Profiles of Environmental Education Grants Awarded to Organizations in Vermont
- Indicates a Headquarters grant
2014 Grants
Vermont Energy Education Programs, Inc. (VEEP) $91,000
Cara Robechek, 43 Liberty Street, Montpelier, VT 05602
VT Climate Change Education & Action Project
The VT Climate Change Education & Action Project educates K-12 students and teachers throughout Vermont on climate change and climate science by providing in-class workshops, climate education resources, and project based learning and service learning opportunities. The workshops, aligned with Next Generation Science Standards, target 75 middle and high school classes while the Service Learning Program provides 75 teens with the opportunity to teach K-3 students about energy as a precursor to climate education. Additionally, “A Whole School Energy Challenge” brings students together in teams with adult members of their school communities to make school buildings more efficient. As a whole the program works to enhance the critical thinking and problem solving skills of at least 400 students.
2010 Grants
Vermont Energy Investment Corporation $38,580
Nick Richardson, 255 South Champlain Street, Burlington, VT 05401
Vermont Energy Education Program: Renewables Now!
The Renewables Now! program empowers students and teachers to understand what renewable energy is, how to use it efficiently, and make energy-usage choices that result in a sustainable and healthy environment. It provides in-service training, in-classroom delivery, and support to science teachers in middle and high school classes. Partners in the project include Efficiency Vermont, a utility charged with reducing energy use in the state, and the Vermont Department of Education. Teachers attend summer institutes and receive graduate level in-service professional development credits. They develop individual action plans for integrating Renewable Now! concepts and science methods into their teaching plan for the upcoming year. At the same time, Vermont Energy Education Program educators are trained in the curricula to support teachers during the implementation phase.
2009 Grants
The Nature Conservancy $25,050
Sharon Plumb, 27 State Street, Suite 4, Montpelier, VT 05602
Wise on Weeds! Community and Youth Outreach Initiative
Wise on Weeds! Community and Youth Outreach Initiative is a program to educate the community and youth about the ecological and economic threats posed by invasive species. The project educates high school students with hands-on conservation projects and introduces them to potential career opportunities through the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps. In addition, the program educates landowners on management options to prevent and control the spread of invasive species.
2008 Grants
NorthWoods Stewardship Center $28,900
Luke O'Brien, 154 Leadership Drive, P.O. Box 220, East Charleston, VT 05833
"Power for Change" Community Energy Use Education
The “Power for Change” project increase access to renewable energy education resources both through public outreach and through teacher trained in renewable energy education. Residents and fourth- through eighth-grade students in the northeastern Vermont region participate in site tours, workshops, take-home tool kits, and educational displays on renewable energy alternatives as part of the project. Area schools are reached through interactive field trips to our site as well as programs presented by NorthWoods staff at the schools. Participants learn about the impacts of individual energy choices, efficiency, the costs of and options for renewable energy, and access to renewable energy resources. The NorthWoods Stewardship Center facilitates teacher training workshops to distribute a standards-based “Power for Change” curriculum. The training includes background information, written curriculum materials, and classroom activity kits.
2007 Grants
The DREAM Program, Inc. $18,800
Pete Land, 87 Elm Street c/o Family Center, P.O. Box 361, Winooski, VT 05404
A Participatory Environmental Video Project for Urban Youth in Vermont.
DREAM Environmental Productions empowers high school students living in affordable housing communities in Vermont with the opportunity to create videos about their local environment during a 12-week workshop. They share their videos with a larger audience through public screenings at the neighborhood family center, at a film festival, and on a Web site that they design and create. By producing their own videos, students begin to recognize and take ownership of the environment that exists, not off in the mountains, but in their backyards. Students learn to become stewards of the streams, forests, and green spaces that affect the quality of life in their communities.
