Our Mission:
Connect.
To cultivate healthy communities by connecting people to arts, education, the environment, & each other.
Our Programs
We offer place-based programs and schools that focus on experiential learning and connecting the community with the natural world. Our mission is to cultivate healthy communities by connecting people to arts, education, the environment, and each other.
Willowell’s primary operations involve a range of nature-based educational programs for children and youth ages 3-19.
Wren's Nest Forest Preschool
land-based Forest Preschool
Wren’s Nest Forest Preschool is a licensed, nature-based, five STAR school for children ages 3-5 in Bristol, Vermont. This play-based program brings young hearts and minds outdoors with caring and dedicated early childhood educators. This full time program, brings children outdoors every day through all weather. The Wren’s Nest teachers are outdoor educators whose teaching styles are flexible and creative, allowing them to nimbly adjust plans to suit the evolving needs of the students and the changing Vermont seasons. Their curriculum depends less on rigid structure or rote learning, but more on independent exploration—allowing each child to engage with their natural environment through play with the guidance of skilled instructors.
Institute for Place-Based Education
education for teachers
A credit-bearing certificate program working in partnership with Vermont State University. Here, students can earn a graduate certificate in place-based education, examining the power of a dialectic which fosters critical inquiry, shared experiences and the appreciation for differences.
Summer Camps
summer days on 230 acres
Our camps bring children outdoors to play, get dirty, and learn from Willowell’s 230 acres of meadows, wetlands and forest. We have something for everyone: ages 4-12. Each camp is a week long exploration of a theme throughout the summer.
Walden Year
education around a fire
A high school program for perennial learning, focusing on a creative, compassionate, interdisciplinary education in arts, ecology, writing, civic engagement, and wellness. Continuing the legacy of the Walden Project.
Pond Brook Project
approved independent middle school
Embedded in the natural and human communities of Vermont, the Pond Brook Project inspires adolescent learners to cultivate their relationship to self, society, and the natural world. This full time, licensed, state approves school serves students from all backgrounds. During each semester at Pond Brook, 7th through 10th grade students embark on interdisciplinary explorations of science, society, mathematics, culture, art, literacy, technology and health through the lens of the Vermont landscape.
New Roots Project
outdoor enrichment program
A one day per week rich, outdoor learning experience with a dedicated group of educators and craftspeople. Open to all (public school enrolled and home study students). Students come each Thursday for creative and hands-on classes, caring community, and student-centered learning.
Gordon Sculpture Park
immersive sculpture art
The Gordon Sculpture Park is an art immersion experience in nature on our 230 acre property in Monkton, VT. As you walk the land you pass by unique sculptures hidden among the trees and fields. We continue to commission artwork each year.
Our Impact
The Willowell Foundation is committed to changing the community we serve for the better. By teaching & mentoring youth, developing innovative community resource initiatives, & stewarding the land on which our organization operates, we are building a stronger community today and fostering a greater vision for tomorrow.
3k+
youth served
Land-based programming for youth is Willowell’s calling card. Our organization proudly connects youth from preschool through high school to Vermont’s natural beauty and to each other.
25+
Years Serving communities
Since 2001, Willowell has grown from an 18-student alternative high school program in an unused school building to a youth environmental education center and conductor of vital community resource initiatives, including community gardening, home heating fuel assistance, and a network of open access art and nature trails.
100+
aCres of land protected
Commitments to stewardship and partnerships with Vermont’s Nature Converservancy and Department of Fish & Wildlife from 2010 to the present have restored and conserved wetlands and forest that are vital to Champlain Valley wildlife. This is part of a larger 400 acre reserve in the Pond Brook/Lewis Creek Watershed.
Get Involved
We want your skills and strengths. Are you an artist, a teacher, a carpenter, or a parent? From getting dirty in the Willowell garden, to stacking wood for the Monkton wood bank, to teaching a class or workshop at Walden, there are ways for everyone to join the Willowell community.
Stay Connected
We want to keep you in the know! Join our mailing list to learn about upcoming events, program updates and new initiatives.
SERVE WITH AMERICORPS
Join Willowell as part of a national community of AmeriCorps service members. Each year Willowell hosts Americorps members through state programs.
Volunteer opportunities
Come volunteer at Willowell! Work on innovative land-based projects, help with garden maintenance, build cabins, or create art installations. Willowell needs your support.
Make a Donation
Donations go to support outdoor educational experiences for youth, programs, projects, and community. We appreciate any support you can give.
