campus. Later, they learned about floodplain dynamics, a vital topic in the face of increasing extreme weather events. “The town I teach in was really hit by summer flooding. So, we looked at the power of water and what the forests that border our rivers provide for wildlife and for flood management,” she explains. Next year, she’s aiming to incorporate more Indigenous perspectives, inspired by speakers and readings in this course, and to forge new partnerships with forest researchers in the area.

On why this work matters: “My main takeaway is that the more students know about forests and our interconnectedness, they’ll feel more connected to their place. They are going to be better decision-makers and stewards of our land, and are more likely to conserve and protect Vermont. Also, mental health is huge. Getting kids outside and connecting them to the natural world really helps.”

In her words: “I can’t say enough about this course. It’s influenced my pedagogy in every way. It instilled confidence, provided me with resources, and connected me to colleagues and the landscape.”

Kellie Hallock, first grade teacher and Mandy Walsh, school librarian and farm to school educator in Westminster, Vermont

Above, a maple tree outside Kellie's classroom windows became a focal point for a year-long unit. Below, educators Kellie Hallock and Mandy Walsh learn in the woods of Shelburne Farms. (Photo: Andrea Estey)

Their focus: Kellie’s first grade class typically spent just one half-day learning outside with Mandy. Kellie’s goal was to bring outdoor learning into more of the school week, even if they couldn’t be outside. This started with students answering a single question: What type of tree is outside our window? “We have a gorgeous maple tree right outside our classroom,” explains Kellie. “So students can sit at our writing table, study the tree, and in that way we can learn about the forest all week long.” The maple tree became the center of an entire year-long unit, connecting to science standards around patterns and seasons. First graders learned about parts of a tree; how trees are similar and different; and how trees are important to all living things. For Mandy, it’s also about learning how to ask questions: “My goal with everything is to have kids start to ask questions. If kids can learn how to ask questions about things, they can begin to get curious, to figure out what they care about, and learn to build a life that they love.”

On thinking differently outside: “Through this program I saw the value in students learning how to identify a tree, and learning about our outdoor classroom, not just learning in our outdoor classroom,” says Kellie. “Tree identification has shifted and changed my life. I sound dramatic, but it’s true. Being in the woods is so much more meaningful for me now. The curiosity it’s brought me, the challenge of something new, has shifted my own thinking outside.”

Andrew Njaa, high school physics teacher; Margaret Sobol, outdoor learning educator; and Justin Deri, farm to school program manager in Falmouth, Maine

Teacher Andrew Njaa at Shelburne Farms. (Photo: Andrea Estey)

Their focus: This interdisciplinary team hatched an idea for utilizing a 40-acre piece of forested land at the center of their district’s school campuses. “Our big project was to find a way for all of the grades in our district to use this land, incorporating many different aspects of what we already do as outdoor educators,” explains Justin. Inspiration struck when a team from Woodstock Union Middle & High School’s CRAFT Program visited as guest speakers. Says high school teacher Andrew: “What inspired me is that the CRAFT credential model brings teachers from any academic discipline into the fold. Suddenly a stats teacher or a foreign language teacher can create curriculum that is centered in an ecological, outdoor space and have that be part of a larger experience for students. The teachers themselves are then creating a larger community within the high school that honors and includes the world literally outside the walls of the school.” The Falmouth crew has since created a proposal for a year-long interdisciplinary program in which students will learn on and with the land, and will continue this work over the coming year as part of the Education for Sustainability Leadership Academy.

On practicing curiosity: “Many of our current high school students are very academically-driven but don't have a relationship with the natural world,” says Margaret. “We hope to build stamina for learning outside and connecting with the natural world as our students move through the K—12 continuum. So we're hoping to inspire curiosity when students are younger and nurture that as students age up.”

Their motivation: “All of this work is really about climate resiliency, and creating connection to the environment, so that our students may know it, and if they know it and understand it, they will care about it, and if they care about it, then they will work to protect it and have the tools to do so,” explains Margaret. Adds Justin, “Care leads to protection.”

A Forest for Every Classroom will next be offered for educators in 2025–26.

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Oyster Reefs as a Climate Change Adaptation

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Since working with Dana Bishop, Manager of Natural Resources and Forests, at Shelburne Farms. I see trees as one of the original citizens on the planet. They help the planet more than humans ever have. Learning about Nature in the outdoors with Dana, facing Nature directly and being able to touch it with all my senses, I feel inexplicably alive. Learning about Nature in the outdoors should be part of every curriculum beginning at the earliest age possible.