2006 Grants
Association of Vermont Recyclers $30,000
Karin McNeill, P.O. Box 428, Plainfield, VT 05667
Youth Environmental Coalition
Youth Environmental Coalition (YEC) fosters teen leadership in conservation and waste reduction through recycling, composting, and conducting waste audits. The program educates teens, adults, and school clubs and home school groups on waste reduction and the world-wide environmental, health, and social consequences of wasteful consumption. Students develop and complete 15 to 20 service projects on waste reduction in the schools and make others aware of how they can reduce waste. Participants are reached through in-school and after-school meetings, training workshops, school-wide assemblies, online communication tools, YEC newsletters, and teen peer mentoring programs. In addition, all participants attend the Annual Environmental Summit, highlighting these and other environmental topics.
2005 Grants
Strafford Historical Society $10,000
John Kent Freitag, P.O. Box 100, Strafford, VT 05072
Mining's Long Shadow: An Environmental Lesson
Under this grant, the Stafford Historical Society produces and distributes three educational documentaries about Vermont’s copper mining industry. One 1-hour documentary targets the public, and two 20-minute documentaries target school-age youth. The documentaries educate adults and students about the complexity of land use issues and raise awareness of mining’s potential effects on the environment. More than 30 viewings of the documentaries will be held in Vermont and New Hampshire. In addition, local schools incorporate the films into their science classes.
Vermont Association of Conservation Districts $10,000
Ken Hafner, 487 Rowell Hill Road, Berlin, VT 05602
Vermont Envirothon Program
The Vermont Envirothon allows students to gain knowledge and skills and demonstrate a willingness to participate in natural resource problem-solving issues. Students learn about aquatics, forestry, soils, wildlife, and a fifth topic, “Water Stewardship in a Changing Climate.” Five high school students and a teacher advisor form a team to compete. Activities include development of curriculum from in-class and hands-on field experiences.
Vermont Institute of Natural Science, Inc. $10,000
Lisa M. Purcell, 2723 Church Hill Road, Woodstock, VT 05091
Urban ELF
More than 30 years ago, the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) developed the Environmental Learning for the Future (ELF) curriculum to bring students in kindergarten through grade 6 out of the classroom to learn about and explore nature in schoolyards and neighborhoods. Specially trained parents and other community volunteers teach the ELF program. This initial year of a 3-year project expands the ELF curriculum by developing supplemental activities and materials for urban and suburban elementary students who participate. Schools in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and Rutland, Vermont, participate in this expansion. ELF encompasses five concepts: cycles, habitats, adaptations, designs of nature, and earth and sky.
2004 Grants
National Wildlife Federation $24,143
Jean Semprebon, 58 State Street, Montpelier, VT 05602
Habitat Stewards: Building Community-level Ecological Stewardship
This project is a community-wide education initiative that provides community members, teachers, students, and administrators with opportunities to contribute to healthy wildlife habitats by becoming stewards of their local environment. A 3-day workshop trains 25 community volunteers to educate and assist other residents in the creation and restoration of wildlife habitat. Two local persons are trained as hosts, who are qualified to facilitate the Habitat Stewards workshops.
University of Vermont State Agricultural College $5,447
Sarah Cooley, 340 Waterman Building, Burlington, VT 05405-0160
Summer Work and Learning Program
This project is taking a successful job training program for teens based on sustainable agriculture into its next phase of career development, namely the growing of vegetables and selling them at a local farmers' market. The main goal of the project is providing employment for young people that will allow them to develop teamwork, leadership, decision-making, and problem-solving skills that can be transferred into the workforce.
2003 Grants
Association of Vermont Recyclers $5,000
Karin McNeill, P.O. Box 124, Montpelier, VT 05601
Education for School Composting Programs
This project creates a statewide model for teaching Vermont school populations facts about the state's goal to reduce solid waste, and to teach techniques for beginning and sustaining a composting program. The project uses five theater shows and 10 workshops to target kindergarten through eighth grade students interested in learning about composting.
