UVM GO Community

(Residential Learning Communities: Global Connections and Sustainability)

• Agroecology, Food Systems, and Growing Communities: 

  Vic Izzo from UVM’s Institute for Agroecology (IfA) and Tom Wilson from UVM’s Community-Engaged Learning Office (CELO) will lead this experience, introducing students to the ways our local farms and food systems-based organizations build community, sustain cultural vibrancy, and address environmental challenges. Through the lens of agroecology, students will examine the food system as catalyst for, and reflection of, meaningful social and environmental change. We will engage directly with community partners and local nonprofits to build relationships in our community.

  Program Highlights: Visiting local farms; meeting with food producers implementing agroecological practices; connecting with organizations led by and for New Americans; assisting researchers with field work and data collection on agroecosystems at UVM’s Hort Farm; volunteering at Feeding Chittenden, a local anti-hunger non-profit; enjoying local and seasonal food!

• A Sweet Introduction to Vermont: 

  Discover the sweet side of Vermont! Professor Samantha Alger, Director of the Vermont Bee Lab, will guide you as you dive into the state's rich maple sugaring traditions, get hands-on with a local beekeeping tour, and explore Vermont’s famed dairy and ice cream culture. From tree taps to honeycombs and creamy scoops, you’ll gain a delicious introduction to the flavors, history, and sustainable practices that make Vermont unique. A perfect way to start your UVM journey—with a taste of the Green Mountain State! 

  Program Highlights: Touring a sugar shack, sampling maple products, and learning to identify sugar maples at the Audubon Center; visiting the Vermont Bee Lab’s research and education bee hives; touring the UVM Dairy Barn; getting ice cream at the Burlington Waterfront.  

(Residential Learning Communities: Arts and Creativity, Gaming Collective, and Wellness Environment)

• Blueprints of Belonging: 
  Students will explore a sense of place while being immersed in the natural and urban environments of their new home: UVM and the Burlington community. Arts professor jen berger will bring students to a variety of locations in the Burlington South End Arts District, touring studios, collecting natural materials, and creating sketches of what they see. Professor berger will host students at her studio in the South End Arts District for a printmaking workshop on the theme of place. The group will explore campus and experiment with mixed methods and techniques while diving into the creative process. Students will come away feeling inspired by and connected to their new home!

  Program Highlights: Taking a printmaking workshop at The Hive Collective; exploring a variety of art media and techniques; visiting studios in the Burlington Arts District; learning about creative opportunities on campus and in the community.

• Build Your Brain: 
  You’ll learn the science behind how to create new habits to build your brain through movement, connection, and mindfulness. These habits will help you with the first six weeks, first semester, and crush your UVM career! Start each day with yoga on the Central Campus Residential Hall green. Then, hike Mount Philo with Psychology Professor Dr. Bill Copeland to learn about the brain building benefits of nature, mindfulness, and movement. You’ll also explore the history of the local landscape with an afternoon at Shelburne Farms, attend a crash course on building a healthy brain with Dr. Jeff Rettew, and enjoy a beach day at Burlington Surf Club where we can kayak, paddle board, and enjoy the natural beauty of Burlington. We’ll conclude with a lakeside sunset dinner and reflection.

  Program Highlights: Hiking scenic Mount Philo; walking tour and guided historical talk at Shelburne Farms; trying some paddle sports on Lake Champlain at the Burlington Surf Club; closing dinner and reflection at Hula, a lakefront business incubator and event space. 

• It’s Your Move! Make Your Play: 
  It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game of college. Dr. Ingrid Nelson will join you as you play games and learn insider tips and strategies for unwinding and unplugging on and off campus. This early move-in program will introduce you to resources for finding free games and a variety of places to hang out and connect throughout your time at UVM. Between our shared meals we will enjoy an improv comedy workshop, downtown Burlington exploration and an introduction to local bus system. We’ll embark on a ‘playful’ campus tour of the multi-media lab, Davis Center billiards and games, and some of our favorite hidden gems of campus. We will conclude the program with a lively dinner and board games at the Boardroom Cafe.

  Program Highlights: Special off the beaten path campus tour; honing new skills at an improv workshop; challenging each other at some of the 700+ board games over dinner at The Boardroom in Winooski; exploring the many free gaming opportunities on campus. 

