End of Year 2023
Climate Action Planning for Net Zero by 2028
REDUCING EMISSIONS & SEQUESTRATION
oxide. Cows pro-
The first priority is to “decarbonize” how energy is produced for the farm. The second is reducing emissions from farm operations and land use. The third is increasing carbon sequestration, which takes years or decades, and is fragile and reversible.
duce methane gas in their gut as they digest carbon-rich plants, which they release by belching. (Manure is a second source of methane; nitrous oxide is from urine.) With a few exceptions, directly measuring these gasses is pro- Connor Stedman is our Climate Action Advisor, helping Shelburne hibitively expensive Farms develop the Climate Action Plan for our 1,400-acre farm. and impractical. So we’re using a combination of modeling and measurement. We’re using a giant greenhouse gas calculator for farms (“COMET”): we enter data on our inputs and practices, and it spits out our CO2 emissions. But it doesn’t model sequestration well, or recognize farm innovations, so we’re hoping to develop different methodologies for that through research partnerships and direct measurement. There are exciting research questions and a lot of educational potential as well.
“Shelburne Farms is on unique land and the invitation has been, ‘What’s right to do here?’ To me that’s really significant and exciting.” — Connor Stedman
THE BIG QUESTIONS FOR FARM OPERATIONS What does it take to make the property run on renewable energy? What changes to infrastructure, or the means of energy production, or renovations of buildings are needed? And what does it take to cut emissions from the farm itself? That’s not as straightforward. Decades of managing permanent pastures has already regained us a lot of soil carbon, so the place to go further is in innovations to reduce methane, including linseed-based feed supplements, encouraging certain forage plants, and possibly biochar applications. Then it’s figuring out where and how to plant trees to store more carbon over the longterm. MEASURING ON-FARM PROGRESS We’re talking about three climate gasses and their biogeochemical cycles: carbon, methane, and nitrous
WHAT WILL IT TAKE? The sustained focus on reducing emissions is going to determine whether we reach net zero. And there’s always going to be variability. We should think of net zero as a rolling average across three or five years. Read the full interview on our website.
HOLLY BROUGH
Shelburne Farms has set a goal to achieve net zero by 2028—capturing more greenhouse gasses than we produce on the farm. Connor Stedman explains the major work that will help get us there.
As an education nonprofit concerned about the future, Shelburne Farms is working on a climate action plan to guide the organization to net zero by 2028. We’re drawing on known solutions, and experimenting with newer ideas in our landscape, buildings, and barns.
Campus In Brief HOLLY BROUGH (3)
Dear friend of Shelburne Farms,
And every day, as our “24 Hours at Shelburne Farms” story makes so clear, we are sharing this working farm—and the lessons we learn here—with thousands of educators, students, and visitors. The impact of Shelburne Farms extends far beyond this campus. For all the support we are able to provide for teachers around the world through our Institute for Sustainable Schools and for every action or activity that occurs here in a 24-hour window, we have you to thank. You make so much learning and so many inspiring moments possible. We are deeply grateful for your continued support.
SHINGLING OF BREEDING BARN COMPLETED This summer, workers placed the last shingle on the Breeding Barn’s below-roofline exterior walls, securing the barn for future use.
With deep gratitude,
Alec Webb, President
Wonders in the Woods
ANDREA ESTEY
This fall, many students from our region have explored our farm and woodlands in school programs. We tagged along with one. In October, Charlotte, VT third graders Malual and Wilder were on a scavenger hunt in the woods. “We haven’t found a snake yet,” said Wilder. (Educator Mallory suggested that it was likely too cold for snakes that day.) But they found nearly everything else on their list by the end of the program! They looked under logs and rocks, along the forest floor, and up the sides of trees for millipedes, worms, spiders, and salamanders. “We think of these activities as curricular on-ramps,” explains our educator Courtney Mulcahy. “An activity like a scavenger hunt helps kids slow down and connect to where they are.” Discover other ways our woodlands inspire learning on our website.
