ISSUE #17

The Outdoor Insider

MAINE OUTDOOR SCHOOL'S QUARTERLY E-NEWSLETTER

ISSUE #17
JANUARY 2021

 

Maine Outdoor School exists because we believe that personal and community resilience 
in rural Maine is essential to the resilience of society as a whole. We believe that resilient,
flourishing communities are rooted in the careful study of our history and natural surroundings
by lifelong learners of all ages, backgrounds, and occupations.

Help us make 2021 a phenomenal year outdoors! donate here.

Learning from needle ice with Mountain View 7th/8th-graders

A guided hike for some newlyweds

A guided canoe trip for a family

Soap made at a Downeast Roots Festival Series workshop

Co-Founders' Note:

Of all the years we’ve said, “Happy New Year,” this one sure feels the most meaningful! 2020 was hard for all of us in so many different ways and we are ready for that feeling of “reset” that a new year brings. However, despite the challenges of the pandemic in 2020, MOS continued to connect people with the outdoors through:

  • Standards-aligned, outdoor program series at Milbridge Elementary School, Jonesport Elementary School, Mountain View School in Sullivan, and Lubec Consolidated School

  • Building a permanent outdoor classroom at Milbridge Elementary School

  • Professional development opportunities for adults through a guest lecture at College of the Atlantic; webinars with Blue Hill Heritage Trust, Frenchman Bay Conservancy, and Community Learning for ME; a restorative practices training with Healthy Acadia; and a teacher training in Lubec

  • Community programming, including hikes, soapmaking, and winter family activities

  • Virtual programming on backyard outdoor activities, naturalist skills, and school science subjects

  • New or expanded partnerships with TREE (Transforming Rural Experience in Education), Frenchman Bay Conservancy, Women for Healthy Rural Living, Lubec Consolidated School, Healthy Acadia, and the Milbridge Public Library

  • Family-friendly guided hikes, paddling, and fly-fishing experiences

We had interactive face-to-face time (whether in person or via Zoom) with about 400 people plus thousands more who viewed our educational videos online (over 6,000 from our OWL series alone)--an impressive reach considering the challenges of the pandemic.

“MOS has been a blessing before and during the pandemic and I’m sure it will be after the pandemic too. It created an opportunity for my students to have educational experiences outside with trained educators. They are learning things I truly don’t believe I could have done without MOS.” -Ally Loukas, Milbridge 1st Grade teacher, December 2020 (see more testimonials here)

In 2021, we will continue to facilitate COVID-responsive, nature-based learning experiences for schools, community members, and visiting families thanks to your support. May you find peace and comfort in the outdoors in what we hope is a brighter year for us all.
 

~Hazel and Joe

Tracks:

  • Started new program series with classes at Mountain View School, Milbridge Elementary School, and Lubec Consolidated School

  • Continued to get great use out of Milbridge’s outdoor classroom and new chalkboard

  • Led 3 Summits & Stories hikes with the Milbridge Public Library

  • Continued providing guided hikes and paddling experiences to visitors

  • Taught community members how to make soap

  • Were highlighted in the Portland Press Herald in an article about outdoor podcasts

  • Concluded the OWL: Outdoor Women Lead 2020 virtual program series

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

 

Hazel guiding the photographer’s family on an educational hike

Community Commendations:

This quarter’s Community Commendation goes to CEI’s Women’s Business Center! They sent professional photographers out to a variety of Maine businesses to be able to promote these businesses through high quality photos of Maine female entrepreneurs in action. They selected Maine Outdoor School as one of those businesses! You’ll start to notice some impressive new photos of Hazel in action on our website, starting with our new-and-improved Guiding page. Thanks to the WBC for lining up photographer Bridges Aderhold to provide us with such amazing photos!

 

Biomimicry:

The plant that probably gets the most attention from our students in the fall is burdock. These tough plants have round seed heads that do an amazing job of sticking to mammal fur and clothing. It’s a great adaptation for distributing their seeds far and wide (and annoying sheep farmers and pet owners). Burdock might also be our favorite example of biomimicry: Velcro was invented and designed to mimic the grippy qualities of burdock.

Burdock reminds us that there’s always more than one way to solve a problem. If you can’t fly, walk, and if you can’t walk, then perhaps you can hitch a ride with others! Sometimes getting things done just takes a little creativity and often a bit of help from others.

 

Resilience Tip:
To stay safe and comfortable outdoors in the winter, “make sure the hands, head, heart and feet are covered.”
(Learn more about being prepared for winter outdoors here.)