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Farmer-to-Farmer Connections: Building Networks for Learning

Sarah — Thu, 16 May 2024 20:00:00 +0000

Farmer-to-Farmer Connections: Building Networks for Learning Sarah Thu, 05/16/2024 - 16:00

Sarah Webb

“I feel really passionate about providing an experience for children and young adults to have a connection to nature and learn about growing their food, but also empowering them so that they can have a toolset to be sustainable and have a different way of thinking and being in the world.”

–Ariana Wild, Wild Farm

In partnership with NOFA-VT, we recently wrapped up our Agricultural Educators Cohort, a peer-to-peer learning opportunity for farmers interested in connecting with schools and inviting youth to their farms for hands-on agricultural education.

Along with gatherings throughout the year, we matched all eight participating farmers with a coach farmer in their region to share best practices, offer advice, and help them realize their goals. Hear from one such pair, Ariana Wild of Wild Farm and coach Misse Axelrod of Vermont Farm and Forest School:

Farmer & Farm-Based Educator Resources

The Farm-Based Education Network
This free member network works to strengthen and support the work of educators, farmers, and community leaders who provide access and experiences on working farms.
The ABCs of Farm-Based Education, offered twice a year, spring and fall, at Shelburne Farms.
This popular three-day workshop helps farmers engage and inspire visitors, shares kid-tested activities, and cultivates a community of peers to learn from. The program is designed for farmers, farm-based educators, and non-formal educators with any level of teaching experience who are building or looking to re-inspire farm-based programming. Co-presented by Shelburne Farms and the Farm-Based Education Network.
This Farm Feeds Vermont Kids Campaign
The Vermont Farm to School and Early Childhood Network invites farmers selling to school and early childhood programs to post a lawn sign on your farm or market booth to tell your community that you’re helping to create a sustainable school food system.
Local Food Procurement Toolkit
School Nutrition Professionals throughout the state are incorporating more and more local foods into their meal programs. This toolkit gives you a broad look at how this works from the school cafeteria perspective, as well as some additional resources for farmers (check out the “Tips, Tools & Frequently Asked Questions” box).

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Farm to School Impact by the Numbers

We’re sharing a look back at some of our projects, collaborations, and campaigns that helped to propel the farm to school movement forward in 2023.

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Laura Butler's commitment to building community among her families and children is a central theme of her farm to early childhood program.

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Connecting Students to Vermont's Dairy Farms

June is National Dairy Month, and we're highlighting a longtime program connecting farmer and students: Dairy in the Classroom.

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Discovering the Wondrous World of Pollinators

aestey — Wed, 01 May 2024 14:22:07 +0000

Discovering the Wondrous World of Pollinators aestey Wed, 05/01/2024 - 10:22

A mining bee on a highbush blueberry flower in Burlington, Vermont. (Photo: Leslie Spencer)

Take a guess: How many species of native bees live in Vermont?

Did you guess 30? 100?

As of this writing, there are 356 species of native bees in Vermont! Often, when people think of bees, images of honey, hives, and someone in a big white beekeeping suit come to mind. While honey bees are important crop pollinators, they are domesticated, and not native to the U.S. There is a diverse world of native bees right under our noses! Many of these native bees are solitary; in other words, they don’t live in hives, and they don’t produce honey. And the world of pollinator insects is bigger than bees; it includes wasps, butterflies, beetles, and hover flies, too.

With so much to know, where to begin?

Noticing pollinator insects, says ecologist Leslie Spencer, is the beginning. “You don’t need to know every species’ name to appreciate them,” she explains. Leslie, who is a researcher with the Gund Institute at UVM, studies wild bees in farmscapes, which means, in a nutshell, “I’m thinking about patterns and processes on these diverse landscapes, and how we can better manage and design these spaces for pollinators.” (She is currently doing her research on blueberry farms in Vermont.)

Leslie joined our Immersion in Education for Sustainability workshop last summer, and she offered these tips for educators on introducing students to pollinators and building a lifelong appreciation for pollinators’ important role in our world.

