Summer 2026 Tea Project

Forest & Garden: Plant Literacy for the Nature Based Classroom

Forest & Garden is a week-long residency in central Vermont, mostly outdoors, in nature. This course is designed to nourish and nurture the educator and to provide an embodied, experiential learning experience connected to nature and the cycles of the day through our routines and activities.

Forest & Garden  2026 Course Scope

Description: Do you value the sense of connection you feel when you slow down to the pace of nature? If YES is your answer, this course is for you.

PreK-9 grade educators form a cohort for this week-long course offered in collaboration with VTSU. Explore plant habitats and educational best practices in plant literacy, mindfulness and nature immersion. Establish practices for cultivating co-regulation with your students to enhance the learning experience. Our curriculum is based on mindfulness practices, sensory awareness, self-care, perennial herb gardening for tea, plant ID in the forest, field, marsh, and grade,n and herbal recipe-making skills.

NGSS and SEL Standards are met in the Course Curriculum Guide.

Course fee: $1775

Graduate credits offered through Vermont State University Center for Schools.

REGISTER for SUMMER 2026
Two women outdoors holding a large uprooted plant with roots, smiling. One woman wears glasses and a green shirt, other wears a red plaid shirt and has a braid.
People sitting on the grass in a field under a blue sky with white clouds.
An elderly woman with gray, curly hair smelling a white flowering plant in a garden, wearing a black and blue sweater with a yellow patterned skirt.
Glass teapot filled with green tea and herbs on a wooden surface, illuminated by sunlight with blurred outdoor background.
Close-up image of a purple flower with green leaves and a blurred green background.
Two women planting young plants in a garden. One woman is holding a wheelbarrow filled with plants, the other is holding a basket of gardening supplies. A golden retriever dog is standing nearby on grass, with trees and a house in the background.
People planting a garden in a backyard, with one person digging, others working with plants, and a woman standing with a rake, surrounded by greenery and a house in the background.
A foggy forest with tall, moss-covered trees and a lush green floor filled with various small pink and white flowers.
Person pouring extracted tea leaves and liquid into a metal strainer over a container.
Garden with raised beds and wire tunnels surrounded by green trees and plants.
Purple flowers blooming on green plant, with a bee on one of the flowers.
Yellow flowers, cinnamon sticks, and cloves arranged in a stone mortar, with dried autumn leaves and a stone pestle on the ground nearby.
Person pouring loose leaf tea from a metal infuser into a ceramic teapot.
A lush plant with purple and pink flowers growing on a trellis in a garden yard with wood chips on the ground.