 

What's Upstream: 

This winter, we will continue to provide regular outdoor school programming at Milbridge Elementary School and are wrapping up our series at Mountain View School. And, snow conditions permitting, stay tuned for some snowshoeing opportunities this winter! Meanwhile, we are making plans for spring and summer outdoor community programming with Women for Healthy Rural Living and Downeast Coastal Conservancy.

As always, we welcome your program ideas and wishes! If we can help you get outdoor programming into your local school, provide your family with an educational outdoor adventure, or provide professional development opportunities in outdoor education, please reach out to us.

All MOS programs are fully customizable and suit learners of any age. Visit our website or contact us to learn more.

Support Maine Outdoor School
Contact Us

ISSUE #16

The Outdoor Insider

MAINE OUTDOOR SCHOOL'S QUARTERLY E-NEWSLETTER

ISSUE #16
OCTOBER 2020

 

Maine Outdoor School exists because we believe that personal and community resilience 
in rural Maine is essential to the resilience of society as a whole. We believe that resilient,
flourishing communities are rooted in the careful study of our history and natural surroundings
by lifelong learners of all ages, backgrounds, and occupations.

New video from the OWL series

An interview with WABI-TV5 about Milbridge's outdoor classroom

Youth participants of a summer restorative practices program

Lubec teacher training

Co-Founders' Note:

In our July edition of The Outdoor Insider, we were in the midst of an eerily quiet time here at MOS and were feeling worried about what the rest of the summer and early fall would bring. But sending out that e-newsletter almost felt like waving a magic wand! Afterwards, many donations rolled in from so many of you and we suddenly had our greatest uptick in program interest in our four-year history of programming! Thank you! Check out the Tracks section below to learn about our work from July-September.

The most noteworthy aspect of the last few months has been an amazing number of calls from the press--locally and nationally. As schools were considering how to safely reopen this fall, people all over the world were considering with fresh eyes the benefits of outdoor school. But many started to wonder how it would be possible in colder climates, like Maine. So we started getting calls from many major news agencies to learn how it’s possible. We were featured in US News & World Report, the Bangor Daily News, and WABI-TV 5, to name a few. Check out the MOS in the News page to read and watch this great coverage.

The school year is off to a busy (if not a little crazy for everyone) start, but we are so pleased to be able to continue offering outdoor programming--which is proving to be more necessary now than ever. The impact and challenges from Covid-19 are nowhere near over, but the more we support each other, the easier it will be.
 

~Hazel and Joe

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Tracks:

  • We created a video about observation games with Frenchman Bay Conservancy

  • We led teacher trainings for Lubec Consolidated School and started regular programming there and at Milbridge Elementary School

  • We presented “Phenology Projects to Meet Standards and Support Well-being” webinar for the 1 Plan: 3 Falls conference and a webinar about outdoor education with Frenchman Bay Conservancy

  • Youth explored their relationships with nature and the community through our restorative practices program with Healthy Acadia and they wrote an article about it.

  • The outdoor classroom we built at Milbridge Elementary School with the support of TREE and Unity College was featured on WABI-TV5 News and we were featured in a US News & World Report article

  • Led 3 “Snowshoe Trails” hikes and started our “Summits & Stories” series with the Milbridge Public Library

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

 

A mother and daughter making nature observations during a recent Snowshoe Trails hike

Community Commendations:

This quarter’s Community Commendation goes out to the Milbridge Public Library! They have had to keep their doors closed to the public since March due to Covid-19, but have been doing an amazing job of adapting to be able to continue offering library services to the community. Beyond a convenient curbside pickup service, they have gotten creative with offering some outdoor programming with us that helps people get to know library resources while learning and being active outdoors.

Last spring, the library worked with us to make a plan for acquiring snowshoes to lend to the public. They got funding to support the collaboration and purchased the snowshoes this summer. In late summer, we led three hikes on local trails that will be ideal for snowshoeing on later. It was a great outreach opportunity to let people know of this new resource for snowshoes in Milbridge and got people outside and learning with neighbors about the world around them.

Now, we are wrapping up another program series with the library: Summits & Stories. Hike Tunk Mountain and hear two stories along the way this weekend!

 

Biomimicry:

That first crisp, cool breeze that hits us in late August has us scrambling for that favorite soft, warm layer we haven’t needed since early June. Likewise, deer also change from that light and breezy red jacket of a summer evening to a thick and insulating grayish coat for winter.