Leslie (right) visited Shelburne Farms’ Market Garden last summer for a pollinator safari. (Video: Andrea Estey)

Go on a Pollinator Safari

An entry point for appreciation can be what Leslie calls a “pollinator safari,” a more creative name for a field walk.

Venture outside in May–October when the temperature is 60 degrees or above. For best results, pick a day with sunshine, or at least partial sunshine, and low wind. These are days when pollinators are most likely to be active in the northeast. “However, bumblebees are the hardiest and will likely still be out on chilly, even slightly rainy, days,” explains Leslie.

Head to your school garden or a nearby natural area—anywhere with flowers in bloom—to watch and become familiar with your local pollinators. “Encourage your students to notice: What colors does each insect have? What patterns?” says Leslie. Part of this safari should also involve looking at the flowers these pollinators prefer and noticing plants’ various colors, sizes, and shapes.

This safari can be simple or sophisticated, depending on students’ ages. To support learning, Leslie recommends having illustrated field guides in hand specific to your area; for northeast educators, she recommends these free guides from the Tufts Pollinator Initiative. Seek by iNaturalist, a free, kid-friendly app, is another resource that helps with IDing all sorts of creatures. For older kids, sketching in a field notebook can reinforce close observation.

A male bumblebee on Leslie’s finger. Fun fact: males don’t sting! (Photo: Leslie Spencer)

Bees and other flying insects, even those that don’t sting, can be scary for kids (and adults!). “There’s always at least one person in a group that's afraid of stings. As long as they are not allergic, I like to push them out of their comfort zone a bit,” says Leslie. “I equate a bee on a flower to me at snack time. I ask them, ‘Are you happy at snack time?’ The answer is usually, yes! I then explain that bees are just visiting a flower for snack time—they are at a flower in search of nectar for flight fuel and pollen to bring back to their young. Bees are so preoccupied with snacking, that the last thing on their mind is stinging you.”

Some tools that can help support safe yet close observations: a non-harmful, catch-and-release bug vacuum (“great for little kids especially,” says Leslie), or bug nets and collection vials. A crucial part of this activity, of course, is interacting with insects, flowers, and the more-than-human world with reverence and respect. Encourage students to make their observations and release their pollinator friends back into the wild as quickly as possible. Build up to these interactions by doing “sit spots” near pollinators: Invite each student to spread out in the garden for several minutes of quiet observation, without disturbing or touching flying critters.

Collection vials are a great tool to support safe, close observations. (Photo: Leslie Spencer)

Talk About Why Pollinators Matter

Talk with your students about why we need pollinators. One reason pollinators are so important: They are a critical link in our food system. Most of our food comes from flowering plants, and more than one-third of human food crops need pollinators to reproduce. Fruits, vegetables, even chocolate and coffee all need pollinators. Additionally, crop pollination by wild bees can increase crop yield and even fruit quality! (See one such story from UVM researchers.)

Pollinators are under threat due to a combination of factors, including climate change, pesticides, habitat loss, invasive species, and disease. Growing a native, chemical-free pollinator garden with your students can be empowering, tying into several of the Big Ideas of Sustainability, including cycles, interdependence, and systems.

To reinforce the integral role of pollinators in our food system, try these activities for young learners: Pollination Parade and Flower Power from Project Seasons.

Photo: Andrea Estey

Moving from Wonder to Action

If you’re curious how to channel this wonder into supporting pollinators, Leslie says one way to increase the number of pollinators in your area is by making conscious choices on what you plant: Focus on native species to your area. It can be so rewarding for people of all ages to help pollinators–and so joyful to watch them flit through your garden.

Creating a welcoming slice of habitat can be as big as a school garden or as small as a few containers! Here are her tips.

First, get to know your site. Are the soils sandy or clay? Dry or moist? Sunny or shady?
Second, select plants that will thrive in your place. Choose a variety–think different colors, shapes, fragrances, and heights. You want something blooming the entire growing season—from when the ground thaws to when the frost falls. Different bees are active at different times of the year, so you want to ensure they have pollen and nectar resources throughout the growing season.
Remember, it’s bigger than “Save the Bees!” Many insects, and even some birds and mammals, are pollinators. And all kinds of plants attract hungry bees and butterflies that are seeking nectar and pollen treats, even “weeds” that you may not actively plant, like Queen Anne’s Lace.
Every garden counts! You don’t have to go big to help pollinators. We each have the ability to make a difference.

