Our Program Partners

Adventure Dinner is a collaborative event company that dreams up and hosts unique food and drink experiences in unexpected places around Vermont.

Ayiti Konsè Vèt (AKV) or “Keep Haiti Green.” Since 2008, Shelburne Farms has partnered with AKV with the shared goal of strengthening global networks to support agricultural literacy and sustainability education, mainly through learning exchanges.

Our partner in Burlington City and Lake Semester, an innovative program for Burlington High School juniors and seniors that utilizes the city as classroom. We also partner with the Sustainability Academy at Lawrence Barnes in Burlington in developing curricula and place-based connections for every grade level.

CEFS envisions a future of vibrant farms, resilient ecosystems, strong communities, healthy people, and thriving local economies. It's one of the nation’s most important centers for research, extension, and education in sustainable agriculture and community-based food systems.

The Watershed for Every Classroom Program is presented by the Champlain Basin Education Initiative, a community of organizations engaged in watershed education. Current partners include: The Lake Champlain Basin Program, Shelburne Farms, Lake Champlain Sea Grant, UVM Extension, Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, Lake Champlain Committee, and Community Sailing Center.

EcoGather is a collaborative learning network dedicated to:

• place-based lifeways
• the vitality of agro-ecosystems
• the change-competence of communities
• the transition to well-being economies, and
• the pursuit of collective liberation. 

EcoGather was initially founded to bring the work of late heterodox environmental economist David Fleming to a wider and activated audience, which we have done for several years via our distinctive Surviving the Future program.

Established in 2006, the Farm-Based Education Network (FBEN) is a free member network created to strengthen and support the work of farmers, educators, and community leaders who provide access and experiences of all kinds on working farms. The Network's mission is to inspire, nurture, and promote farm-based education because a sustainable future hinges on understanding and supporting healthy food systems. FBEN is administered by Shelburne Farms and supported by regional groups, advisers, and founding partners.

Founded in May of 2023, Firefolk Arts is an AAPI woman-owned, inclusive art space and gallery for collaboration and exploration, through hands-on, experiential learning and skill-sharing, which connects people of all ages and backgrounds. 

Dedicated to curating culturally diverse art shows, pop-up markets, workshops and youth-led events, they uplift underrepresented artists and entrepreneurs in rural communities. This initiative is rooted in values of reciprocity, racial and economic equity, and environmental nurturance. In addition, they offer studio rental space for projects, events, office hours, and art material storage, based in Waitsfield's old firehouse on unceded Abenaki homelands.

Gedakina is a multigenerational endeavor to strengthen and revitalize the cultural knowledge and identity of Native American women and their families from across New England.

The mission of the Green Mountain Audubon Society is to nurture an appreciation of birds and to protect them and their habitats.

The Green Mountain Draft Horse Association was formed to establish friendly communication and encourage the exchange of ideas for the purpose of assisting its members in the areas of breeding, exhibiting, buying, selling and promoting the varied uses of draft horses, mules, ponies and oxen.

The Gund Institute for Environment mobilizes scholars and decision makers to understand and tackle critical environmental challenges. Driven by the belief that research should inspire action, they work—in partnership with government, business, and broader society—towards a future where the urgency of the world’s environmental challenges is met with bold action.

A longtime partner school based in New York, NY whose mission is to promote environmental integrity, social equity and economic prosperity for all learners through challenging hands-on collaborative learning experiences that promote citizenship, scholarship and leadership within our community and the world at large. Read more about our collaboration. 

The Lake Champlain Basin Program coordinates and funds efforts that benefit the Lake Champlain Basin’s water quality, fisheries, wetlands, wildlife, recreation, and cultural resources, in partnership with government agencies from New York, Vermont, and Québec, private organizations, local communities, and individuals.

Lake Champlain Sea Grant develops and shares science-based knowledge to benefit the Lake Champlain basin.

National Farm to School Network increases access to local food and nutrition education to improve children’s health, strengthen family farms, and cultivate vibrant communities.

The National Park Service (NPS) cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout the country and world. NPS is a partner in programs including A Forest for Every Classroom. We work with Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park and the National Park Service Stewardship Institute.

Offering forest bathing walks in Vermont and global online programs with trained and certified nature and forest therapy guides.

The Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont, our partners in the Vermont FEED project.

North Carolina State University is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".