A deer’s summer coat is much more rusty in color and the hairs themselves are much thinner and shorter. They are losing that cool summer coat now in favor of a much thicker, two-layered winter coat. This grayer winter coat helps them blend into the winter world. The underfur in a deer coat is highly insulative while the outer layer of stiff and hollow guard hairs reduce the impact of wind and precipitation, just like that waterproof and windproof layer on a ski jacket.

So much of winter comfort—and survival for most species—comes down to having the right layers. And as deer show us, now is the time to make sure you have the right layers ready for when the days turn inevitably colder.

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

 

Resilience Tip:
A child's stress levels will fall within minutes of seeing green spaces.
(Learn more here.)

 

What's Upstream: 

Our regular programming at Milbridge Elementary School is underway again this year with grades 1 and 5 thanks to our partnership with TREE-Transforming Rural Experience in Education. We have also started regular outdoor programming at Mountain View School thanks to our partnership with Frenchman Bay Conservancy this month. Other school programs are also in the works now that new school routines this fall are a bit clearer for everyone.

Join us to hike Tunk Mountain, bicycle a section of the Downeast Sunrise Trail, and enjoy the Downeast Roots Festival--more information on our Events page.

We’re available to support with creating permanent outdoor classroom spaces at schools or at local parks and preserves, provide outdoor programming in schoolyards, other outdoor settings, or virtually, provide teacher trainings outdoors or virtually, and more. All MOS programs are fully customizable and suit learners of any age. Visit our website or contact us to learn more.

Support Maine Outdoor School
Contact Us

ISSUE #15

The Outdoor Insider

MAINE OUTDOOR SCHOOL'S QUARTERLY E-NEWSLETTER

ISSUE #15
JULY 2020

 

Maine Outdoor School exists because we believe that personal and community resilience 
in rural Maine is essential to the resilience of society as a whole. We believe that resilient,
flourishing communities are rooted in the careful study of our history and natural surroundings
by lifelong learners of all ages, backgrounds, and occupations.

COVID Has hit us hard. please help by donating here.

Resilience Tip:
Outdoor learning could be a model for the reopening of schools 
(Learn more here.)

Several of the videos we produced this spring. Access them in the Tracks section below.

Co-Founders' Note:

These last three months have been challenging for all of us, to say the least. Just as we have all had to pivot our personal lives to ensure the health of our communities in the last few months, we at Maine Outdoor School have been pivoting our services to be able to continue providing needed outdoor education opportunities. For example, we transformed many of the in-person programs that were due to occur this spring into virtual options accessible and applicable to anyone with internet access, such as our new OWL-Outdoor Women Lead program series. Check out the Tracks section below for other examples and visit our new Virtual Programming page on our website to access these resources. 

For us, being able to spend time in nature this spring has been critical to our wellbeing. We are so privileged to live in a place where we have easy access to the outdoors, especially since just 20 minutes in a green space is enough to improve mental health. We made a pledge with Rethink Outside this spring because, like them,  we believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to enjoy time outdoors. We must bring the well-documented benefits of connections to the outdoors to everyone, regardless of geographic location, race, or economic status.

Spring is usually our busiest time of year, yet it couldn’t be this year due to Covid-19 and we lost some needed revenue as a result. If you believe in our work and helping us make our programs accessible, we invite you to donate here. Thank you for your support.
 

~Hazel and Joe

 

Tracks:

Please note that all videos listed below, while made for a particular student group or partner organization, were also designed to be useful to the public. We invite you to watch and share these videos--use them to inspire some outdoor fun and learning in your own backyard or local park or trail!

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

 

Community Commendations:

This quarter’s community commendation goes to Zabet NeuCollins, Assistant Director of WHRL-Women for Healthy Rural Living, which recognizes the health benefits of spending time outdoors. Zabet gracefully pivoted with us to transform the Outdoor Women Lead (OWL) series into a virtual series, complete with videos and blog posts specific to female-identifying individuals. She has worked hard to edit the videos we film, start a Facebook group, and launch an impressive webpage to make this series accessible while physical distancing guidelines are in place. If you’re interested in developing your outdoor and naturalist skills or have questions about spending time outdoors as a female, check out the OWL webpage.

 

Photo by James St. John.

Biomimicry:

Photo by James St. John.

