AUBURN — In the woods behind East Auburn Community School on Wednesday morning, Land Lab teacher Jim Chandler told high school chemistry students what a tree-thinning done this summer will achieve.

“Pine trees are shade-intolerant,” Chandler said. “If you have a deep pine forest, you’ll never see baby pine trees coming up.”

Pines need sun and heat, “whereas hardwoods are shade-tolerant,” Chandler said, pointing out young oak and ash trees. Because space has been opened in the canopy of trees, next year there’ll be lots of pine seedlings.

“It’s important to understand the characteristics of the forest to fully understand what impact you’re having,” Chandler said.

He gave students a Land Lab tour, pulling up large carrots from the ground, showing off corn stalks, bean vines and tomatoes.

Welcome to a new chemistry class at Edward Little High School that’s all about agriculture. Students will get their hands dirty, their boots muddy and learn by seeing and doing.

Their classroom will be the outdoors, a new Auburn Middle School greenhouse and the Auburn Land Lab.

Environmental chemistry teacher Kim Finnerty calls herself “the facilitator” of the program. She applied for, and got, a $5,000 Maine Department of Agriculture grant to teach chemistry through agriculture because she wanted to teach in a more hands-on way. A typical chemistry class relies heavily on thinking. “You can’t see an atom,” she said.

Students will learn from, and work with, a variety of experts, including:

* Local farmer Elmer Whiting, who retired last spring from Whiting Farm in Auburn. Whiting will teach seed germination. “He has graciously agreed to teach the kids what he’s done,” Finnerty said. “Where you buy your seeds, and what kind of mixture you use in the soil to have successful germination.”

* Jim Chandler, Auburn School Department’s Land Lab instructor. Students will often meet at the lab, which has acres of woods and trails, gardens, a greenhouse and a compost building.

* St. Mary’s Nutrition Center’s Lots to Gardens staff will help students create a garden at one elementary school. With help from Lots to Gardens staff, the science students will teach elementary students how to grow plants. High school students will grow seedlings for Lots to Gardens in a 60-foot greenhouse under construction behind Auburn Middle School.

* Cooperative Extension’s 4-H staff from a program called “Wizard Tech” will work with EL students as they try to solve agriculture problems. “One of the things we’ve been talking about is how to heat a greenhouse; it’s incredibly expensive to use oil,” Finnerty said.

The big goal for students is learning to grow food as they learn chemistry.

“The idea of growing your own food, based on your knowledge of soil chemistry, is phenomenal,” Finnerty said. Her students will learn about soil heat capacity, how plants get nutrients, what kind of fertilizer to use and what to do when horn worms start eating tomatoes.

Finnerty also wants her students to gain an appreciation of agriculture and where food comes from. “You can’t take it for granted,” she said. “If you go to Walmart and buy produce, where is that coming from?”

Students said Wednesday they’re happy to learn in a new way.

“I learn better hands-on,” said Crystal Lopes, 16, as she and others stood in the woods. “It will be fun to learn how to grow plants and work in a greenhouse.”

Jordan Lansley, 17, said he was one who encouraged other students to enroll. The class “gets kids outside, not crammed up in school all day,” he said. “You can have fun while learning new stuff, how to plant a garden and grow your own vegetables instead of going to the store.”

Shelby Dan, 17, and Glenn Gordon, 16, said they’re interested in agriculture and have done some gardening with their parents.

Gordon’s father grows flowers; his grandparents grow blueberries and raspberries and have a pear tree.

Eating fruits and vegetables grown locally is healthier, Gordon said, while Dan nodded. “Especially with chemicals in food today, natural food is better for you.”

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