Landscape for Life™ Train-the-Trainer Program
Empowering communities to cultivate resilient, sustainable landscapes.
Become a certified Landscape for Life™ educator
The Landscape for Life™ Train-the-Trainer program empowers you to lead courses that help people in your community create healthy, resilient landscapes.
Note: This program is slated to launch in early 2026.
Built for Educators
Designed for Extension educators, Master Gardeners, community instructors, and sustainability professionals who want to expand their teaching impact.
Flexible Online Learning
Experience a supportive mix of self-paced modules and live weekly webinars that model the same approach you can use in your own courses.
Ready-to-Use Curriculum
Gain access to the complete Landscape for Life™ teaching toolkit—including slides, activities, guides, and promotional templates.
Who Should Enroll
Designed for educators who want to make a difference
If your work centers on helping others understand the connections between people, place, and the natural world, this program meets you where you are. It’s built for:
- Environmental outreach and sustainability coordinators
- Extension educators and specialists
- Master Gardeners and Master Naturalists
- Public and community educators
- Landscaping professionals and consultants
- Public garden and park education staff
Each participant brings a deep interest in sustainability and a desire to strengthen community engagement. Together, you’ll explore how ecological principles can be taught in ways that empower people to make meaningful, lasting changes in their own landscapes.
How the Program Works
A flexible, supportive learning experience
Flexible online learning: Self-paced modules introduce key ecological concepts, including soil health, water, plants, biodiversity, and climate resilience.
Weekly live webinars: Join instructors and peers for discussion, coaching, and practical examples you can adapt for your own teaching.
Connect with peers and experts
This program blends self-paced online modules with weekly live webinars. This format gives you room to absorb foundational ecological concepts while also connecting with experts and peers for real-time discussion, coaching, and collaboration. Throughout the course, you’ll examine how soil health, water management, plant selection, biodiversity, and climate resilience intersect—and how those relationships translate into practical lessons for your learners.
You’ll experience firsthand how to build momentum, foster engagement, and guide diverse audiences through sustainable landscaping concepts.
Your Training Toolkit
Turnkey Teaching Tools to Support Your Success
Turnkey resources allow you to begin offering courses immediately after program completion. Participants receive full access to the complete Landscape for Life™ curriculum, including:
- Slide decks and visual aids
- Hands-on activities
- Instructor guides
- Marketing and promotional templates
Program curriculum is rooted in the principles of the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES®) and developed by experts from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the United States Botanic Garden. Colorado State University Extension now manages the program, ensuring that everything you teach is grounded in credible research and practical, real-world application.
Help Your Community Take Action
Today’s communities face increasing pressure from drought, biodiversity loss, climate instability, extreme weather, and more. Communities need leaders who can help them respond with nature-based solutions grounded in science and accessible to everyone.
This program helps you:
- Teach ecological concepts in clear, practical ways
- Inspire community members to adopt sustainable landscaping practices
- Support organizations seeking deeper environmental outreach
- Create new educational or revenue-generating opportunities
- Guide conversations that build resilience and shared well-being
Ultimately, you’ll gain the training, content, and instructional skills to help community members become sustainable landscape practitioners and advocates.
What Sets Landscape for Life™ Apart
Few programs prepare educators specifically to teach sustainable landscaping using a complete, science-based, turnkey curriculum. Landscape for Life™ stands out through:
- A comprehensive suite of ready-to-teach materials
- Nationally recognized partners and research-driven content
- Live support and peer collaboration
- A certificate of completion from CSU and the U.S. Botanic Garden
- A curriculum adaptable to diverse regions, climates, and audiences
Lead the movement toward healthier landscapes
Landscape for Life™ Train-the-Trainer gives you the tools, confidence, and nationally recognized curriculum to turn your passion for sustainable landscapes into meaningful, community-wide impact. Join a growing movement of educators teaching practices that benefit both people and the planet.