Northeast Recycling Council, Inc. $21,155
Lynn Rubinstein, 139 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301
New England Strategic Outreach and Education Plan for Reuse and Waste Prevention
This project promotes reuse of materials and waste prevention among school and municipal government purchasing agents. The project focuses on developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills and applying them to understand the environmental benefits of reuse and waste prevention as well as how state and federal procurement laws apply.
Trust for Wildlife $5,000
Marshal T. Case, 127 Ehrich Road, Shaftsbury, VT 05262
Development of a Trail System
This project involves developing a trail layout and accompanying interpretive booklet for the 109-acre Southwest Vermont Middle School property. The effort is intended to familiarize students and faculty with the property, integrate use of the property into all subject areas of the seventh- and eighth-grade curricula, and promote wise use of the property as an outdoor laboratory. The interpretive trail and booklet are the focus for community awareness and involvement efforts.
2002 Grants
University of Vermont and State Agriculture College $5,000
Beverly Blakeney, 340 Waterman Building, Burlington, VT 05405
Vermont Campus Greening Conference
The outcome of this project is the development of a set of shared goals for campuses to reduce environmental impacts and a set of initiatives coordinated with environmental agencies. The methodology is to hold a statewide conference that brings together state environmental agency representatives, students, faculty, and staff from the academic and operational sides of the 21 institutions of higher education in Vermont. While a number of institutions have recycling options, few have energy plans or purchasing policies that reflect government standards for environmental materials.
Vermont Forum on Sprawl $10,000
Sarah Judd, 110 Main Street, Burlington, VT 05401
On-line Community Planning Workshop
This organization, partnering with Chaplain College, offers an on-line community-planning workshop to help communities plan for future growth. The program provides public participation techniques, introduces successful development practices from Vermont and other states, explores settlement protection, and provides a model of bylaws that communities can apply to promote economic growth while reinforcing compact village and landscape patterns.
2001 Grants
Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium $5,000
Charles Browne, 1302 Main Street, St. Johnsbury, VT 05819
Teaching Tools for Sustainable Forestry
The goals of the project are to purchase instructional and inquiry-based tools for field and classroom study of sustainable forestry, support a museum partnership with consulting foresters and a wildlife ecologist to produce a week-long professional development course on sustainable forestry for teachers in the four-state Northern Forest region, and disseminate in print and on the Internet an instructional guide that focuses on sustainable forestry and encourages inquiry-based classroom and outdoor study that meets state standards.
Shelburne Farms $5,000
Susan Dixon, 1611 Harbor Road, Shelburne, VT 05482
Place-based Landscape Analysis and Community Education (PLACE) Program
Shelburne Farms and the Natural Areas Center of the University of Vermont have developed a new community-based environmental education model, PLACE. PLACE brings together teachers of kindergarten through grade 12, parents, civic leaders, and residents of the community for a series of lectures and hands-on field trips that explore the natural and cultural history of the community. Shelburne Farms works with teachers to develop curricula that engage students in kindergarten through grade 12 in real-world environmental issues in their community and that conform to state standards, as well.
Vermont Forum on Sprawl $10,000
Sarah Judd, 110 Main Street, Burlington, VT 05401
"Way to Grow" Public Education Project Regarding Sprawl
The organization expands its “Way to Grow” program to include: 1) 12 monthly events to take place in 12 different regions of the state, 2) a series of six articles to be submitted to weekly newspapers, and 3) improvements in the organization’s web page. The program is designed to increase awareness among the public about steps individuals can take to combat sprawl in their communities.
2000 Grants
Association of Vermont Recyclers $4,960
Connie Leach Bisson, P. O. Box 1244, Montpelier, VT 05601
Regional Collaboration in Environmental Theater
The Association of Vermont Recyclers is recognized widely for its environmental theater troupe and original plays that have toured kindergarten through grade 8 classes in schools throughout Vermont for more than eight years. The grant money is used to explore opportunities to share the association's resources with neighboring states. The group tours six elementary and middle schools, reaching some 1,250 students and 65 teachers and educating them on environmental issues through theater. The group also hosts training for teachers to incorporate the association's creative form of teaching into their work plans.
