Upper Valley Farm to School Network 2023 Mini-Grant Recipients
We are thrilled to announce this year’s Farm to School mini-grant recipients. The following projects were selected from 22 qualified…
Place-based education (PBE) expands the classroom walls by bringing learning experiences into the communities and ecosystems where students live. Practitioners of PBE prioritize learning opportunities that are student-centered, inquiry-based, outside in nature or the community, and focused on authentic problems. When done well, documented outcomes of PBE include academic, socio-emotional, and health benefits for students; teacher engagement and satisfaction; and strengthened community partnerships for schools. One major component of this style of learning is place-based ecological education (PBEE).
We are thrilled to announce this year’s Farm to School mini-grant recipients. The following projects were selected from 22 qualified…
Several weeks ago Andrew Deaett, our Project Manager for Place-Based Education had the chance to connect with Megan Dubuque from…
Are you looking to connect your Farm to School program with more community partners? The C.R.A.F.T program at Woodstock Union…
Nine diverse educational organizations from across the Upper Valley received Upper Valley Teaching Place Collaborative mini-grants this year, including several…
On October 5, our Place-Based Education Project Manager Andrew Deaett joined Thetford Academy’s Outdoor Program on an outing at Bill…
(Hover over these photos to see captions and click on them to enlarge them!) What do riffles, Tropical Storm Irene,…
Photos (L-R): Participants on the guided quest observe the tree canopy while guide Nathaniel Sharp calls migratory birds in with…
The news is full of reports of how hard the pandemic has been on schools, teachers, and students. One antidote…
Twelve Upper Valley schools and day care facilities were awarded mini-grants to support Farm to School projects this year! These…
The weather is warming, the buds are bursting, and the calendar is turning to May — it’s time to go…
Wanted: People of all ages with a love of the outdoors. Share that love by volunteering as a Valley Quest…
During October 2021, all students at The Prosper Valley School (TPVS) participated in a service-learning program called Star Throwers. Inspired…
Educators, do you have an idea for a project that will connect students with the outdoors? The Upper Valley Teaching…
From October 12 – 14, all students at The Prosper Valley School (TPVS) participated in a service-learning program called Star…
Colors in birding likely bring to mind plumage. Color in the context of diversity, equity, and inclusion lends a different…
The quest was an interesting journey A means of finding things out Classmates, this town and myself All of these…
As the poet and farmer Wendell Berry once wrote, “There are no sacred and unsacred places; there are only sacred…
Place-based Ecology Education (PBEE) has emerged as a compelling approach to achieving the sustainability goals of Environmental Education (EE), including…
Place-based education immerses students in local heritage, culture, ecology, landscapes, opportunities, and experiences as a foundation for the study of language arts,…
Experts at Stanford University systematically searched the academic literature and analyzed 119 peer-reviewed studies published over a 20-year period that measured…
We’re considering conference models that will keep us safe during COVID-19. Watch this space! The Upper Valley Teaching Place Conference…
In its 12th year, the Four Winds Nature Institute – Upper Valley Linkages for Environmental Literacy (UVLEL) grant program is getting…
We are happy to have the opportunity to feature two strong voices in the place-based ecology education (PBEE) movement in…
School’s Out(doors): Place-based Education Responds to COVID-19 and Beyond was created by PEER Associates in collaboration with Shelburne Farms, the Upper Valley Teaching Place Collaborative, and…
A team of educators committed to providing Upper Valley students with the resources they need to thrive during COVID19 have…
The world has changed drastically in the last two months. And many of us are re-thinking the way things worked…
“It’s easier to understand the rest of the world if you really know where you are,” says Sophie Leggett. Although I moved…
Jen Frederick recalls that when she went back to teaching at Plainfield Elementary School after being home with her children…
“The logistics around getting our students to the forest once a week to learn are challenging,” says Jess Loeffler, “but…
You may remember the story of violin virtuoso Joshua Bell, performing Bach and Schubert on a million dollar violin in…
In its 12th year, the Four Winds Nature Institute – Upper Valley Linkages for Environmental Literacy (UVLEL) grant program is getting…
“I am working with a sophomore right now who is struggling at school, and I had yet to hear him…
The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation is announcing $289,435 in grant awards from its Wellborn Ecology Fund. The grant dollars will…
For the last school year, 3rdgraders at the Lyme School and the Sharon Elementary School have been writing to one…
When Nikki Raney thinks about what skills she wants her third-graders at the Dothan Brook School to have when they…
Leslie Connolly and Jackie Atherley are a dynamic duo. Working together at Hanover’s Bernice A. Ray School, the two are…
For Beth Ann Drinker, learning to trust herself was one of the most important challenges in taking her students outdoors.…
Lyme School 3rd grade teacher, Trisha Gautreau caught the PBEE bug 5 years ago when she took a nature writing…
This year Sharon Elementary School 4th and 6th grade teachers, Meg Hopkins and Janis Boulbol, piloted a program called A…
Eliza Minucci is a humble yet powerful force in the movement to get kids outdoors and learning through play in…
“Every day I go out with kids is wonderful”, Lindsay Putnam reflects. “Perhaps one thing that is particularly good to…
Rob Hanson epitomizes the phrase, “lifelong learner.” He has taken advantage of more than a dozen place-based and environmental education…
Newton School principal, Greg Bagnato, started getting a lot of phone calls and emails when Anmari Kicza, the school’s kindergarten…
Both Shawn Brodeur-Stevens and Mary Lord have been teaching at Charlestown Middle School for over 20 years. Yet they have…
Scott Ellis has infectious enthusiasm for getting outside to learn and explore in nature. He taught at the Cardigan Mt.…
Christina Wild wishes that more teachers felt empowered to go beyond traditional modes of learning. So, she’s co-writing a book…
Project Manager, Place-Based Education (he/him)
Andrew joined Vital Communities in July of 2022 as a Project Manager in Place-Based Education, including heading the Farm to…
Project Manager, Valley Quest & UVTPC (she/her)
Gabrielle (she/her) joined Vital Communities in 2021. Gabrielle’s experience is centered around serving communities to become stronger and more civically…