We’ve been hearing the trill of the gray tree frog a lot lately (listen here). These frogs range in size from just over an inch to as much as 2.5 inches. For such a small, elusive frog, their call is anything but elusive. The call of the gray tree frog is one of the loudest calls of all North American frogs. Individuals in a gray tree frog chorus will increase the rate of their calling to up to 1400 calls per hour! This routine uses a lot of energy; in fact, it uses more energy than just about any other activity of a cold-blooded animal. This singing is worth it, though, as the reproductive success of males is directly related to the number of nights they sing in a chorus and the females apparently like the fast calls the best.

Gray tree frogs remind us that even the smallest, hidden things can make the biggest impact, especially if they collaborate.

This Biomimicry feature is an excerpt from the weekly radio show Hazel and Joe produce for WERU-FM. You can read or listen to complete episodes here.

 

What's Upstream: 

This summer, with the support of Cobscook TREE and Milbridge Elementary School, we will be building and installing an outdoor chalkboard to complement the outdoor classroom space we built with Milbridge 6th-graders and Unity College volunteers in February.

We are once again able to offer in-person guided experiences, such as guided hikes and paddling adventures, following the latest Maine CDC guidelines. If you’d like to learn more about the outdoors in Downeast Maine, explore a new trail, or experience some nature observation games and activities with your kids, please get in touch with us with your goals and our Registered Maine Guides will customize a guided experience for you this summer.

New this summer: virtual tutoring via Zoom. A lot of learning is lost over the summer on a normal year! We are pleased to be able to support children in grades 5 and up with brushing up on science, language arts, or getting a head start on that college essay. Contact us FMI.

The OWL series will continue through the summer. Upcoming female-focused blog posts include:

  • Meeting your needs where there are no toilets (7/13)

  • Making “Scents” in the Outdoors: Hygiene Tips (8/10)

  • Outdoor Safety (9/14)

Additionally, upcoming OWL videos include:

  • Camping 101 (7/27)

  • Plant Identification (8/24)

  • Basic Canoe Skills (9/28)

We have always known about the many mental, physical, and academic benefits of outdoor school, but now we can add one more benefit: the ability to easily abide by Covid-19 physical distancing guidelines while learning. We are hopeful that we will be able to continue regular programming in local schools this fall, but there are still a lot of Covid-19-related unknowns in terms of school budgets and the budgets of our partnering organizations that have helped make our programs accessible to schools. If you want to ensure that a local school can access our programming, you can make a donation to us and let us know whether there’s a particular school you’d like it to go towards.

All MOS programs are fully customizable and suit learners of any age. Visit our website or contact us to learn more.

Support Maine Outdoor School
Contact Us

ISSUE #14

The Outdoor Insider

MAINE OUTDOOR SCHOOL'S QUARTERLY E-NEWSLETTER

ISSUE #14
APRIL 2020

 

Maine Outdoor School exists because we believe that personal and community resilience 
in rural Maine is essential to the resilience of society as a whole. We believe that resilient,
flourishing communities are rooted in the careful study of our history and natural surroundings
by lifelong learners of all ages, backgrounds, and occupations.

Outdoor classroom project

Winter Family Carnival

Trails Tuesday field trip to Taft Point Preserve

Jonesport Forest Friday

Co-Founders' Note:

We're sure your inbox has been overwhelmed with cancellations, updates, and contingency plans from a huge suite of organizations regarding responses to Covid-19 - ours sure have been! While we will give you a brief update about how Covid-19 is affecting MOS, the bulk of this quarter’s edition of The Outdoor Insider is dedicated, as always, to updating you about our recent work and providing inspiration from nature.

MOS’s Covid-19 update: All our in-person programs from March 16th until further notice have been postponed to ensure the safety of our community. This disruption has put a significant financial damper on MOS, as April and May have historically been, and were going to be, our busiest months of the year. We are working with each of our clients to determine the best way to make up for lost time and develop virtually-accessible programming options. While we are confident that MOS will weather this storm, we would appreciate any and all donations that can help us through these trying times.

Even though we’ve been unable to provide in-person outdoor programming to groups, we have been thinking about creative alternatives. For example, Hazel wrote an article for the Bangor Daily News: “6 educational outdoor family activities to try during the pandemic.” This article aims to inspire additions to teachers’ remote learning packets, families homeschooling, and anyone else (adults included) looking for ideas of what to do outdoors during this time. A couple educational videos are coming up, too, so stay tuned.

We invite your ideas about other creative solutions to remote/virtual outdoor education: Virtual nature tutoring? Virtual guiding through your own backyard? Our inboxes, if not our doors, are open!
 

