ISSUE #35


The Outdoor Insider

MAINE OUTDOOR SCHOOL'S QUARTERLY E-NEWSLETTER

OWLette Camp with Women for Healthy Rural Living

ISSUE #35
July 2025

“My 14-year-old and 11-year-old recently attended a series of Maine Outdoor School/Maine Coast Heritage Trust workshops that were not only educational but truly inspiring. Each workshop was engaging, age-appropriate, and impactful. We're so grateful for these opportunities — they’ve helped shape our kids into more thoughtful, informed, and empowered young stewards of the environment.”

- Homeschool program parent participant, May 2025

Tracks:

How did MOS leave its mark this quarter?

Trenton Elementary School 4th Grade field trip to Salt Pond

OWL Outing at the Orange River

Map and Compass Workshop

Hancock Grammar School 4th Grade field trip to the Old Pond Railway trail

  • Finished the school year at 12 schools and started summer school at 5 schools!

  • Continued collaborating with Maine Coast Heritage Trust for monthly homeschool programs with the Independent Downeast Educational Alliance. This quarter’s programs were on Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration, and Soil Science and Decomposition.

  • Inspired educators with new ways to integrate outdoor education into their work at a teacher workshop with the Washington County Education Consortium. 

  • Led three OWL (Outdoor Women Lead) Outings: Nature journaling at Tunk Mountain, identifying spring plants and birds at Tide Mill Creek in Jonesboro, and Canoeing on the Orange River in Whiting.

  • Enjoyed OWL and OWLette-themed specials at Fogtown Brewing Company at their annual fundraiser to support the OWL programs.

  • Taught Map & Compass Basics for women and their families with Women for Healthy Rural Living.

  • Taught two Washington County schools about their local watersheds and Atlantic Salmon in collaboration with the Maine Council of the Atlantic Salmon Federation’s Fish Friends program, and created a field trip guide for that program.

  • Held our 5th year of OWLette Camp with Women for Healthy Rural Living.

  • Opened registration for more summer camps, including Forest Camp in Machias, and MOS Pop-up Camps throughout eastern Maine.

  • Connected with visitors at Under Canvas Acadia through weekly guided nature walks.

  • Celebrated Juneteenth with Juneteenth Downeast and Healthy Acadia at their annual festival with a natural history museum and nature printing booth.

Check out the “MOS in the News” page to see where we’ve shown up in the press!

Special thanks to everyone who donated to Forest Camp 2025!

It was important to us to be able to continue offering this camp free of charge to participants, and we are so grateful to have received this support from our community.

Community Commendations:

This quarter’s Community Commendations goes to Bangor Land Trust!

Bangor Land Trust has several preserves, including the Penjajawoc Preserve, the Levant Wetlands, and the Walden-Parke Preserve, where Maine Outdoor School will be hosting one of our pop up youth summer day camps.

We are excited to be including Bangor Land Trust locations in our pop up programming this summer and to be forging new connections with residents of the greater Bangor area. 

To learn more about Bangor Land Trust’s preserves and upcoming events visit their website: bangorlandtrust.org

Biomimicry:

Fishing spiders are one of only eighteen spider species known to eat fish. In addition to fish, they will also eat tadpoles, dragonfly larvae, aquatic beetles, and just about any other terrestrial invertebrate that crosses their path. Thanks to their neurotoxin venom, they are able to take down vertebrates up to five times their own bodyweight. That would be like an average human male taking down and consuming an entire large moose. They also have waterproof hairs and keep a bubble of air around their bodies while swimming so they can breathe underwater–just like a scuba diver!

So if you happen to be in search of a new favorite swimming hole, keep an eye to the water’s edge for a fishing spider as it patiently waits for its prey to come to it. And you could consider how the people that work and play on and in the water mimic this incredible spider.


This edition of Biomimicry is an adaptation of an episode of The Nature of Phenology, a radio show that MOS Co-Founders Hazel and Joe produced weekly for WERU-FM from 2018-2024. You can read or listen to entire past episodes here.

 

Resilience Tip:
Did you know that interacting with animals regularly has similar benefits to your mental health as being outside? Time with animals reduces stress, lowers your blood pressure, and improves cognitive function.
Learn more here.

 

What's Upstream: 

  • Take your family on a MOS adventure! We are offering weekly Family Adventures on Mount Desert Island with activities for all ages.

  • Register for one of our youth pop-up day camps taking place in Bangor, Bar Harbor, and Camden.

  • Join a Riverside Family Scientist program in Ellsworth on Tuesday afternoons. Our upcoming topics include Trees and Watersheds.

  • Stay tuned for a new youth summer camp with Islesford Boatworks.

  • Make time for your own summer exploration, and join one of our upcoming Saturday morning 1-hour guided outings or schedule a private outing for a party of people. 

  • Support our Summit for a Cause hikers, who are raising funds for WHRL’s Elaine Hill Memorial Nursing Scholarship.

  • Think ahead to the school year! While we still have lots of summer left, remember to contact us early to get into our fall calendar.

ALL MOS PROGRAMS ARE FULLY CUSTOMIZABLE AND SUIT EXPLORERS OF ANY AGE. 

VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR IDEAS OR CONTACT US TO SCHEDULE YOUR UNIQUE EXPERIENCE.