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Tuholske Institute for Environmental Field Studies

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The Tuholske Institute for Environmental Field Studies promotes place-based learning where law, nature, and people meet.  

An initiative of Vermont Law and Graduate School’s Environmental Law Center, the institute’s experiential education opportunities equip students to advance environmental protection. Field courses across the world enhance students’ cultural competence and understanding of racial and socioeconomic disparities in environmental benefits and harms; diversify their learning experience through exposure to different landscapes and practitioner perspectives; and provide training for hands-on knowledge of natural resources. The institute also advances scholarship, dialogue, and best practices related to the role of field study curriculum in law school, promoting place-based education across institutions.   

The institute honors late Vermont Law School professor Jack Tuholske. A leading public interest environmental lawyer, Tuholske inspired an entire generation of environmental lawyers and his brilliance in the courtroom left a legacy of protection for the wildlands he loved. Learn more →


FIELD COURSES
Students sitting in a circle at a campsite next to an alpine lake
Montana
Learn about public lands management while backpacking through the Montana wilderness.
A group of VLS students poses for a group shot on the steps of the University of Havana, Cuba
Cuba
Visit urban and rural areas of Cuba to learn about sustainable energy and agriculture. 
Students pose next to a sign for the 25th UN Climate Change Conference
UN Climate Change Conference
Attend the world's most important climate conference—held in a different country each year—to serve as a delegate.
Students in the back of a truck in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Tour Cambodia, Vietnam, and/or Myanmar to learn about environmental governance in the developing world.
Students pose for a group shot in the red desert at Canyonlands park
Utah
Travel through Arches, Canyonlands, and Bears Ears to learn about the federal laws governing public lands. 
Students outside in a green field in Vermont
Vermont
Study forestry, ecology, and more in the rural landscapes surrounding Vermont Law School.