Lake Champlain Science Center $23,500
Betsy Rosenbluth, 1 College Street, Burlington, VT 05401
Eco-Peers Project
The Science Center and the Vermont Institute for Science, Mathematics and Technology work with 20 middle and high school teachers to develop and implement a standards-based curriculum about the Lake Champlain basin. Existing materials are used and adopted to address local environmental concerns. Classroom kits, focusing on monitoring ecosystem health through land and water, will be developed for middle and high school students and will be made available on the Science Center's web site. More than 20 middle and high school teachers participate, serving more than 400 students each year.
Vermont Center for the Book $105,569
Sally Anderson, 256 Haywood Road, Chester, VT 05143
Mother Goose Meets Mother Nature Program
The Vermont Center for the Book works collaboratively with several partners to develop and implement programs focused specifically on reaching low-income, educationally at-risk preschool children and their families. Using picture books, discussions, and activities to bring environmental themes to life for preschoolers and the professionals who work with them, the project expands in several New England states access to and use of an existing environmental education curriculum that was implemented successfully in Vermont in 1997 and 1998. Training is being provided to Head Start trainers and selected teachers in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, who in turn train Head Start teachers to organize and facilitate preschool environmental programs in each of their home states. The program builds local capacity to deliver high-quality environmental education by educating Head Start trainers and teachers about environmental issues, enhancing their access to and understanding of environmental information, and improving their environmental education skills. Key partners in the project include the Vermont Institute for Natural Science; the Stewardship Center of Shelburne Farms; and Head Start centers in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
1999 Grants
Shelburne Farms $14,550
Judy Elson, 1611 Harbor Road, Shelburne, VT 05482
People and The Northern Forest: A Sustainable Relationship
This project designs and delivers a series of workshops for teachers of fourth- through eighth-grade classes, providing them with the skills and knowledge they need to develop a curriculum that inspires students to become active stewards of the forest. The program provides ongoing professional support to participating teachers, assisting them in integrating issues related to the northern forest into their curricula, while meeting the objectives outlined in the Vermont Framework of Standards and Learning Opportunities. The workshops accommodate 120 educators, who in turn will reach 3,000 students each year.
State of Vermont Department of Health $3,820
Karen Garbarino, 108 Cherry Street, Burlington, VT 05402
Indoor Air Quality Education in Schools
Under this project, staff of the State of Vermont Department of Health train a representative teaching professional from the pilot supervisory union in basic issues related to indoor air quality and ventilation. After the training, initial concerns are addressed by the school at the local level, and an indoor air quality management plan is developed. The indoor air quality coordinator also is responsible for incorporating the new knowledge into the supervisory union's health education curriculum.
State of Vermont Department of Public Service $150,000
Tom Franks, 112 State Street, Drawer 20, Montpelier, VT 05620-2601
Vermont Multiagency Environmental Education Project
The Building Education for Sustainable Society (BESS) project is developing an environmental education project that is fully integrated with traditional academic programs in Vermont. Drawing upon and further developing a rich array of existing informal initiatives, the project uses the entire state as a classroom and laboratory. Students learn how natural systems function and how human activities affect ecosystems. They develop the powers of observation and analysis required of responsible citizens in a global environment. Environmental educators work with teachers to create a core ecological curriculum that embraces basic concepts in mathematics, science, technology, and sustainability. During the next two years, only a small portion of the 6,200 teachers and 105,000 students in Vermont can be reached, but the grant can become a catalyst for broader systemic innovation in succeeding years. The program could become a model for other states.
Winooski Valley Park District $4,000
Jennifer Ely, Ethan Allen Homestead, Burlington, VT 05401
State of the Winooski Basin Environmental Education Program and Youth Conference
This project elevates students' awareness of the many values of wetlands, including their role in trapping phosphorus. It complements and builds upon existing educational resources, teaching students a variety of hands-on skills that they can apply to real-life issues, such as how land use affects environmental quality, mapping, and quantitative monitoring of water, as well as professional letter-writing, public speaking, and how the political process works.
