MIDDLEBURY — What happens when students forget standardized testing, ditch the desks, and get their hands dirty?
The four programs that contributed student artwork, poetry, essays and photography to the Vermont Folklife Center’s “Learning with the Land” exhibit do just that. From growing vegetables to building primitive shelters, the Walden Project, Monkton Central School’s Salad Days, EarthWalk Vermont and the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps high school leadership program are all using nature-based education to structure learning.