WOODLAND MANAGEMENT We have begun revising our Forest Management Plan to center the goals of long-term carbon sequestration and ecosystem resiliency within a warming world.
A GREAT SEASON AT THE INN So many people enjoyed the Flower Gardens, farm-to-table dining, and nights of restoration and relaxation. The Inn was featured on the cover of Hemispheres Magazine, too! The Inn reopens May 10, 2024.
A Family With Deep Ties to Farms and Cheese THE ORIGIN STORIES Sam and Peter grew up on the family farm in Dummerston, Vermont, where they started a family business, the Guilford Cheese Company. “We ended up in this little barn,” Sam remembers. “I was milking cows on one side, and Peter was making cheese on the other.” That division of labor suited them both. Peter went on to UVM in 1990, and joined Shelburne Farms when our cheesemaker needed an experienced assistant. “They were making raw milk cheddar every day here all from pasture and I thought, ‘This is really interesting and exciting.’” As he left to turn his experiences into a career in dairy foods consulting (and later as owner of Parish Hill Creamery), Sam came on board as Shelburne Farms dairy manager. A generation later, Gus shares, “I had always come here just visiting my cousins.” But when COVID hit, the newly minted UVM grad decided to apprentice with his dad. “I always wanted to learn cheesemaking from him,” he says, “just because he’s a resource like none other.” A fellow apprentice turned Shelburne Farms cheesemaker then pointed Gus here in late 2021. Full circle. ON DAIRY FARMING & CHEESEMAKING “You’re essentially trying to pull out water as you’re making cheese,” Peter explains. “The better you can do that, the better you can predict how your cheese will age.” The ratio of protein to fat in the milk affects that most, so you need to understand the milk you start with. You need the farmer. As Peter says to Gus, “Having a great relationship with your farmer, Uncle Sam, assists you as a cheesemaker.” Sam agrees, “When you can see the cheesemaker and say, ‘well, the weather’s doing this,’ or ‘we have a couple of fresh cows,’ it’s important. Because it all affects the milk.” Sam continues, “There are key steps that you have to get exactly right, but then there are 100 little things that you’ve also got to do. It’s really hard work.” Gus
HOLLY BROUGH (2)
Two generations of Dixons have made an impact at Shelburne Farms: they’ve stewarded our working dairy and shaped our cheesemaking, all for the love of land, craft, and food.
Sam Dixon has been our dairy manager since 1996. His nephew Gus Slater-Dixon joined us as a cheesemaker two years ago. Peter, Sam’s older brother and Gus’s dad, made cheese for us in the early 1990s, and now operates Parish Hill Creamery.
says to Peter, “I remember you saying that that’s why you love cheesemaking, too, because it is mental, physical, and a little creative problem solving, even in its rigid framework. You have to think critically about what you’re doing.”
In a recent visit, Peter joined son Gus to make our farmstead cheddar: two generations of cheesemakers in the same room!
WHY DO THEY DO WHAT THEY DO? “It’s to feed people, for sure,” Peter answers. Gus nods before adding, “My favorite is seeing kids look at me with their faces pressed up against the [viewing] window because I love engaging with people who love to learn.” For Sam, it’s being in nature and more: “We’re producing food for people to eat and value,” he sums up. “That’s what I love about Shelburne Farms.”
Read the full interview and order some of the cheddar that the Dixons help craft on our website.
24 Hours with Shelburne Farms We fanned out across the organization on July 16 to capture the depth and breadth of all that goes on during a “typical” summer day at Shelburne Farms—both on and off our working farm campus. Your support makes all of these activities possible. And it’s really only a fraction of what happens day in and day out as we work towards a sustainable future.
4:29 am
PHOTOS: HOLLY BROUGH, ANDREA ESTEY, JED NORRIS, ROBIN TURNAU, SARAH WEBB.
