For Shelburne Farms, sustainability is more than a catchphrase. We are on a mission to inspire and cultivate learning for a sustainable future.
The Shelburne Farms Institute for Sustainable Schools is a hub for professional learning programs and resources for PreK-12 educators. All of our offerings prepare educators to facilitate learning experiences for students using a lens of sustainability.
We believe in the power and potential of students to address the world’s most pressing issues; educators help students realize that potential. We see schooling as a pathway to create healthy and just communities, successful lives, and a more livable world for all. In partnership with students and communities, educators are changemakers.
Education for Sustainability is the foundation of our professional learning, an approach that empowers students to strive for, and thrive in, a more sustainable future. This is learning that links knowledge, inquiry, and action so students can create positive change now, and carry this activism into their adult lives.
In the last two decades, we’ve collaborated to transform the teaching practices of:
15,000+ teachers | reaching 1,000,000+ students | in 49 states and 35 countries
Our roots
The Institute was formed in 2021 as a home for the many professional learning initiatives that Shelburne Farms has long engaged with.
Our first educator program was offered in 1971, and, from the beginning, we have operated in service of teachers and schools. Shelburne Farms has been a pioneer in environmental education and the Education for Sustainability approach, with a strong commitment to youth voice. Our programs have earned national and international recognition from groups including the United Nations University, and every year, more than 1,500 educators participate in professional learning experiences.