Skip to main content
Home Shelburne Farms

Header Secondary Menu

  • Calendar
  • Stay
  • Shop
  • Search

Main navigation

  • About
    • Main Links
      • About Shelburne Farms
      • Our Mission & Vision
      • Our Farm & Food
      • Our Equity Work
      • Climate Action
      • History of the Property
      • News & Stories
    • More Links
      • Join Our Team
      • Staff & Board
      • Media Center
      • Contact Us
      • Our Program Partners
    • News & Stories
      group of people in field with sheep
      Find all our blogs here.
    • Climate Action
      aerial view of solar panels in field with coach barn, inn, lake in foliage season
      How we're addressing global climate change
  • For Educators
    • Main Links
      • For Educators
      • Professional Learning
      • School Programs
      • Resources
      • Partnership Projects
    • More Links
      • Educator Program Calendar
      • News & Stories
      • Request Information
      • Get Our Emails
    • Registration open for Summer 2025
      Two people smile while holding small cards in a shaded outdoor area in summertime
      Recharge with professional learning
    • Apply now
      Eight people pose and smile standing on a grassy lawn with a blue lake beyond
      Education for Sustainability Graduate Certificates
  • Visit & Learn
    • Main Links
      • Visit & Learn
      • Stay & Dine
      • Calendar
      • For Families & Youth
      • Farm Campus
      • Accessibility
    • More Links
      • Day Visit, mid-May to mid-October
      • Walking Trails
      • Children's Farmyard
      • Tours
      • Farm Store & Welcome Center
      • Summer Camps
    • Day Visits
      man and woman with child on her shoulders looking at cows in a field
      Discover what you can do and learn here, May 10-Oct. 19
    • Stay & Dine
      Inn with peonies - stay and dine
      Shelburne Farms Inn, May 9-Oct. 21, 2025
  • Support
    • Main Links
      • Support Our Work
      • More Ways to Give
      • Legacy Giving
    • More Links
      • Stewards of the Farm
      • Annual Reports
      • Campaign for Shelburne Farms
      • A Message of Gratitude
      • Download Photos of the Farm
    • Learn more!
      2 people sitting on a bench looking at the lake and sky
      Give Through Your Donor Advised Fund
  • Calendar
  • Stay
  • Shop
  • Donate
Brown cows

Origin of the Nonprofit

Founded in 1972 to pursue a vision for a sustainable and just world

Breadcrumb

  • Home
  • About Shelburne Farms
  • Our Mission & Vision
  • Origin Of The Nonprofit

Sidebar Child + Sibling Main

  • Main Links
    • About Shelburne Farms
    • Our Mission & Vision
      • Origin of the Nonprofit
    • Our Farm & Food
    • Our Equity Work
      • Our Land Statement
    • Climate Action
      • Climate Action Plan
      • Climate Action Education
    • History of the Property
      • Archives & Collections
    • News & Stories
      • Former CEO of VPR Robin Turnau joins Shelburne Farms as Chief Advancement Officer
  • More Links
    • Join Our Team
      • Education Internships
      • Postgraduate Education Fellow
      • Volunteering
    • Staff & Board
      • Board
    • Media Center
      • Newsletters
      • Press Coverage
    • Contact Us
    • Our Program Partners
  • News & Stories
    group of people in field with sheep
    Find all our blogs here.
  • Climate Action
    aerial view of solar panels in field with coach barn, inn, lake in foliage season
    How we're addressing global climate change

The nonprofit Shelburne Farms was founded in 1972 with a vision and a belief. The vision was for a thriving and just world rooted in nature and community. The belief was that education was the path to get us there, and from the beginning, we have offered programs for youth and operated in service to teachers and schools.

Founding: 1972

The education nonprofit Shelburne Farms Resources (now simply Shelburne Farms), was founded in 1972 by the children of Derick Webb–great grandchildren of estate founders Lila and Seward Webb. The children had grown up in the turbulent sixties and were passionate about the issues of that era: protecting the environment, claiming civil rights, controlling urban sprawl, advocating for peace. 

They’d also grown up at Shelburne Farms, the 19th century agricultural estate of their forebears. It was now facing mounting property taxes, crumbling infrastructure, and intense development pressure, even as their father continued to dairy farm the core property. With the independent nonprofit, the adult children aspired to address the issues they were impassioned about by tapping into the farm landscape at hand. Education was the nonprofit’s core purpose, then and now. And the vision, then and now, was a thriving world rooted in nature and community.

Early Days: 1972-1984

With use of the property but no real assets, the nonprofit launched startup activities: summer camps that grew vegetables for new local farmer’s markets, teacher workshops, school field trips, community gardens, a canning center, and outdoor community events. It also began making plans to revitalize the farmland, forests, landscape, and buildings as a campus to inspire learning about sustainability.

Solidifying: 1984-1999

In 1984, Derick died, bequeathing the property to the young nonprofit. His gift made so much possible, but with no endowment and an annual cash flow shortfall, the organization implemented a limited development plan to provide startup funds, and launched its first capital campaign to build education programs, open the property to the public, and stabilize its finances. The gamble paid off throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, as the organization matured, its programs grew, and community access to the farm blossomed. In 1994, the nonprofit reacquired 400 acres originally part of the core farm–Southern Acres.

 

Collaborating: 2000 to Today

As a long-time pioneer in environmental education and  Education for Sustainability, and with an unparalleled campus for learning, the nonprofit now extends its impact by collaborating for shared educational goals with organizations and people across the globe. Our programs have earned national and international recognition from groups including the United Nations University, and they continue to focus on serving educators—an average of 1,500 each year—who, over their careers, can inspire so many students. And we sustain a working farm dedicated to sustainable and local agriculture. This land—and the ways we care for and use it—offer the most powerful lessons in what a thriving future for all can look like. 

sbf-text

1611 Harbor Road Shelburne, Vermont 05482 

Telephone: 802-985-8686

An education nonprofit on a mission to inspire and cultivate learning for a sustainable future through its programs, place, and products. Home to the Institute for Sustainable Schools, our historic campus is a 1,400-acre diversified farm located on the homelands of the Winooskik band of the Abenaki.

Quick Links

  • Contact Us
  • Media Center
  • Getting Here
  • Gather
  • Join Our Team

Navigate

  • About Shelburne Farms
  • For Educators
  • Visit & Learn
  • Support Our Work
  • Calendar
  • Stay
  • Shop

Stay in Touch

Get our news

Follow us on social Media

  • Facebook(link is external)
  • Vimeo(link is external)
  • Instagram(link is external)

Footer Tertiary

Back to top
  • Copyright 2025

Shelburne Farms is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (Tax ID #03-0229347)