Don Taylor is a middle school educator at the Main Street Middle School (MSMS) in Montpelier, Vermont. After spending 17 years teaching language arts and social studies, Don was the driving force behind the creation of the MSMS_SUSTAIN program, which he co-directs with Drew McNaughton. MSMS_SUSTAIN is a learning program predicated on the belief that students of the 21st century must know and understand issues related to climate change, sustainability and social justice. Don credits his enrollment in the Cultivating Pathways to Sustainability Program at Shelburne Farms, VT, his involvement with Up For Learning and his collaboration with several students in the Spring of 2021 for the creation of the MSMS_SUSTAIN program. It has since developed into a robust curriculum for 5th through 8th grade students at MSMS.

Through personalized learning, students have the opportunity to explore areas of interest, connect with others who are working to solve local problems, and to communicate their findings to the school community as well as the broader community. The program is based on the belief that students and adults should be partners. A focus on student voice, student-led action and collaboration with the learning community are core beliefs of the program.

An avid fisherman, Don recalls some of his early experiences that led to the formation of MSMS_SUSTAIN including time living & working in the Pacific Northwest, international travel, and youth camping in New England, particularly Camp Challenge in Bradford, VT run by Dartmouth College Graduate and Forester, Putnam Blodgett.

Don continues to innovate the MSMS_SUSTAIN program and project learning at Main Street Middle School. For the past ten yeas he has been an actively involved with the Middle Grade Collaborative (MGC), a collaboration of colleges and universities specializing in professional development for middle school educators. Don is a contributor to the MGC "Conversations", a monthly conversation focused on issues related to middle level education. All of their conversations are posted to the MGC YouTube channel.

Bordertown is an ecomedia project coming to you from the upper Winooski watershed in central Vermont. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency , equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

Music for this Podcast - "Peace on Earth" by Railroad Earth.

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