Developed by the Vermont Institute of Natural Science, Environmental Learning for the Future (ELF) is an award-winning program for elementary school children taught by parents and other community volunteers. ELF's information and activities promote understanding and appreciation of the natural world, while also teaching children important science content and skills.

Children look forward to ELF because the activities are playful and fun. Volunteers enjoy ELF because it gives them a meaningful role to play in their local school while enriching their own knowledge of the natural environment. Schools value ELF because students learn hands-on science in direct support of national and state learning standards.

ELF volunteers in each school gather monthly for a two-hour training workshop with a VINS staff member. In these training workshops, volunteers learn the information and experience the activities they will share with students later that month. One need not be a teacher or a scientist to be a wonderful ELF volunteer - you just need an interest in nature and a willingness to share your interest and enthusiasm with children. Most workshops include an outdoor component that allows participants to explore and study nature in and around the school grounds. In this way, children see that science learning is not limited to textbooks and laboratories, and schools benefit by being able to utilize the wealth of teaching resources nature provides.

ELF encompasses five different ecological themes: Habitats, Cycles, Adaptations, Designs of Nature, and Earth and Sky.  Schools focus on one theme each year, and each month's workshop teaches a different topic within that concept. In addition to training and administrative support, VINS provides written materials and teaching supplies, such as slide shows, audio tapes, stream thermometers, compasses, and kits of rocks, skulls, owl pellets, and more.