Applicant Information
Who are the Sustainability Teacher Fellows Climate Change Educators
Approximately twenty K-12th grade teachers from Arenac, Bay, Gratiot, Isabella, Midland, Saginaw, and surrounding counties are selected each year. Interdisciplinary teams (two or more educators) are strongly encouraged to apply to carry out their proposed work together. New and returning fellows are encouraged to participate. To read more about eligibility, click here.
What is the Fellowship experience?
Participate in 30 hours of professional development and curriculum design on sustainability and place-based learning, including virtual, face-to-face, and asynchronous formats.
Connect with school and community partners (e.g., a business, non-profit, government agency, neighbors, etc.) around local sustainability investigations and solutions. Topics could include water, circular economy, water quality, food waste/composting, climate change, etc.
Design a multi-week learning experience on a climate-related sustainability problem using provided templates and support from content and pedagogy experts from the University of Michigan, Delta College, Dow, Chippewa Nature Center, and other project partners.
Implement climate-related, sustainability education experiences that engage students in meaningful outdoor learning, action projects, and community-sharing events.
What are the expectations of the Dow Sustainability Teacher Fellowship?
Participate in professional development sessions and evaluations. This includes up to 10 hours of virtual asynchronous professional development over two weeks, 20 hours of in-person workshops and events, and accompanying evaluation activities.
For the 2025-2026 Cohort, the dates for these sessions are:
June 12th & 18th, 2025, are in-person sessions, including a short orientation session, a Sharing Celebration featuring the PBSE projects from the 2024-2025 cohort, a community partner resource fair, and the first of our field-based professional development sessions.
June 23rd - July 11th, 2025, is a 3-week asynchronous virtual onboarding course. This course requires an expected time commitment of 5-6 hours weekly.
August 6th & 7th will be dedicated to in-person field-based exploring PBSE exploring regional climate change issues and solutions.
From October 2025 to April 2026, we will host a climate change series at regional sites. The series is optional for fellows and open to all educators and partners.
During the 2025-2026 school year, participate in at least 2 design consultation sessions with University of Michigan project staff to provide progress updates and discuss support as needed.
In mid-June 2026, the Sharing Celebration will take place to showcase results.
Develop, implement, and share a project and place-based instructional experience and action project around a local climate change issue during the 2025-2026 school year. This student experience can vary in length but should engage students for at least twenty hours, connect them with a local partner, engage them in spaces outside the classroom, and result in an action project to help address the climate-related sustainability issue and a public student presentation. Document the implementation of the place-based sustainability education project by collecting artifacts (video, photos, student work) with appropriate student consent and share with other project participants.
What will Dow Sustainability Teacher Fellows receive?
Professional development and design support from program staff to help develop instructional materials
A $2,000 stipend. This stipend is paid in 2 installments during your Fellowship year and is linked to each fellow’s completion of the professional development sessions and final reporting requirements.
Up to $1,000 reimbursement for project-related expenses (transportation, classroom materials, etc.)
SCECHs for participation in professional development
Connection to potential local partners
Opportunities to showcase your students and school and connect to your community
Opportunities to network with other regional educational professionals, community partners, and experts in climate change, sustainability and place-based education
Access to curated online resources for sustainability and climate change education
Support for Dow Sustainability Teacher Fellows will continue after their initial year. Ongoing benefits will include:
Opportunity to join the newest cohort of sustainability teacher fellows to continue to deepen and expand your efforts
Access to professional development opportunities
Subscription to DSTF Newsletter: Teaching Towards Sustainability, which highlights grant opportunities and teaching resources monthly
Mentorship and networking opportunities with other fellows
Eligibility for additional funding to continue place-based sustainability work in your classrooms
Opportunities to pilot new programs and resources
Access to a network of committed education professionals with interest and expertise in place-based sustainability education