The shift to outdoor learning during the pandemic has offered schools the opportunity to reimagine their classrooms and the lessons they teach. The Maine Environmental Education Association strove to support this opportunity by distributing close to $200,000 this school year, funding 160 schools across the state, in all 16 counties.

Teachers are using these funds to teach students about the natural world, provide them with skills that enable their independence, and ensure more time outside, according to a news release from the association.

In the fall of 2020, the association started the Mini-Grants for Outdoor Learning Program, a program aimed at redistributing funds to give teachers support as they imagined classrooms outside. As enthusiasm for community-based environmental learning has increased over the past two years, the association has continued to support teachers with these grants.

For the 2021-22 school year, educators received up to $1,500 to support projects in the categories of Outdoor Classroom Solutions, Foul-Weather Gear, Garden/Greenhouse, Outdoor Recreation, Science Exploration, Art Outdoors, Curriculum and Professional Development, Snowshoes, and Birding. Applicants displayed new and creative ways to engage students in the outdoors and reported on the wide range of positive impacts to their students, from increased school attendance to academic learning outcomes to improved mental and physical health.

According to MEEA Executive Director Olivia Griset, “At MEEA we are so grateful for the amazing educators who have worked so hard this year to get their students outside learning. Research shows that outdoor learning has hugely positive mental and physical health benefits and also academic benefits for youth. We also know that not all youth have access to the outdoors, which is an environmental justice issue. These teachers and projects happening in public schools across the state are helping to ensure that our youth have positive experiences gaining a deeper connection to nature in their local community. We are grateful to all the individuals who donated to make this project possible and to all the amazing teachers for their incredible work.”

This year, teachers stretched to fill the gap between school funding and their students’ needs. Often with limited resources, teachers are accomplishing incredible projects, engaging a variety of students, and bringing outdoor learning to new extents across the state, according to MEEA.

The impact of these projects supports thousands of youth across the state. Supporting teachers and schools in the pursuit of outdoor learning is a critical piece of MEEA’s mission as the organization strives to enhance and amplify the efforts of individuals and organizations that are building environmental awareness, fostering appreciation and understanding of the environment, and taking action towards creating equitable and resilient communities.

At TWK Dirigo Middle School in Dixfield, funds were used to purchase binoculars, magnifying glasses, and soil and water strips as well as a greenhouse and gardening and composting supplies.

Oak Hill Middle School in Sabattus used grant funds to purchase five picnic tables. After the picnic tables arrived, the teachers quickly began to utilize them for rotating classes to an outside classroom environment. This allowed students to have mask breaks, and fresh air.

Lewiston Middle School used MEEA grant funds for seventh-grade students to go to the YMCA Outdoor Education Center. Teacher Michelle Deblois said, “At Lewiston Public Schools many of our students have never set foot outside of the city landscape. This opportunity allowed students to experience the calming and rejuvenating joys of the outdoors.”

Spruce Mountain Primary School in Livermore used its funds to invest in rain suits for kindergarteners, as rainy days often upset plans to take students outside. Teacher Tracey Butterfield reported how much students love to learn in nature, “Kindergarten students went outside, wearing our rain suits, to explore shapes in nature to go with our math unit on shapes. The students were encouraged to collect objects that matched the shapes we were learning.”

The association continues to seek impactful partnerships with local communities and organizations during this changing cultural and environmental climate, as the equity-centered environmental work that MEEA creates plays a key role in building an environmentally literate Maine — where all people can engage civically and understand the relationship between their wellbeing and that of their environment.

MEEA plans to keep this program going by opening another round of applications this fall for the 2022-23 school year. To learn more about this fund, email grants@meeassociation.org.

 

 

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