A sustainable future at Shelburne Farms

3 min read / March 7, 2026

“This land will pay public, agricultural, and ecosystem dividends forever.”

— Alec Webb, Shelburne Farms President

Credit Vera Chang

Protecting land for farming, education, and recreation

Shelburne Farms, the much-loved property on the shores of Lake Champlain is home to an innovative working farm, learning programs for all ages, and miles of public trails that are enjoyed by thousands year-round.

From award-winning cheeses and farm-to-table dining to school field trips, summer camps, and globally renowned sustainability courses for teachers, there is so much that brings people here.

In August 2025, we celebrated a milestone in our ongoing partnership with Shelburne Farms. With the conservation of 66 acres of working farm and woodland, more than 880 conserved acres at the iconic destination are now dedicated to education, farming, sustainability, and recreation — forever.

An educational mission, supported by conservation

Shelburne Farms is guided and managed by a nonprofit that was established in 1972 for an educational mission: to inspire learning for a sustainable future.

The nonprofit sought to transform the historic but struggling 1,000-acre farm into a campus for learning about and exploring sustainable agriculture and human relationship to nature.

That bold vision was bolstered through early conversations with VLT’s founders about the role conservation could play in saving the farm and opening it to the public.

In 1986 the partnership protected 416 acres of working farm and forest, including land that now hosts the North Gate Path. Ten years later, we conserved over 400 acres in the southern part of the property with many of the farm’s working areas. Those projects also protected nearly 4,000 feet of Lake Champlain shoreline.

Credit Jared Vincent

Windmill Hill Trail area protected

The latest effort conserves land around the Windmill Hill Trail that offers some of Shelburne Farm’s most beautiful views of Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks. It also safeguards some of the farm’s most productive soils and will support an extended trail network. Perhaps most importantly, it restores and secures land that had once been part of the farm and that Shelburne Farms worked to buy back in recent years.

“This is such a spectacular landscape,” said VLT’s Bob Heiser. “It is comforting to know that it can now be accessed by the public and fully integrated into Shelburne Farm’s programs to inspire sustainable stewardship here and beyond this property.”

“It’s a National Park-quality landscape,” said Shelburne Farms President Alec Webb. “The land is integrated with our farm activities and trail system, and provides a wonderful area for education programs. It’s a true endowment. This land will pay public, agricultural, and ecosystem dividends forever.”

A sustainable future at Shelburne Farms

“This land will pay public, agricultural, and ecosystem dividends forever.”

Protecting land for farming, education, and recreation

An educational mission, supported by conservation

Windmill Hill Trail area protected

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