[Note: this in-person program is only open to Central Vermont residents age 16 – 24]
Social ecology is a unique way of understanding the relationship between our human communities and the natural world. It seeks to create a new sense of harmony between humanity and the rest of nature through its transformational politics and ecological values. For over 50 years, the Institute for Social Ecology has been active in central Vermont, educating, and organizing for an ecological society.
The Institute for Social Ecology’s Social Ecology & Land Stewardship Fellowship Program is seeking 6 fellows aged 16 – 24 to explore a wide scope of issues around land stewardship, economic opportunity and climate resiliency in our region. Catastrophic floods along the Winooski River in recent years have highlighted the connection between the social, economic and environmental issues facing central Vermont. Fellows will be encouraged to ask bold questions such as: How can our communities promote sustainable land stewardship through grassroots strategies? How does the relationship between society and nature impact our politics, economy and culture? How can young people from the region make a difference through community organizing and cooperation?
Program Description
This fellowship program aims to develop creative solutions to social and environmental problems by empowering young people to think outside the box and connect with active projects to put the theory of social ecology into practice. Fellows will be paired with mentors from the ISE for a six-month program divided into two three-month phases. In Phase 1 Fellows will engage in a detailed study of social ecology as a theory of environmental justice and progressive social change. Phase 2 will include an internship with organizational partners such as the Marshfield Resilience Hub with guidance from their ISE mentors. This is a paid internship with opportunity to receive high school or college credit. The program runs January to July 2027.
Phase 1 Activities: The first phase will include guided readings, social ecology course work, in-person mentorship meetings, and opportunities to publish written work. The Fellows will meet with their mentor regularly in-person as a cohort group and in smaller groups. This phase will be anchored by the ISE’s ten-week online course, Ecology, Democracy, Utopia: Introduction to Social Ecology (EDU), and Fellows will have the opportunity to receive credit through their schools. For the duration of the course, Fellows will meet with their mentor weekly as a cohort to provide additional guidance and support around the course materials. Additionally, they will meet in-person with their mentor individually or in smaller groups once every 2-3 weeks. Fellows will have the opportunity to strengthen their writing, with potential opportunities to publish through the ISE and/or local publications as their writing comes to meet editorial standards. Phase 1 may include field trips to witness ecological development and positive social change applied in practice.
Phase 2 Activities: Fellows will be placed in an internship with organizations such as the Marshfield Resilience Hub, the Abenaki Gardens in the Upper Valley region, and various other allied projects to assist with local organizing efforts with oversight and support from their ISE mentor. Internship work will revolve around local climate resiliency, cooperative economic development, community organizing, ecological land stewardship or other related topics. Regular in-person meetings with ISE mentors will continue throughout this phase to reinforce learnings from Phase-1 while further developing critical reflection. Additional opportunities to work with local community activists, farmers and ecologists will be cultivated throughout the program development process.
To Apply: The program is open to Vermont Youth aged 16 – 24. Applicants should respond to the following questions in some detail (Max 200 words). The application will be closed as soon as we have a full pool of qualified candidates for the 2027 cycle of the program.
Participants in the program are expected to attend weekly in-person meetings in the Montpelier area and therefore must have access to reliable transportation.