Leslie works with the Burlington, Vermont-based group Grow Wild, which is focused on planting natives for pollinators. Check out the resources they’ve compiled at growwildvt.org

For more on native bees, watch this TEDTalk by Tufts pollinator researcher Nicholas Dorian, “We’ve Saving the Wrong Bees.”

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A Watershed for Every Classroom Returns

aestey — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 14:20:02 +0000

A Watershed for Every Classroom Returns aestey Thu, 01/25/2024 - 09:20

The transformational professional learning program will welcome a new group of educators in 2024

The impacts of climate change on our watershed are many; take, for example, how December’s flooding spread invasive knotweed along Vermont’s rivers. Extreme storms and heavy rains like those that happened in 2023 underscore the urgent need for place- and climate-based education that prepares the next generation of leaders for the future. “We are seeing the impacts of climate change on the watershed both locally and globally. In order to meet the moment, we need to connect students to their local waterways and build skills for a climate-resilient future,” says Shelburne Farms Institute for Sustainable Schools professional learning facilitator Emily Schaller.

A Watershed for Every Classroom will provide an opportunity for educators to learn about and strategize around these goals. The program is, truly, for every educator in the Lake Champlain Basin. “Every subject can be connected to the watershed: science, math, English Language Arts, history, social studies, you name it. The watershed touches everything,” explains Schaller. Through A Watershed for Every Classroom, teachers learn the stories of the Lake Champlain Basin, ultimately gaining new ways to engage their students in learning about their place to understand where they live and nurture a sense of belonging and stewardship.

The year-long learning opportunity is presented by The Champlain Basin Education Initiative (CBEI), a community of organizations engaged in watershed education that includes Shelburne Farms. For the past three decades, CBEI has offered workshops, forums, and experiences with lasting impact on hundreds of teachers and thousands of their students.

Educators in the Lake Champlain Basin region of Quebec, New York* and Vermont are invited to apply. The program is best suited for educators working with grades 4-9, but is applicable to all subject areas and grades. Applications are being accepted now through March 10.

*For New York teachers, note Lake Champlain Sea Grant is recognized by the New York State Education Department's Office of Teaching Initiatives as an approved sponsor of CTLE for Professional Classroom Teachers, School Leaders, and Level III Teaching Assistants. CTLE certificates of completion will be offered for educators in attendance for the full duration of the program.

More About This Program

Apply Now

Start a conversation with Professional Learning Facilitator Emily Schaller at eschaller@shelburnefarms.org to talk about this program.

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What Our 2023 Summer Fellows Learned

aestey — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 14:14:23 +0000

What Our 2023 Summer Fellows Learned aestey Fri, 10/27/2023 - 10:14

This past summer, Shelburne Farms welcomed four fellows—college students from nearby Middlebury College and the University of Vermont—to our campus for learning, a program we’ve run for several years. While leading children of all ages in our summer camps and living here on the farm, fellows gain a unique, immersive perspective on Education for Sustainability, and lasting lessons about what it means to be transformed by a place.

Here, 2023 fellows share their reflections on this experience.

Emma Von Licht, UVM ‘24, Elementary Education major

Something that changed during this experience: I feel like I can do anything I put my mind to. Before this summer, I had doubts about my abilities and how I could apply my love for learning, helping children, and our natural world in my career. My options felt limited and constrictive. Working at Shelburne Farms made me realize that the world is much more expansive than I thought it was. There are pockets of opportunities wherever you go; sometimes you need to find them or even create them yourself. Your brain is unique and powerful and your talents are needed in many different places and facets. I’m anxious to explore those pockets and find my niche. I recognize that my niche might change, but I know that Shelburne Farms will always be a part of my journey to understanding myself and my place in our world.

What the fellowship added to her coursework: As an elementary education major, I’ve learned a lot about kids. However, it has mostly been within the context of a classroom. Throughout my fellowship at Shelburne Farms, I learned that the world is our classroom. I even saw the transparency of the cheese-making process through the glass in the cheese-making room and through the words and actions of the cheese-makers and dairy farmers. I saw the power that it had to teach people about systems and cycles. When people notice how communities function, they can begin to feel a sense of ownership in their place. This connects to how I want to create my classroom community. Transparency and empowerment are at the core of my teaching philosophy.

