Learning Resources at Sterling

At Sterling College, learning doesn’t only happen in a classroom. Environmental Studies, as we see it, happens in the environment, whether it's a snowy walk in the woods or an afternoon in the lab.  

In our experiential educational model, community, work and learning are deeply integrated and intersect throughout each day creating a tapestry of learning.  

Many think of college and they think of a classroom. Our learning environment encompasses many areas.  Sterling is a place for experimentation and exploration, where you learn by doing and can try new things. It’s where you cultivate skills and explore interests in pursuit of growing into the person you want to be. It is where you spend a lot of time outdoors in all kinds of weather. For more information explore some of our learning resources that we’ve highlighted below.  

Ecology & Land Management

  • Cedar Swamp

    Nestled between the upper and lower campus, the Cedar Swamp is a prime example of an upland Northern White Cedar Swamp and is used frequently for both educational and recreational purposes. The swamp is part of a larger wetland complex and recognized by the State of Vermont as a Class II wetland.

  • Bear Swamp

    In Wolcott, VT, just eight miles away from the Sterling College campus is Bear Swamp: a 306 acre site that is a remarkable example of a boreal forest and fen - habitats more typical of regions 500 miles to the north. This habitat contrasts the broader matrix of Northern Hardwood forest in this region and provides an opportunity for faculty and students to conduct field observations and research in a different biophysical environment.  

  • Alfond Sugarbush

    The Alfond Sugarbush is a privately owned parcel of land that students and faculty have managed for maple sugaring for decades. Sterling’s management of the Sugarbush has been recognized by Vermont Audubon as “bird friendly” forest management, protecting neotropical songbird habitat needs while producing a delicious forest product.

  • Robert B. Annis Center for Ecology

    The Robert B. Annis Center for Ecology in Simpson Hall includes a Science Laboratory, a Natural History Collection and an Ecology Field Equipment Room. These resources together support student immersion in hands-on ecology and environmental science inquiry, in and out of the field.

  • Logging Shop

    The Logging Shop stores tools and equipment including axes, cross-cut saws, and gas and electric chainsaws. It is often used as a starting point for the Tools & Their Applications Experiential Endeavor and the Trail Crew on All College Work Day. It is also used to teach tool maintenance and, in Winter, ski waxing takes place here.


  • GIS Lab

    Our computer lab in Simpson Hall serves as a classroom for courses requiring focused class-time on computers - for example, to support ecological data analysis in Field Ecology or Introduction to Data Analysis, or energy analysis calculations in Renewable Energy Analysis & Design. It also supports an Introductory and Advanced course in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Farm, Forest, & Food

  • The Sterling Farm

    The Sterling College Farm is embedded within Sterling’s campus in Craftsbury Common. It is a working educational farm that includes livestock, pastures, annual and perennial vegetable, flower, herb, and dye production, and an edible forest garden. The Farm is integrated into the everyday life of students and staff through courses, the Work Program Farm Crew, independent student projects, and, of course, through the food we eat every day in the college dining hall. 

  • Sugar House

    The Sugar House contains a wood-fired evaporator and associated sap collection equipment like taps, buckets, and large barrels. Over fifty sugar maple trees in the Alfond Sugarbush are tapped to collect sap each Spring. The sap is collected and transported to Sterling’s Sugar House for processing into maple syrup which is consumed by the community in the College dining hall! 

  • Houston House Kitchen

    Houston Kitchen is an instructional kitchen facility found on the ground floor of Houston House. It includes a teaching kitchen space, classroom, and walk-in cooler. 

Workshops & Studios

  • Wood Shop

    The Woodshop in Strong Hall named for Horace Strong who taught woodworking and canoe building at Sterling through the 1980’s-90’s, supports our courses in woodworking. It has two main rooms, one primarily for hand-tool work, and the other for stationary power tools. The courses taught here emphasize the safe and efficient use of tools, as well as creativity and design principles. 

  • Weaving Studio

    Downstairs in Strong Hall, in the Weaving Studio, students practice an ancient craft that still ties us intimately to the landscape. Courses explore the cultural and technological traditions that are as varied as they are practical.  Students use yarn from the Sterling Farm to make textiles that will be treasured for years, and learn to weave a sense of the place they call home, while learning technical skills of simple and complex looms and weaving styles. 

  • Dye Studio

    Our Natural Dyes and Dyeing class utilizes the fully equipped dye studio in Strong Hall to teach a range of traditional practices to dye fibers and fabrics.  Practices explored include organic and fermented indigo vats; dye harvest & extraction practices from Sterling’s beautiful dye gardens; mordant and citrus discharge printing; shibori style shaped resist rice paste resists, and many others. Students often continue their dye practices beyond the courses through independent studies and Senior Year Research Projects. 

  • Sewing & Gear Repair Studio

    The Sewing Studio at Sterling is well-equipped for all kinds of sewing, from mending a T-shirt to sewing a wall tent.  The studio is used for classes and for open studio time where students interact with the broader community. Much of the work in this studio is focused on repair and on community engagement: at Sterling, sustainable textiles doesn’t only mean making things from the landscape, but also keeping textile waste out of landfills, and sharing skills.  The studio has industrial and home-sewing machines, sergers and heavy duty leather sewing capabilities.

  • Art Studio

    The Art Studio, also found in Strong Hall, is a space for exploring the fine arts such as painting, sketching and printmaking. There are studio easels as well as field easels for plein air art endeavors. 

  • Forge

    Located at the top of the Sterling Farm road, Sterling’s Forge has limited opening hours allowing students to get a taste of the art of blacksmithing. It contains two propane-fired forges, anvils, and a range of blacksmithing tools.

Outdoor Education & Recreation

  • Climbing Tower & Bouldering Gym

    Sterling has a 35-foot outdoor climbing tower and an indoor bouldering gym on campus. These on-campus resources are places where students can practice climbing movement and refine technical skills such as lead-belaying and anchor building. The bouldering gym is open to students 24 hours a day and students can set their own climbing routes there. A three-step series of Rock climbing courses all use these on-campus resources as a place to prepare for local climbing trips to some of the region’s most well-known climbing areas in Vermont and New Hampshire.

  • Gear Room

    The Gear Room houses a large inventory of outdoor gear, waterproofs, and winter clothing. Students can borrow items such as tents, stoves, sleeping bags, backpacks and snowshoes for field courses, student-led trips or for personal adventures. Community members may also rent gear from the Gear Room if no courses are currently using those items. The Outdoor Education focused Experiential Endeavors run the gear room along with Outdoor Education faculty. 

  • Trails

    Sterling’s trails cover the far corners of the Craftsbury campus from the bottom of the Black River Valley, to the far eastern reaches of the Cedar Swamp. Open to the public, they have been built primarily for walking and trail-running, although a recent addition to the trail system has expanded use to include mountain biking. In Winter, groomed ski trails run right through campus and connect to the Craftsbury Outdoor Center trail system.