ISSUE #36


The Outdoor Insider

MAINE OUTDOOR SCHOOL'S QUARTERLY E-NEWSLETTER

The MOS team has started  our 10th school year!

ISSUE #36
October 2025

Leadership Update: As of 8/1/25, Hazel Stark is the sole owner of Maine Outdoor School after sharing ownership with co-founder Joe Horn since 2016.

“Our Summer Academy students have loved the opportunity to participate in Maine Outdoor School! This unique experience allows us to create multi-age groups for Maine Outdoor School, and I have found that students build different relationships with each other during this hands on, outdoor learning experience. It also allows for students who may not typically take a leadership role to have that kind of opportunity.  MOS is definitely something that our students look forward to during the week.”

-K-5 Summer Academy 2025, Peninsula School Teacher

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Tracks:

How did MOS leave its mark this quarter?

Watershed Campers canoeing the Orange River

Riverside Family Scientists going over nature journaling skills to document their exploration

Forest Camp 2025 at the Machias River Preserve

Outdoor Women Lead (O.W.L) Crepuscular Crawl

  • Finished weekly summer school programming at 6 schools (130 students) and started the school year with weekly programs at 12 schools (over 400 students), many of which are made possible due to support from Frenchman Bay Conservancy, Crabtree Neck Land Trust, and Great Pond Mountain Conservation Trust. 

  • Led three OWL (Outdoor Women Lead) Outings: A Crepuscular Crawl at the Hidden Ponds trail near Tunk Mountain, Day Hiking 101 at the Pigeon Hill Shore trail in Steuben, and Canoeing on the Narraguagus River. 

  • Taught an OWL Skills workshop on Fire and Foraging.

  • Led a Family Event with Women for Healthy Rural Living (WHRL) at Milbridge Elementary School.

  • Had another great summer of the Riverside Family Scientist series at Ellsworth Public Library in collaboration with Frenchman Bay Conservancy and Woodlawn Museum, serving over 65 participants.

  • Provided a free full day of Forest Camp in Machias thanks to community support!

  • Held Little Cranberry Naturalist Camp, helping island youth create an island walking tour with Islesford Boatworks.

  • Got campers on the water at Watershed Camp with Maine Coast Heritage Trust. 

  • Led hikers up Katahdin for the Summit for a Cause fundraiser, raising funds for Women for Healthy Rural Living’s Elaine Hill Memorial Nursing Scholarship

  • Provided private guided hikes and paddling experiences for families visiting Eastern Maine.

  • Continued taking visitors at Under Canvas Acadia outside through regular guided nature walks--over 190 visitors joined us there this summer.

  • Took guests of Terramor Outdoor Resort on an intertidal exploration trip.

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

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Community Commendations:

This quarter’s Community Commendations goes to Islesford Boatworks (IBW)!

This summer, we led Little Cranberry Naturalist Camp, our first summer camp in collaboration with IBW. Campers learned about the history of Little Cranberry Island (AKA Islesford), including about the Wabanaki on the island and native plant and animal species. Applying this knowledge and honing their observation and storytelling skills, campers drafted their ideas for an island walking tour, which IBW will continue to work on with the local school. 

Thanks to Tony from IBW for organizing and to Chrissy MacKinnon for volunteering to help with camp!

Biomimicry:

Blueberries joined the realm of “superfoods” years ago when scientists realized that the anthocyanins that give the fruits and leaves of the plants their red and purple colors have a strong antioxidant effect. Of course, blueberries do not produce these anthocyanins for our own aesthetic pleasure or health benefits. Plants are able to capture sunlight to make food for themselves through the process of photosynthesis. Plants have several compounds that help them do this: chlorophyll, which is green; carotenes, which are orange; and xanthophylls, which are yellow. As you might have guessed, chlorophyll is the most dominant compound during our longest days of the year when just about every leaf is green.

But as the angle of the sun lowers and days shorten in the fall, chlorophyll stops being able to do its job as well. As a result, the plant starts breaking down that chlorophyll and we begin to see the yellow and orange compounds that were hanging out in the background all along. Meanwhile, the reds and purples of anthocyanins begin to reveal themselves and we are in for a colorful treat on the landscape. Those anthocyanins help protect plants from the effect of too much sunlight while allowing the plant to absorb some final nutrients before the leaves fall off altogether.

The great thing about wild blueberry plants is that they not only provide us with a delicious and healthy food, but also offer one of the most beautiful autumn landscapes that exists thanks to those anthocyanins taking center stage to help ensure the plants’ survival of the dark, cold winter. As the days get darker, we too can be like a blueberry plant and wear bold colors to celebrate the change of the season rather than just shriveling up and disappearing for the winter! 


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:
Apple picking is one of the best fall activities for our health! Not only do you gain all the benefits of being outside and engaging in moderate physical activity, but you also harvest a healthy, high fiber fruit. This is a perfect outing for the whole family. Learn more here.

 

What's Upstream: 

  • See us at your schools if you’re a teacher! If you don’t already have plans for MOS programming at your school this year, contact us today.

  • Guests of Terramor Outdoor Resort will receive stargazing and nocturnal adaptations programs especially designed for them this month. 

  • Learn about tree identification and build community with LGBTQ+ people in Hancock County on October 11th with Out in the Open and the Frenchman Bay Conservancy. Register here.

  • Register for an upcoming OWL Outing: Foraging at Klondike Mountain 10/18 (join the waitlist) or learning about Unique Organisms at Backfield Park, Great Wass Island 11/15 (registration to open in late October).

  • Attend this year’s Dear Teacher Conference with Island Readers and Writers, where Hazel, MOS CEO, will be leading workshops. 

  • Stay tuned for information about our annual New Year’s Eve hike with Crabtree Neck Land Trust in Hancock.

  • Expect an invitation to our upcoming 10th Birthday Party, happening on Monday, 12/22/26 from 4-6pm at The Gatherings in Surry!

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.