What’s next, after graduation: I want to start out as a classroom teacher and then see where the tides take me. My goal as a public school classroom teacher is to incorporate my values surrounding place-based education (PBE) and bring them to a student population that doesn’t normally get to experience them. For example, I taught an integrated science and social studies unit this fall about geology and Vermont history titled, “What is a legacy?” One day, I brought my students to a cemetery where we explored what Vermont’s state rocks (marble, granite, slate) look like in real life and how they help commemorate the legacy of the people who passed away. PBE doesn’t have to be some super expensive, intricate process. PBE can just be going outside and connecting with your community in ways you wouldn’t normally. I wouldn’t have thought to visit a cemetery with my class, but once you realize how interconnected and interdependent everything is, you can learn from anything and anyone. Shelburne Farms helped me realize that.

Emma is currently student-teaching full-time in the South Burlington School District. She writes, “I’m in a fourth-grade classroom and having the time of my life. I’m being challenged in new ways, expanding my horizons, and growing a ton professionally and personally. I’m graduating in May and I hope to stay in Vermont.”

Maeve Cain, UVM ‘24, Environmental Studies major

Photo by Sarah Webb

What the fellowship added to her college coursework: Having three months to watch the power of outdoor play and learning the exact science behind the ways it is beneficial for young bodies and minds is a fascinating applicable observation. By being outside kids are getting curious about local ecosystems and also challenging themselves by playing and exploring. This experience has furthered my belief that some of the most effective learning can be done outside. Any subject in school can be taught outside and helps establish a child's sense of place and community while doing so.

On being part of a team: The education team at Shelburne Farms is so wonderful. The interpersonal connections that we made this summer established a trust that enhanced how effective we could be as a team. Knowing everyone there had my back was incredibly comforting and we all understood what each of us may need throughout the day to feel best supported. I feel lucky that I was able to be a part of such a supportive system and hope I’ll find ones like it in the future.

Meaningful memories: Some of my most memorable experiences were when a kid would be resistant to play outdoors or engage with the group. Throughout the week they would often open up and embrace the group and their ability to determine what kinds of activities we could do. It is so unique to have a structure that changes every week based on the interest of the campers.

Maeve is finishing her last year at UVM with a minor in food systems and a certificate in place-based education. She writes, “After graduation, I hope to continue in outdoor education in some sense or at least be able to work outside. My experience at Shelburne Farms has shaped me to better understand where my passions fit into my community and for that I am thankful.”

Emma Cortina, Middlebury ‘25, Creative Writing major

Photo by Andrea Estey

What the fellowship experience added to her college coursework: My experience during the fellowship enhanced my creativity. Living on the farm was inspiring and provoked lots of creative reflection. Also, I started to take note of silly things children would say that made me smile. Experiencing children's creativity firsthand each day caused me to reflect on and rethink my own creative process, and to not be so rigid.

Something you see differently post-fellowship: I feel a larger appreciation for nature and education than I did before. I notice little bugs or creatures scurrying on the ground that I previously would not have been aware of. I also love cows so much! In terms of education, I feel that my time at Shelburne Farms really expanded my awareness of the symbiotic relationship between student and teacher in a way I hadn't seen before. As a full-time educator, I was lucky to experience the growth of new kids each week of the summer.

A lasting lesson: This experience has enhanced my appreciation of place-based education, and the meaning it holds. The children who were able to experience a week at Shelburne Farms left with a larger appreciation of and fascination with nature and the world around them. They also understood their role in this ecosystem. I don't think the same outcome can be achieved in a classroom setting.

Emma, who is now back at Middlebury, shares: “I've joined Club Volleyball and Middlebury Discount Comedy, a sketch writing group. I'm having lots of fun with my busy schedule and exploring areas in and around Midd that I haven't seen before.”

Naomi Gordon, Middlebury ’24, Architecture and Geography major

Photo by Andrea Estey

A memorable moment: I loved any time we took campers to the dairy. I remember one camper not being terribly enthused by the idea of hanging out in the calf barn where they declared “it didn’t smell too good.” But, after watching their peers make friends with the newest additions to the farm, it did not take long for them to be enraptured by a calf named Hawaii. Watching the child bond with Hawaii was the sweetest thing. I remember leaving and the camper exclaiming, “Will we go back sometime soon? Hawaii and I are going to miss each other.”

