Professional Development Opportunity for Educators
Farms, Forests, and the Future: Teaching sustainable agriculture
Agroforestry is a method of sustainable agriculture that pairs ecological and agricultural management practices. Farm, Forests, and the Future (FFF) is a comprehensive professional development program for educators interested in bringing agroforestry principles and ideas into their educational settings.
This PD experience includes in-person workshops, field trips to New England farms, face time with industry professionals and researchers, and a community of educators excited to learn and grow together.
APPLY TO FARMS, FORESTS and the FUTURE
As the world population continues to grow, the demand for resources increases as well. Agroforestry looks to meet those needs by implementing agricultural practices that value the natural ecosystems on the planet and work to both protect diversity while helping to meet the resource needs of the population in a sustainable way. Agroforestry lessons enhance ecosystem concepts in the classroom while offering great hands on-minds on learning and activities that elevate student engagement.
- Receive 1 – 2 years or professional development and mentoring that is (mostly) flexible with your schedule.
- Receive a $1,200 stipend
- Visit NE based farms implementing Agroforestry principles
- Collaborate and learn alongside a community of peers
- Network with industry professionals and researchers
- Attend one of two national conferences, all expenses paid
The goal of this program is to introduce educators to the guiding principles of agroforestry and sustainable agriculture and to expose educators to examples of these in New England. The expectation is that educators will develop a lesson (or modify an existing lesson) to present in their educational setting that embodies these principles and/or practices. Educators will have two years to complete the following activities (all activities are required to receive the stipend):
- Take pre and post educator surveys
- Attend an introductory Zoom meeting in September (date TBD)
- Attend a two-day intensive workshop in Hanover, NH (all expenses paid)
- Attend three field experiences (multiple dates available)
- Attend one development workshop (multiple dates available)
- Present on your experience at one of three showcases (multiple dates available)
- Submit developed materials, including: implemented lesson, evaluation plan, student evaluation data
DATES and FIELD TRIPS
Below are the dates of required and optional activities. There are some requirements as to the number of optional activities that must be attended to be eligible for the “field experience”, these have been noted below. All requirements must be met in order to receive the $1,200 stipend.
Required activities:
- September, 2025: Introductory Zoom session
- October 3 & 4: Two-day intensive workshop (Hanover, NH; all expenses paid)
Field activities (must attend 3 over the course of two years):
- November (date TBD) Christmas Tree Farm
- January 23, 2026: Maple Symposium, Portsmouth NH
- February (TBD) 2026: Tour of Ben’s Sugar Shack, Temple NH
- March 2026: Farm Tour, Seacoast Region
- April 2026: Farm Tour, Nashua Region
- May 2026: Urban Farm Tour, Lowell MA
Development workshop (must attend at least one of the course of two years, specific dates still TBD):
- April 2026
- More dates to come during 2026 – 2027 school year
Presentation opportunities (must attend and present your experience in the program at one of these):
- 4-H Volunteer’s Conference (April 10 – 12, 2026)
- Farm, Forest, and Garden Expo
- School to Farm Days (various locations and dates)
TOTALLY OPTIONAL: May attend one of these conferences, all expenses paid, not required to receive the stipend:
- National Ag In The Classroom Conference, June 2026
- Missouri Agroforestry Conference 2026
Contact
Mike Smith, 4-H Ag In the Classroom Program Manager, Michael.smith1@unh.edu
This work is supported by the US Department of Agriculture, grant no. XXXXX