• Mind, Body, Planet: 
  Join Professor Rebecca Nagle from the College of Nursing and Health Sciences for an immersive experience that goes beyond typical wellness advice. Through hands-on activities like gardening, forest bathing, cooking, yoga, games, and meditation, you’ll explore practical ways to manage stress and build habits that fit into your daily life. Reflect on the interconnection between human health and that of non-human species and the planet, showing how caring for yourself also means caring for the world around you and vice versa. You’ll learn the science behind stress management strategies and explore easily applied practices that promote well-being as you prepare to start college. You will have fun, feel energized, reflect, learn, and meet others that have a passion for well-being! 
• Highlights:
  Explore nature-based mindful activities, including an introduction to Shinrin Yoku (forest bathing), yoga, meditation, and qigong at Plenitud VT teaching campus and sustainability center; tend and harvest vegetables in UVM's rooftop garden, and then prepare a nourishing meal in UVM’s Climate Kitchen; enjoy a leisurely walk on a forest path, explore the recreation opportunities at the Burlington Waterfront.

(Residential Learning Communities: Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Leadership & Social Change, and Outdoor Experience)

• Exploring UVM’s Natural Areas: 
  From the top of Mt. Mansfield, Vermont’s highest peak, to an 80-acre urban forest in Burlington, UVM’s natural area reserve system offers an ideal outdoor classroom to better understand the complex socio-ecological fabric that makes up our world today. Dr. Brendan Fisher and Dr. Noelia Barrios-Garcia, faculty from the Rubenstein School, will bring you to some of these natural areas to explore the social history, ecological communities, and the roles these areas play for human and ecological well-being. Students will have the opportunity to learn about Vermont’s wildlife and wild places, take beautiful pictures of our mountains and lakes, and uncover these vibrant spaces of academic research, community stewardship, and environmental education.  

  Program Highlights: Hiking Mount Mansfield; learning to identify native and non-native plants; birding; taking a walking tour of Centennial Woods, taking a cliff walk along the lake to admire the view of the Burlington waterfront, eating at local venues.

• Healing Ecology: 
  Join Community Herbalist and UVM Agriculture, Landscape & Environment Faculty member Katherine Elmer in exploring concepts of “healing ecology”- the ways that nature immersion, particularly with medicinal plants, has healing effects on humans, and that humans can reciprocate by participating in restoring the ecology through ancestral, indigenous gardening and stewardship practices.  Students will have the opportunity to explore connections between this topic and the field trip sites in the area. Acknowledgment of the first peoples of this land will be centered through discussions with community members who identify as indigenous and/or are allies to the Abenaki rematriation process.

  Program Highlights: Medicinal plants walk and wild-crafting for food and medicine; restoration ecology service project at Shelburne Farms; permaculture gardening with indigenous elders at Ethan Allen homestead; making and tasting craft herbal mocktails, enjoying and appreciating local green spaces.

• Sports and Rec in a Small State: 
  From the ice rink to the lake, sports and recreation create meaningful connections in a small state like Vermont. Join Leon Lifschutz, faculty member in the College of Education and Social Services and Head Coach of the UVM Men’s Club Hockey Team, as we explore how sports and recreation shape campus and community life at UVM and around Burlington. Sport and Rec in a Small State introduces students to local sports and recreation opportunities, highlighting how participation, access, and leadership contribute to community well-being and belonging. Through engagement with Campus Recreation and local sports organizations, participants will explore how small-state sports and recreation programs are built, sustained, and experienced. This program is ideal for students interested in sports, recreation, leadership, and building connections in a new community.

  Program Highlights: Getting to know UVM Campus Recreation and participating in a “What the Heck is Rec?” interactive session; engaging with UVM Athletics staff, student athletes, and Club Sports leaders; learning to sail at the Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center; connecting with local sports organizations; reflecting on recreation, leadership, and community identity.

(Includes Liberal Arts Scholars Program and Patrick Leahy Honors College)

• Dive In! Exploring the Global Role of Lake Champlain: 
  The Patrick Leahy Honors College and the Liberal Arts Scholars Program offer an in-depth exploration of Lake Champlain! You’ll be accompanied by Dr. Ian Grimmer, Dr. Devin McFadden, and Dr. Tyler Sonnichsen as you step up your knowledge of this incredible body of water sitting at the foot of the hill in downtown Burlington. Battles, shipwrecks, scientific discoveries, Hollywood movies, border crossings, and a legendary creature named Champ—we’ll hear about Lake Champlain’s storied past and critical role in the future. Pack a swimsuit and join the search for Champ! 

  Program Highlights: Touring UVM’s lakefront research lab; open-water rowing in hand-crafted longboats (no experience necessary); visiting the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum; eating maple creemees at the Burlington Waterfront; visiting an active archaeological dig site; building community on and off campus.
  
  UVM GO students in LASP and PLHC will participate in Dive In! Exploring Lake Champlain’s Global Role, which is offered in multiple concurrent sections, and is exclusively for students in these programs living in University Heights.