Note: Registration for this course is through Shelburne Farms. Use the link below.
Course Details
| Course Name | Watershed for Every Classroom A Partnership with the Champlain Basin Education Initiative |
| Instructors | Champlain Basin Education Initiative partners and educators |
| Location | Multiple locations around Lake Champlain |
| Dates | Summer 2026 – Spring 2027 |
| Credit | Optional (additional fee): 3 Graduate Course Credits through Vermont State University for $435 |
| Tuition | $650 program fee includes housing during summer and spring retreats as well as most meals. Needs-based scholarships are available once accepted. |
About the program:
Watershed for Every Classroom (WEC) is a year-long supported professional development experience for educators in the Lake Champlain Basin of New York, Vermont, and Québec.
In Watershed for Every Classroom, we’ll explore how people, places, and things tell the stories of our region. Throughout this course, teachers learn more about the science and history of the Lake Champlain Watershed, engage in field work and exploration at a wide variety of sites both on and in the water, and receive materials and resources that they can take back to their classrooms. Participants will collaborate with their peers and instructors to learn strategies for building in-depth understanding of content, skills for community engagement, and a sense of place for their students.
Due to the place- and project-based focus of the course, it is applicable to formal and informal educators in all subject areas and grades. Priority will be given to those who teach in the Lake Champlain Watershed – if you aren’t sure where your location falls, you can search for your city or town in this interactive map.
Presented by the Champlain Basin Education Initiative (CBEI), a community of organizations engaged in watershed education.
Participant Expectations:
- Participate in all sessions. Personal transportation will be needed to study sites around Vermont and New York, but there will be opportunities to carpool.
- Complete readings and written reflections and participate in collegial planning and dialogue.
- Develop a watershed-based teaching unit that integrates the local landscape. The unit will meet the goals of your district’s curriculum and exemplify best practices of place-based education and service learning.
- Demonstrate administrator approval; this is important to ensure you’ll be giving time during the academic year to join all retreats.
Fees:
- Participant Cost: $650 program fee includes housing during summer and spring retreats as well as most meals. Needs-based scholarships are available once accepted.
- CTLE Credits (included): Lake Champlain Sea Grant is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s Office of Teaching Initiatives as an approved sponsor of CTLE for Professional Classroom Teachers, School Leaders, and Level III Teaching Assistants. CTLE certificates of completion will be offered for educators in attendance for the full duration of the program.
- Professional Certificate (included): a certificate of completion will be provided with professional development hours.
- *Optional (additional fee): 3 Graduate Course Credits through Vermont State University for $435
Dates of program:
- August 3-6, 2026, 4 day program optional overnight accommodations at Shelburne Farms in VT provided August 3-5, and camping at LCMM available the night of August 5th.
- September 25, 2026, 1 day program
- January 22, 2027, 1 day program
- April 29-May 1st, 2027, 2 day program with overnight accommodations provided in Lake Placid, NY
Core Instructors:
- Emily Schaller, Shelburne Farms
- Ashley Eaton, Lake Champlain Sea Grant Extension
- Course support provided by CBEI partners
Applications are due by March 23rd. Final decisions will be conveyed by early April.
For more information and to register, please visit https://watershedmatters.org/cbei-programs/watershed-for-every-classroom/