A five-day immersive introduction to Education for Sustainability
July 7–11, 2025
Spend five rich days with colleagues from around the country at an informative and restorative experience that will give you the opportunity to deepen your understanding of Education for Sustainability (EFS). Part conference, part workshop, and part retreat, this program is best suited for PreK–12 practicing educators, though all types of educators are welcome.
Education for Sustainability links knowledge, inquiry, and action so that students are empowered to create positive change now, and carry this activism into their adult lives. It supports students so that they can strive for, and thrive in, a more sustainable future.
Designed to be dynamic and democratic, Foundations offers you the time and space to develop projects of personal interest while learning from colleagues and other leaders in the field of EFS. Interactive sessions feature a blend of individual work time, peer-to-peer feedback, resource sharing, hands-on learning experiences, and large and small group discussions.
Offered in partnership with the University of Vermont.
How to Apply
Information below as of 2024:
- Participant fee: $750. Includes course fee plus daily light breakfast and lunch. Scholarships may be available for this fee on a need-based scale. Fee does not include accommodations, travel, and graduate credit.
- Optional accommodation fee: $75.00 per night double occupancy room (+ 10% tax on lodging). $125.00 per night single occupancy room (+ 10% tax on lodging). Accommodations are on a first come, first served basis.
- Optional 3 graduate credits for an additional fee: $705 for Vermont residents, $900 out-of-state residents. Contact hours: 34. Additional course hours are required for graduate credit and will take place online July 3, 5, 17, and 19.
What You'll Learn
Our overall goal is to give you opportunities to develop connections between your curriculum and community, as you work and dialogue together and reflect in an inspiring setting that models sustainability and systems-thinking. We'll design the agenda to align with your specific learning goals and teaching contexts.
- Gain familiarity with and practice the skills to apply Education for Sustainability as a unifying framework for education that will help your students contribute to creating a healthy future for their communities, economically, socially, and environmentally.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the concept of sustainability and its related big ideas, and be able to apply those ideas in formal and non-formal education settings to help students address social, environmental, and economic issues.
- Deepen your understanding of complex systems and systems dynamics in social and ecological contexts.
- Understand and practice proven strategies and pedagogies to integrate sustainability into schools (including curriculum development, campus ecology, collaboration, and community partnerships).
- Build knowledge about community sustainability efforts, resources, and opportunities in order to integrate them into your curriculum.
In Your Words
Our Partnership with the University of Vermont
Create Your Learning Pathway
Foundations is designed to be an introductory course to Education for Sustainability. To grow your knowledge, take our series of three EFS-focused courses:
- First, Foundations in EFS;
- Second, Immersion in EFS; and
- EFS Leadership Academy third.
Or, take all of these classes within the Education for Sustainability Graduate Certificate.
Interested in graduate credit? Some of our programs, including Foundations, are typically offered for optional credits for an additional fee. Contact us to learn more.
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