The Dairy Wakes Up
Find more photos and moments from that day on our website.
Sam Dixon prepares the milking parlor then wakes the herd. At 5:21 am, Renee LaCoss moves all 123 cows through the parlor. At 6:35 am, a new calf is born.
8:57 am
9:43 am
10:04 am
Going Online With Educators
Grassland Bird Research
Summer Campers on the Move
Jen Cirillo prepares for the start of the program Foundations in Education for Sustainability, offered to teachers for grad credit in partnership with UVM.
Students from the University of New England monitor grassland birds, adding to Professor Noah Perlut’s 20 years of research data on these species.
Summer campers take a tractor ride from the Farm Barn to the Dairy, spotting grazing cows and singing songs along the way. They cover some ground!
11:33 am
2:00 pm
4:19 pm
Educators Explore “Off Campus”
Activity at the Farm Store
From the Farmyard to the Fields
Educators learn about the recycling process and the systems that create the conditions for sustainability in a hands-on tour of a local waste facility.
As staff deliver Market Garden produce inside, volunteer Dave Crane begins a Sun to Cheese Tour outside, a tour that traces the story of our farmstead cheddar.
Visitors and campers help Children’s Farmyard staff walk our education flock to pasture for the night. Brewer, the Farmyard cow, isn’t far behind.
6:53 am
8:05 am
8:52 am
Preparing to Make Cheese
Market Garden Harvest
Safeguarding Our Silvopastures
Morgan Rainville unwraps the “hoops” of cheddar from the previous day’s make while waiting for the day’s milk to arrive at the cheesemaking facility.
Linda Wellings begins picking the day’s harvest of tomatoes, lettuce, and more, which will be delivered later to the Inn kitchen and Farm Store.
Jacques Marton places deer netting around 59 new pasture saplings. As they grow, the trees will sequester carbon while offering shade to cows or sheep.
10:29 am
11:13 am
11:15 am
Breeding Barn Work
Children’s Farmyard
Maintaining the Flower Gardens
With the extensive re-shingling project winding down on the historic barn, workers from Porter & Associates re-install exterior doors on the building.
Goat bucklings welcome visitors all day long, including new staff members Jack and Sophie who are attending a day-long employee orientation.
Horticulturist Paul Wieczoreck maintains the garden beds and talks all things gardening with visitors, starting conversations about taking care of place.
4:35 pm
6:24 pm
6:46 pm
Pre-service Dining Preparations
Cows Head to Evening Pasture
Town Concert Warms Up
Scott Doherty leads the restaurant servers through new wines on offer. Chef Matthew informs them about the dishes featuring fresh, local produce.
With afternoon milking complete, the herd settles in for the night, feeding on our carefully managed and nutrientrich pastures.
Local band “The Tenderbellies” take the stage for a free Town of Shelburne concert, while we serve up farm burgers, sausages, and salads to the crowd.
Featured 2024 Educator Programs, PreK-12 shelburnefarms.org/programs
ANDREA ESTEY, ANDY DUBACK (2)
For more information, additional listings, or to register, visit:
Education for Sustainability (EFS)
More Institute Programs
Programs offered in partnership with the University of Vermont
Early childhood, climate action, and farm to school programs
Foundations in EFS | JULY 8–12
Forest for Every Classroom
Deepen your understanding of social-ecological systems, consider strategies for youth voice and agency, and practice change-making skills.
Immersion in EFS | JULY 23–25
A retreat-like workshop for those who already have a strong foundation in EFS. Reflect, learn, and collaborate with colleagues.
EFS Leadership Academy
YEAR–LONG, BEGINS JULY 30–AUG. 1
Join a learning community working to align education toward the goals of ecological integrity, economic vitality, and social justice.
EFS Graduate Certificates | MULTI–YEAR
Choose from a 12-credit Micro Certificate or 18-credit Certificate. Take the courses above as core requirements.
