L.D. 1682, An Act to Create the Maine Experiential Education Program, was passed unanimously by the Maine Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry.

Now, it’s sitting on the Appropriations table. We hope that members of the Joint Standing Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs prioritize this bill in the manner it deserves by funding this much-needed program.

Among those members is Sen. Rick Bennett, who represents many communities that make up our district in the Oxford Hills. We know Sen. Bennett understands the value of experiential learning, how important it is to our communities, and how it is integral to our district’s new strategic plan. Among the most important goals outlined in that plan is to increase experiential and place-based outdoor learning opportunities for our students.

Our district is blessed to be located in beautiful Western Maine, where the economy and culture have long been tied to the land and our natural resources. Also, unlike most other districts, we have a unique program for students with Robert’s Farm Experiential Learning and a dedicated outdoor learning coach working in our schools. We partner closely with the Western Foothills Land Trust and Healthy Oxford Hills, and our outdoor learning success relies on the good work of community organizations such as the Alan Day Community Garden.

These collaborations, in addition to our participation with the Farm & Sea to School Network, exist to promote experiential learning that is specifically tied to agriculture and food. Our communities place a high value on food sovereignty, access to healthy food, and self-sufficiency. We want to ensure our children are growing these same values, while also learning the curriculum and reaching our learning standards in ways that teach them to take pride in their work, themselves, their community and Maine.

Were L.D. 1682 to pass, it would provide us with the capacity to continue this important work in our schools. It would also provide opportunities for districts throughout the state to offer real-world learning and hands-on skills in their schools.

In order to integrate these kinds of experiences into our schools, we need support and expertise to grow and maintain school gardens and other nature-based education infrastructure, and to connect these experiences to the learning standards. We need garden educators who can help math students learn to calculate how many cubic yards of soil are needed for a raised bed (a skill valuable for landscaping and earthwork trades). They can also help students plumb and electrify aquaponics systems, translating science and math skills into potential trades careers that are currently experiencing shortages of skilled individuals.

School gardens, more than perhaps anything else, provide these avenues for learning in ways that not only keep kids interested and provide usable, real-life skills, but do so in ways that meet the increasingly intense social and emotional needs facing our students. Our educators have witnessed exponential increases in depression, anxiety, and decreasing executive function in our student population. Getting kids outside, moving around in fresh air, and using their hands to create something tangible goes a long way toward alleviating the symptoms we are seeing in our schools.

The only missing ingredient is the people to make it happen.

My hope is that Sen. Bennett, his colleagues on the AFA Committee, and Gov. Janet Mills will come together to ensure L.D. 1682 gets the funding it deserves, including funding for the grant program itself. Our students, teachers, and families would certainly benefit from this type of program in our schools.

Heather Manchester is superintendent of School Administrative District 17. Ryan Parker is the FoodCorps Maine Impact and Partnerships Lead, a former staff member for the U.S. House of Representatives, and a former school board member.

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