1998 Grants
The Gailer School at Middlebury $5,000
Mary Jeanne Pacher, 19 Shannon Street, Middlebury, VT 05753
Summer Field Biology Program
The Summer Field Biology Program educates young people and their instructors about the actual tools and techniques of field biology in timber harvest practices and water quality. Field work includes measuring a variety of indicators of water quality (for example, alkalinity and temperature). Forest management professionals lead exercises on sustainable management of forests and overcutting of trees. Current resources of Project WILD, Project Learning Tree, and other programs are used as starting points for the educational content of the project, which attracts a diverse audience: 19 high school and middle school teachers (4 from China) and 25 students (10 from China) in grades 9 through 12.
Vermont Institute for Natural Science $24,854
Billi Gosh, RR 2, Box 532, Woodstock, VT 05091
Updating Hands-On Nature and the Environmental Learning for the Future Curriculum
This project improves one of the model curricula of the Vermont Institute for Natural Science (VINS), Environmental Learning for the Future (ELF) and its companion book, Hands-On Nature. VINS is a partner with 68 schools and 1,300 ELF volunteer educators in Vermont who learn new teaching skills and pilot-test revised ELF activities. VINS intends to improve Hands-On Nature, which currently consists of 33 units of fact-filled essays that introduce educators to the topic, followed by field-tested activities for students in kindergarten through grade 6.
1997 Grants
American Lung Association of Vermont $3,570
Janet Riley Francis, 30 Farrell Street, South Burlington, VT 05403-6196
Open Airways for Schools
Open Airways for Schools is an asthma-management program that provides cost-effective asthma education to school-age children who have asthma and to their families. The target audience lives in the most rural section of Vermont, known as the Northeast Kingdom, which has a total population of 59,648 in 2,410 square miles, including approximately 1,972 adults and 1,077 children with asthma. The project trains school nurses to implement the program, which targets children between the ages of 8 to 11. Among other activities, children receive take-home assignments to complete with their parents.
Food Works $5,000
Todd Comen, 64 Main Street, Montpelier, VT 05602
Community Park for Teaching Local Ecology Project
This project focuses on helping teachers develop seasonal units of hands-on activities for use in teaching local ecology in the outdoor laboratory of Hubbard Park, a 185-acre city park in Montpelier. Students gain a greater knowledge of the diverse habitat by constructing learning centers and interpretive displays. The target audience of the project is low-income students between the ages of 6 and 18 who live in Montpelier.
Vermont Center for the Book $9,153
Sally Anderson, P. O. Box 441, Chester, VT 05143
Mother Goose Meets Mother Nature Project
The Mother Goose Meets Mother Nature Project uses picture books, discussion, and activities to bring environmental issues to life for pre-school children, their parents, and the professionals who work with them. It trains 30 early childhood educators from 10 communities to focus on the effectiveness of works of children's literature as vehicles for environmental education and to organize and facilitate parent programs for 200 at-risk families. The Vermont Center for the Book works collaboratively on the project with the Vermont Institute for Natural Sciences, the Stewardship Institute of Shelburne Farms, and the Vermont Department of Libraries.
1996 Grants
Lyndon State College $5,000
Frances Barhydt, Vermont Energy Education Program, Lyndonville, VT 05851
Energy and the Environment: A Teacher Training Program
Energy and the Environment: A Teacher Training Program is providing teachers and students in fifth through eight grades with the opportunity to work with the Vermont Energy Education Program (VEEP) "Energy-Scientist-in-the-Classroom." VEEP provides teachers of third through eighth grade with workshops, teaching materials, equipment and supplies, and on-site follow-up to empower them to provide their students a thorough thematic approach to energy efficiency, renewable energy, and the environment.