YEAR–LONG, BEGAN OCTOBER 2023
Across habitats and seasons, learn how to interpret and teach on the landscape, integrating real-world, handson experiences into your curriculum.
Northeast Farm to School Institute JUNE 25–27
Apply as a school team to build a farm to school action plan with lasting impact on classrooms, cafeterias, and communities. Offered in partnership with NOFA-VT. June 24–28:Adaptation Program for state teams across the U.S.
Cultivating Joy & Wonder | JULY 15–19
An immersive, energizing week on the farm to inspire your early childhood curriculum with fresh ideas for connecting to farms, food, and nature.
Climate Resiliency Fellowship
YEAR–LONG, BEGINS AUGUST 13–15
EFS has helped me see how to affect change from within the education system. Now I see myself as a leader. — Julia Marchessault, Teacher and EFS Micro Certificate candidate
For educator teams in any discipline, grades 6-12. Deepen your commitment to learning and teaching about climate change through interdisciplinary, place-based approaches.
The Shelburne Farms Institute for Sustainable Schools offers professional learning programs and resources for PreK-12 educators that prepare them to facilitate learning experiences for students using a lens of sustainability.
Teachers Take the Learning to Their Students
SARAH WEBB
The impact of our programs ripples out through educators into classrooms across the country.
BEAR CIERI
Farm to Early Childhood
Climate and Landmarks of Change In Kathryn Buckley’s middle school science class in Holliston, MA, students mapped landmarks they’d visited in Boston; then, using interactive tools like the Climate
able populations like the elderly or children?” Next they focused on answers: Students assumed the role of city planners to design Boston’s future, teaming up to offer
Ready Boston strategies to “It really felt like I found Map Explorer, address climate my people. This work is they predicted issues. Kathryn how the area wove in the the culmination of thirty around their chemistry of years of teaching.” landmark might climate change, — Kathryn Buckley be impacted too. “I wanted by climatethem to know, induced flooding or extreme heat. what’s so special about CO2?” Of But as Kathryn explains, “We’re her time with Shelburne Farms she not just asking, how is Fenway Park says, “It really felt like I found my going to be flooded, but what does people. This work is the culminaclimate change mean for vulnertion of thirty years of teaching.” Kathryn Buckley was a 2022–23 Climate Resiliency Fellow.
In the child care center that Laura Butler has operated in her Milton, VT home for over 25 years, building community is everything, and farm fresh food plays a central role. Every Thursday morning children eagerly await their weekly farm share delivery from Blue Heron Farm. The kids greet the farmer, take turns unpacking and discussing the week’s veggies, harvest more bounty from gardens at home or in Laura’s own backyard, help prepare recipes in the kitchen, enjoy the new foods they make, and even share them with their families. Laura says, “To me, the lesson for the kids was that we’re all growing things. They’re helping in my garden. They’re helping in their own gardens. And we’re sharing, and that’s what a community does: share and help support each other.” Laura participated in a farm to early childhood professional learning program at Shelburne Farms and was a presenter at our 2023–2024 Northeast Farm to School Institute.
1611 Harbor Road • Shelburne, Vermont 05482 shelburnefarms.org • 802-985-8686 Shelburne Farms is a 501(c)(3) education nonprofit on a mission to inspire and cultivate learning for a sustainable future. We believe that transformative learning experiences sow the seeds for a more just and thriving world. Our work seeks to create the space, spark the conversations, and share the stories to inspire educators and students to build a better future for everyone. Our home campus is located on the homelands of the Winooskik band of the Abenaki.
Shelburne Farms is an education nonprofit on a mission to in-
Please Make a Gift Today!
Thank you! or use the enclosed envelope. Go to shelburnefarms.org/support, DARIA BISHOP
We are so grateful. You make Shelburne Farms possible. Your charitable support allows us to offer life-changing programs for educators and students, and it helps us care for our beautiful historic campus as a living classroom for learners of all ages.
Your Support Matters