This week, Vermont’s Greater Burlington Region received official designation as a Regional Center of Expertise (RCE) on Education for Sustainable Development by the United Nations University Institute for Advanced Studies of Sustainability. The region, which includes the Vermont portion of the Lake Champlain Basin, is one of 136 RCEs worldwide, and one of only five in the United States. A network of worldwide RCEs aspire to achieve the goals of the Global Action Programme for Sustainable Development by translating its global objectives into the context of the local communities.

The Greater Burlington Region is being recognized for its collaborative and groundbreaking education for sustainability programs, such as the University of Vermont’s service-learning partnerships with local schools and non-governmental organizations; Shelburne Farms' education program, the Sustainable Schools Project; among others.

This designation will allow the Greater Burlington Region to network with and learn from other RCEs around the world that are documenting promising practices in education for sustainability. The University of Vermont and Shelburne Farms are co-coordinating the effort to create a Greater Burlington RCE multi-stakeholder network of educators, NGOs, government, business leaders, students, faith groups and community members. There will be a launch celebration in early October 2015 at Shelburne Farms.

To get involved in the Greater Burlington RCE, contact co-coordinator Tom Hudspeth at Thomas.Hudspeth@uvm.edu or Megan Camp at mcamp@shelburnefarms.org.