The Champlain Basin Education Initiative (CBEI) is a consortium of environmental education groups throughout the Lake Champlain Basin. CBEI holds workshops on teaching about the Lake Champlain Basin for K-12 educators, education majors, and interested citizens. The workshops feature diverse and exciting presentations by local experts on topics such as current events, water quality, fish and wildlife, lake history, and field explorations/monitoring. Since 1992, more than 650 educators have participated in CBEI workshops and forums.

Apply Now: "Watershed for Every Classroom" 2010/2011 Educator Workshops

A Watershed for Every Classroom (WEC) is a year-long professional development experience for educators in the Lake Champlain Basin (Vermont, New York and Quebec), brought to you by CBEI. It offers teachers inspiration, knowledge and skills to frame exciting place-based curriculum. Workshops will be held in July, October, February and May.

The course fee is $400, payable during the course. Teachers will receive $100 for classroom resources and an opportunity to apply for a $200 mini-grant. Five optional graduate credits are available for an additional $1,000 from St. Michael’s College. Fill out the application for more details and to apply. Contact Colleen Hickey at chickey@lcbp.org or call (802) 372-3213 ext. 11.

• View the 2010/2011 WEC Application & Details

A "Watershed for Every Classroom" Workshops, 2007-2009

Ten New York, Vermont and Quebec educators completed the 11-day "Watershed for Every Classroom" teacher training program hosted by the Champlain Basin Education Initiative (CBEI) in 2008-2009. In 2007, 17 teachers participated. In the past two years alone, participating educators have helped students design and implement the following types of projects:

• Introduce no idling policies for school busses to improve air quality;
• observe and report new amphibian sightings which are now included in the Vermont Reptile and Amphibian Atlas;
• develop and plant rain gardens to filter stormwater runoff;
• and develop a wetlands interpretation trail on public land.

The curriculum units completed by the 27 recent CBEI participants are available for review at the LCBP Resource Room (top floor of ECHO at Leahy Center for Lake Champlain).

In May 2006, 75 educators attended Summit 2006: Who's Taking Care of Lake Champlain? Building Stewardship for the 21st Century at Shelburne Farms. Workshops were held in four areas: Watershed Ecology 101; Humanities, Literacy & More; Current Events & Ecosystem Research; and Technology & Geology. In May 2002, about 70 educators attended Summit 2002: Explore the Diversity of the Lake Champlain Basin - Linking Students to Their Watershed at Shelburne Farms. A dozen workshops covered topics such as animal tracking, nuisance species, seining for fish, identifying aquatic invertebrates, and wildflower walks. In 2000, CBEI offered a similar full-day Summit at Basin Harbor, which was attended by more than 75 educators.

• Summit 2006: View the Agenda and Registration (303 KB PDF)
• Summit 2002: View the Agenda and Registration (275 KB PDF)

• Adirondack Visitor Interpretive Center
• ECHO at the Leahy Center for Lake Champlain
• Lake Champlain Basin Program
• Lake Champlain Committee
• National Wildlife Federation
• Shelburne Farms
• UVM Watershed Alliance, A University of Vermont Extension Program
• Vermont DEC, Project WET

Special thanks to Amy Demarest, author, This Lake Alive!, for her assistance and advice on many CBEI initiatives.