Vermont Association of Conservation Districts $5,000
Nancy Allen, RD 2, Box 3420, Middlebury, VT 05753
Vermont Envirothon
Vermont Envirothon is a growing national environmental education program aimed at public and private high school students and their teachers. The program is designed to improve environmental awareness and appreciation for wise management and use and protection of natural resources by our future decision makers. A training workshop conducted in the spring provides students and teachers an opportunity for hands-on learning through research, discussion, and evaluation of natural resource issues. Students then participate in a statewide competition with finalists going on to compete in a national Envirothon.
1995 Grants
Lyndon State College $9,663
Frances Barhydt or William Laramee, Lyndonville, VT 05851
"Energy and the Environment"
This project involves a teacher training program provided by the Vermont Energy Education Program (VEEP), a business-education partnership for public school teachers of kindergarten through 8th grade. The project fills a gap in teacher training by providing resource materials, equipment, and follow-up support. The project uses an energy-scientist-in-the-classroom residency method, and inquiry-based, constructivist, thematic teaching methods.
Winooski Valley Park District $5,000
Jennifer Ely, Ethan Allen Homestead, Burlington, VT 05401
Partnership for Wetland Education
This project customizes an existing wetlands curriculum for easier and more effective use at three to five Vermont parks with exemplary wetlands. The curriculum complements boardwalks with educational signage and brochures. Area teachers are offered at least three, 7 1/2-hour workshops in the use of the educational kits; each kit includes a curriculum guide and educational props. Thereafter, these materials will be made available as part of a traveling wetlands exhibit, on location at boardwalks, and included in school mailings.
1994 Grants
Montshire Museum of Science $13,589
David Goudy, P. O. Box 770, Norwich, VT 05055
Solid Waste Reduction Program
In conjunction with the Antioch New England Graduate School in Keene, New Hampshire, the Montshire Museum of Science expects to establish a model program to disseminate information on solid waste source reduction to eight communities in rural Vermont and New Hampshire. The training program will use curricular and logistical materials to train middle school students during training sessions and workshops at the museum. Ultimately, the intent is for these students to initiate and formalize the information transfer by creating partnerships with their own local communities, business, public works operations, and other citizens.
River Watch Network $4,896
Sharon Behar, 153 State St., Montpelier, VT 05602
Clean Water Institute
River Watch Network will host its "Clean Water Institute," a week-long conference at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, for a team of 20 teachers and community members from throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The training program will teach pollution prevention and encourage the use of hands-on science in the classroom setting. The Institute will build partnerships with existing environmental groups and schools, design river monitoring projects, and create teams of teachers and community representatives, affecting more than 900 people.
1993 Grants
Vermont Land Trust, Inc. $4,725
Preston Bristow, 8 Bailey Avenue, Montpelier, VT 05602
Monitor Training Curriculum and Handbook
The "Monitor Training Curriculum and Handbook" project involves the development of a training program for monitors of conservation easements held on 280 privately-owned properties in the state. Monitors will include community volunteers, local land trust organizations, town conservation commissions, and student interns. Broadening the monitoring effort to keep up with a growing number of properties requires formal training.
Vermont Public Interest Research Group $4,050
Michael A. Veitch, P. O. Box 721, Bellows Falls, VT 05101
Missing Links: A Community Outreach, Education and Training Program
"Missing Links: A Community Outreach, Education and Training Program" closes the gap between the citizen's desire to implement sound waste reduction and recycling, and their level of knowledge and ability to accomplish those goals. The Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG) will help form working groups in the schools and communities of southern Vermont. Once organized, VPIRG will provide ongoing technical support and follow-up contact with the groups' leaders.
1992 Grants
Montshire Museum of Science $13,500
Norwich, VT 05055
Community Environmental Education Program
This project involves the development of a community environmental education program for 5th and 6th grade students aimed at forging a partnership between public schools and municipal environmental facilities such as solid waste and wastewater treatment plants. Participants will learn to develop techniques and curricula materials.
University of Vermont, Department of Geography $4,986
Burlington, VT 05405
Water Resources Workshop
This grant funds a project to conduct a workshop for educators in Vermont on water resources and environmental analyses.