A collective movement of Northeast educators, food providers, and policy advocates working collaboratively to catalyze food system change, starting with the school community.

The One Hive Foundation is a private foundation that supports nonprofit research and community partners to promote pollinator health and ecologically responsible agriculture.

Outreach for Earth Stewardship (OFES) is a nonprofit wildlife organization whose mission is to strengthen respect and understanding for wildlife through education.

Our partners in program evaluation. PEER serves place-based, environmental, and informal science education organizations by helping them measure what matters, think critically about data, and take action to support their mission.

The mission of Pride Center of Vermont is to celebrate, educate, and advocate with and for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) Vermonters.

The Rich Earth Institute engages in research, education and technological innovation to advance the use of human waste as a resource.

Since 1945, Shelburne Craft School has been offering hands-on education in artisanal crafts—helping individuals experience the joys of making, while cultivating confidence, character, and community.

A non-profit organization with mission to share joyful, hands-on education and wellness through plant medicine while honoring all our herbal traditions.

SubjectToClimate is a nonprofit online connector for K–12 educators of all subjects to find credible and engaging materials on climate change at no cost.

Sustainability Academy opened in 2009 as the nation’s first K-5 magnet school with a sustainability theme. Shelburne Farms works closely with teachers and staff to use sustainability as a whole-school theme.

The Root Social Justice Center is a Vermont based, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) led racial justice organization centering blackness. The Root prioritizes BIPOC people and their communities by shifting resources to BIPOC for leadership, connection, healing, education and the arts and supports BIPOC led racial justice movement work.

The USDA provides leadership on food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, nutrition, and related issues based on public policy, the best available science, and effective management.

The mission of the Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. The Green Mountain National Forest is a partner of programs including A Forest for Every Classroom.

Founded in 1791, the University of Vermont (UVM) is a flagship public research university. We partner with UVM to offer programs at the undergraduate and graduate level.

UVM's College of Education and Social Services provides experiential and supportive learning environments inspiring students to create a more humane, just and equitable society—for people and planet.

UP for Learning helps educational institutions across the country fully engage youth in their own learning and in reimagining and transforming education. Our partners in programs including Cultivating Pathways to Sustainability.

UVM Extension integrates higher education, research, and outreach to help Vermonters put knowledge to work in their families and homes, farms and businesses, towns, and the natural environment. Faculty and staff, located in offices around the state, help improve the quality of life of Vermonters through research-based educational programs and practical information.

The mission of the Vermont Bat Center, Inc. is to provide information and educational programs about bats to individuals, schools and other groups and to provide for the rescue and rehabilitation of bats from throughout Vermont.

The Vermont Bee Lab is a research and outreach laboratory located at the University of Vermont. They are dedicated to the protection of pollinators through research, education and outreach.

Since 1886 the Vermont Beekeepers Association has promoted the general welfare of Vermont's Apiculture Industry while sustaining a friendly body of unity among the state's beekeepers.  

The Vermont Center for Ecostudies advances wildlife conservation across the Americas through research, monitoring, and community engagement. They envision a society that sustains healthy ecosystems through science-based decision making.

We are founding members of the Vermont Cheese Council and continue to partner with them in programming to foster and promote the community of great Vermont cheese producers!

We're a statewide Network providing leadership, coordination, and advocacy to advance new and existing farm to school efforts in Vermont classrooms, cafeterias, and communities. We're farm to school advocates, practitioners, and educators across the state.

Started in 2000, Vermont FEED (Food Education Every Day) is a collaborative farm to school project of two organizations: the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT), and Shelburne Farms Institute for Sustainable Schools. 

The Vermont Fresh Network is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 1996 with the mission of advancing relationships among farmers, chefs, and consumers to grow markets and eat more locally grown food.

Rooted in Vermont since 1977, they have protected more than 620,000 acres of farmland, forestland, and community lands, covering over 11% of the state. Much of this land is privately owned and contributes to our abundance of local food, maple and timber products, tourism and recreation, and the vitality of our towns and villages.

The Vermont Pollinator Working Group is a consortium of organizations and businesses working together on projects to tackle urgent threats to bees and other pollinators in Vermont and the Northeast.

The Vermont Sheep and Goat Association represents producers of meat, dairy, fiber sheep, goats, and other species of fiber animals such as rabbits, alpacas, and llamas. They aim to promote the humane treatment of animals, a high level of animal health, and sustainable farmland stewardship.