~Hazel and Joe

Support Maine Outdoor School
 

Tracks:

  • We led an outdoor classroom-building project at Milbridge Elementary School with many partners

    1. We supported Milbridge Public Library in applying to a grant, which they were awarded, to fund lending snowshoes to the community

    2. We led family-friendly outdoor activities at the Winter Family Carnival with Maine Seacoast Mission and other local groups

    3. We launched Trails Tuesdays with Frenchman Bay Conservancy at Mountain View School in Sullivan, which occurred every other week

    4. We continued our weekly Thursday Forays in Milbridge and Forest Fridays in Jonesport thanks to Cobscook TREE

    5. Hazel read The Lorax to Milbridge 4th-graders on Dr. Seuss’ birthday

    6. Hazel gave a talk about hiking to all of Jonesport Elementary School to support in their WinterKids competition (they got the Silver medal!)

    7. Hazel delivered a guest lecture in a Maine Land Conservation and Management class at College of the Atlantic  

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

 

Community Commendations:

If there’s one theme that has risen to the surface during these challenging times, it’s that supporting one another makes the impossible possible and feels good all around. Unity College is a prime example of a supportive partner, so they are our community commendation for this past quarter. When Professor Beth Arnold heard that we had been brainstorming ways to build an outdoor classroom at Milbridge Elementary School, her class with helpful leadership by Mary Seelig, sprang into action. They shared tools, supplies, muscle, and activities with us and the Milbridge 6th grade class. Thanks for your support Unity College! Many hands make quick, light work.

 

Biomimicry:

I have been thinking a lot about chipmunks lately. There’s a chipmunk burrow just outside my window, so I get to observe them frequently. On the warmest mid-March days, when the morning sun hits the wooden planks adjacent to this burrow entrance, a chipmunk will emerge and sit motionless, head towards the sun. Our first truly warm spring days inspire the same behavior in me, as all I want to do is be outside and absorb our first warm rays of sun of the year, so I feel a sort of kinship with this chipmunk neighbor of mine.

Chipmunks also provide some tips for dealing with challenging times, which for a chipmunk, is winter. Their cheek pouches can expand to be three times the size of their heads and can store all kinds of wild foods, which these omnivores can easily carry to an underground cache for later consumption out of sight of potential predators. They do a lot of caching in the fall so they have a full pantry for the winter. While they do experience a deep sleep in the winter, they wake up every now and then to graze in the pantry of their underground burrows. They will even occasionally emerge from their burrows on warm winter days in search of fresher food.

So during these challenging times, we should all strive to be like a chipmunk in the winter: stock up on our basic needs to last us as long as possible, minimize how much we venture out of our homes to go to the store, get plenty of rest, and be sure to get outside and enjoy the sunshine when and where it is safe to do so.

 

Resilience Tip:
Spending just 20 minutes in green spaces outdoors is one of the fastest ways to improve your health and happiness. (Learn more here.)

 

What's Upstream: 

When drafting up this e-newsletter before Covid-19 hit close to home, I was excited to share a plethora of upcoming programs! Our family hikes with Frenchman Bay Conservancy, OWL: Outdoor Women Lead program series with WHRL (Women for Healthy Rural Living--formerly the Women's Health Resource Library), regular school programs, and field trips are all postponed until further notice.

Please stay tuned through our social media and website for updates as our programs are either rescheduled or adapted into virtual features.

To stay in touch with us and receive more frequent updates, follow us on social media (links below).

Support Maine Outdoor School

ISSUE #13

The Outdoor Insider

MAINE OUTDOOR SCHOOL'S QUARTERLY E-NEWSLETTER

ISSUE #13
JANUARY 2020

 

Maine Outdoor School exists because we believe that personal and community resilience 
in rural Maine is essential to the resilience of society as a whole. We believe that resilient,
flourishing communities are rooted in the careful study of our history and natural surroundings
by lifelong learners of all ages, backgrounds, and occupations.

