Why participate in professional learning at Shelburne Farms? Find out in this video, as educators reflect at our Summer Institute on Educating for Sustainability. They capture the spirit of all our professional learning programs.

Shelburne Farms’ professional learning programs prepare PK-12 educators to facilitate learning experiences for students with a lens of sustainability.  All of our programs support you in educating for a more healthy and just future. Grounded in the pedagogies of Education for Sustainability, we endeavor to support educators to see themselves as agents of change in a dynamic system.  Together we’ll cultivate a sense of joy and wonder for the world around us and share strategies to connect you and your students to social-ecological communities. Our team uses a research-based, relationship-driven approach to professional learning that supports you in building content knowledge, deepening your practice, accessing resources and making connections to your schools or organizations.

Our educator workshops are offered throughout the year, with many programs in the summer. To bring you the richest programming, we offer many of these workshops in partnership with other organizations. Many of our programs can be taken for graduate continuing education credits. For questions, please contact our Director of Professional Development, Jen Cirillo.

Download our 2018 Professional Development Flyer

Workshops

ABCs of Farm-Based Education:  Spend three days in hands-on, discussion and activity-based learning and explore Shelburne Farms’ dairy, farmyard, garden, and forest classrooms. This workshop is designed for farmers, farm-based educators, and non-formal educators.

Digging Deeper with Our Farm Connections: Calling all early childhood educators! Join us for a discovery and discussion of integrating cooking and connecting gardens and farms to your classroom.   You’ll have an opportunity to explore one of these three exciting tracks with shared learning in the morning and discussions and applications for your own practice in the afternoon.

Digital Storytelling for Community Engagement and Sustainability: Join VT Folklife Center and Shelburne Farms for a deep dive into tools and techniques for digital storytelling to engage students and communities in sustainability. 

Education for Sustainability Immersion: For those already have a strong foundation in Education for Sustainability, our two-day Immersion will provide you with the opportunity to reflect, learn, and collaborate with a small group of colleagues from across the country in a residential, retreat-like setting here at Shelburne Farms.

Project Seasons for Young Learners: Cultivating Joy & Wonder: A week long exploration of hands-on activities, shared learning, and facilitated discussions to engage and inspire curriculum for early learners.

The Summer Institute on Education for Sustainability: Spend five rich days with colleagues from around the country at an informative and restorative institute created to give you the opportunity to deepen your understanding of Education for Sustainability. 

Year-Long Programs

Climate Resiliency Fellowship:  A year-long professional learning opportunity for educators committed to learning and teaching about climate change through interdisciplinary and place-based approaches.

Education for Sustainability Leadership Academy: A year-long, residential, leadership academy that brings together education leaders to form a peer network committed to better aligning education towards the goals of ecological integrity, economic vitality, and social justice. 

Forest for Every Classroom: Get inspired, learn, and gain the skills to use place-based education to transform your classroom.

Northeast Farm to School Institute: The Northeast Farm to School Institute is a unique year-long professional learning opportunity for twelve school teams from New England and New York. Our year-long Institute kicks off with a Summer Retreat held at Shelburne Farms.

Watershed for Every Classroom: A year-long professional development experience for K-12 educators in the Lake Champlain Basin of Vermont, New York and Québec, brought to you by CBEI - the Champlain Basin Education Initiative. 

School-Based Programming

Sustainable Schools Project: Engage your students and improve your school using sustainability as an integrating context for your school’s curriculum, community partnerships, and campus practices.

Vermont FEED: Raise your school and community’s awareness about healthy food, the role of Vermont farms and farmers, and good nutrition.

View all of our Farm events.