What this fellowship has added to her college coursework: This experience has given more life to what I am learning at Middlebury. In my education classes, I am constantly thinking about interactions I had with campers this summer, and I have a much stronger idea of what type of teaching benefits children the most. For my architecture class, when I am designing spaces for children, I think about ways in which kids like to move about, and I feel I have a deeper understanding of what their needs are. Beyond those two areas of study, I am always thinking about my Shelburne Farms experience because I gained a stronger macro-level understanding of how our ecosystems, built environments, and communities need to interact with each other in order to create a sustainable harmony.

Before vs. after the fellowship: After my time at Shelburne Farms, I am thinking about the ways in which we choose to use our land. Living on the farm, I got to witness the changes on the land from sunrise, to sunset and throughout the night, until it all repeated again. With 1,400 acres, Shelburne Farms has put about every acre to use for the common good, which is magical. It was amazing to see visitors and campers alike, from many backgrounds, enjoy the beauty in Shelburne Farms and Vermont’s landscape.

Naomi is back at Middlebury, soaking up her last year as a student in Vermont. She writes, “I’m completing my Architecture thesis, spending time with the Addison County Restorative Justice Board, and hanging out with my Community Friend (a local student from Cornwall). And, getting outside as much as I can! Next year, I hope to be working at a nonprofit organization.”

Andrea Estey

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Enriching Lives: Animal and Human

UVM student and farmyard educator Catherine Ziac tackles the question of how animal enrichment might affect the welfare of our education animals and their human interactions.

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Our woodlands are more than a beautiful backdrop. They are part of an unparalleled classroom for learning.

Letting Go of the Recipe: Hands-On Cooking with Kids

Try the "recipes" we cooked up during Cultivating Joy & Wonder, our annual professional learning workshop for early childhood educators.

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October 27, 2023

Education for Sustainability Highlighted on "Across the Fence"

aestey — Sun, 09 Jul 2023 18:21:48 +0000

Education for Sustainability Highlighted on "Across the Fence" aestey Sun, 07/09/2023 - 14:21

Education for sustainability gives students an invitation to explore their communities, says teacher Julie Norman. Julie (a current student in our Education for Sustainability Graduate Certificate) and Shelburne Farms Institute for Sustainable Schools educator Aimee Arandia Østensen sat down with Across the Fence host Fran Stoddard to talk about the possibilities of education for sustainability.

Watch the full interview below, or read on for excerpts from their conversation.

How would you define education for sustainability?

Aimee: We think about education for sustainability within the desired outcome. So, if the desired outcome is to create thriving, dynamic, and sustainable communities, then what education for sustainability does is prepare students to have the skills, the knowledge, and the values to make decisions so that we can have those sustainable communities today and in the future.

How does education for sustainability look and feel different from traditional education?

Julie: When I think about education for sustainability, I think about giving children an invitation to explore their communities. They’re exploring their social communities, thinking about that in concentric rings from the smallest community of their family growing outward to their neighborhood and their town and their state, nation, and planet. And I also think about inviting them to explore their natural communities, the many ecosystems that surround them. It’s hands-on, place-based learning that is very interdisciplinary.

Why were you drawn to this work?

Julie: There’s a huge opportunity to not only help children live their best lives but be engaged in work that creates future voters, farmers, and law makers who are critical thinkers, who are systems thinkers, who think about how their actions impact others. When I was drawn to education for sustainability, I realized that thinking through systems learning with children was a real avenue to help them progress to become members of communities that consider collective wellness rather than just individual success.

Shelburne Farms partners with UVM to offer programs including the Education for Sustainability Graduate Certificate. Julie, you’re one of those graduate students. Why is that certification important to you?

Julie: Not only has this program through UVM and Shelburne Farms helped deepen my understanding of systems thinking and sustainability, but it has provided the space and time and encouragement I’ve needed to really dive into my own actions, to really view myself as a changemaker, to move from somebody who is sitting in a zone of frustration and worry to progress into somebody who is thinking about action and improving systems.

Shelburne Farms now has the Institute for Sustainable Schools, which is just incorporating everything we’ve been talking about, right?

Aimee: Absolutely. It’s a big umbrella to hold all of the programs for professional learning that are available to teachers like Julie that they can choose from, depending on the pathway of what’s interesting to them, whether it’s food systems education or climate change education or place-based education.