Milbridge students discovering burdock's seed dispersal strategy

Tidepool creature sorting with Beals Elementary School

Maine island student learning about what can live on trees

Harrington students hiking during Woods Wednesdays

Co-Founders' Note:

2019 was MOS' most impactful year since our founding in 2016. Our programs reached about 800 people ages Pre-K through adulthood, a 40% increase from last year, through:

  • Regular outdoor school programming, like Woods Wednesdays, Thursday Forays, and Forest Fridays

  • Customized short programs, such as guided hikes, shore clean-up projects, and a teacher workshop in leading microadventures

  • Fly-tying, fly-fishing, and knitting workshops

  • Presenting at the 61st annual Allegany Nature Pilgrimage in New York 

  • Designing a program for Frenchman Bay Conservancy staff to lead

Our Forest Friday programming—a regular outdoor learning experience directly tied into a classroom teacher’s curriculum, and which can occur any day of the week—really gained momentum in 2019. These weekly or biweekly programs help students build confidence in being outdoors in every season, develop their sense of place and community, and meet teachers' content goals through engaging hands-on learning. Here’s what one Thursday Forays partner teacher said about the program series:

“[MOS] has made science fun and informative for my students. MOS does an amazing job making connections to our science curriculum. Outdoor learning and science has become an essential part of the 3rd Grade curriculum. I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to have MOS be part of our learning.” -Alison Wallace, Milbridge Grade 3 Teacher (read more testimonials here)

In addition to building on the successes of our Forest Friday-style programs in 2020, MOS will be partnering with local B&B's and other hosts to expand the reach of our guided educational experiences. Through this expanded marketing effort, MOS aims to ensure that visitors to Downeast Maine can experience and learn from the profound beauty of our woods, waters and mountains, in addition to great hospitality and lodging. Be on the lookout for new brochures at nearby info centers and B&Bs to discover what the Maine outdoors has to teach you and your guests. Please let us know if you or someone you know would like to distribute these brochures.  

We closed out 2019 full to the gills with gratitude for our many partners and supporters: thank you to all those who have helped us make outdoor educational experiences accessible for learners of all ages in this unique, beautiful, and remote part of our fine state!

Warm wishes for a happy new year,

~Hazel and Joe

 

Tracks:

  • Tabled and provided an activity at the Cherryfield Fall Festival

    1. Led a fly-tying workshop for a University of Maine at Machias class

    2. Harrington 4th-graders experienced 11 weeks of Woods Wednesdays

    3. Led 3rd and 5th grade Thursday Forays at Milbridge Elementary School

    4. Jonesport 1st and 5th Grade buddies learned outside weekly during Forest Fridays

    5. Beals students compared forest and tidepool ecosystems on two field trips

    6. Maine island students hiked at the USA’s easternmost point

    7. Designed a program and led a training for Frenchman Bay Conservancy staff

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

 

Community Commendations:

This quarter’s community commendation goes to Frenchman Bay Conservancy, one of our wonderful local land trusts with ample property in eastern Hancock County open to the public for outdoor recreational pursuits. 

FBC is working to expand their educational offerings and has partnered with us to help. This fall, we designed an outdoor lesson that their staff can lead at their Tidal Falls Preserve and trained them on how to lead it. This week, we began leading “Trails Tuesdays” with the 5th-graders at Mountain View School, which will occur every other week for the rest of the school year. Trails Tuesdays is a standards-aligned outdoor school series that will take students to FBC properties to hike and learn from the natural world. This program series is possible at this school thanks to FBC’s financial backing of the series.

And on top of all those great projects, FBC even dedicated their Giving Tuesday campaign this year to support their outdoor education efforts. Thanks to Frenchman Bay Conservancy for your commitment and efforts towards getting our shared community outside, engaged, and learning in the natural world!

 

Biomimicry:

When a tree falls in the forest, the other trees remaining grow faster because there is more light, right? Not entirely true. If you were to cut down a tree, the trees directly around it would actually notice their struggling neighbor and divert sugars down their trunks, into their roots, and over into the roots of the struggling tree via root grafts--or areas where the two trees’ roots are growing so tightly together that they fuse together. Furthermore, this helping hand is extended even across tree species, stunting their own growth in order to help another.

Why would they sacrifice their own growth for their neighbor? Well for starters, the neighbor would do the same for them if they were to fall on hard times, so it is a mutually beneficial system. Further, trees growing together in a forest are incredibly structurally strong, which protects them all against snow, ice, and wind. When one tree dies, the trees surrounding it are more susceptible to environmental hazards like wind-loading which could topple and kill them.

So during these dark days, be sure to lend a hand to a neighbor in need. A load of firewood, a bag of groceries, or an afternoon of winterizing not only helps that individual, it strengthens the whole forest that is our community. Plus, it feels good to give. So give it a try! 

 

Resilience Tip:
Learning outdoors for just one lesson a week boosts learning and behavior in children.  (Learn more about the benefits of regular outdoor learning here.)

 

What's Upstream: 

Thursday Forays at Milbridge Elementary School and Forest Fridays at Jonesport Elementary School will continue this winter, and students will learn all about how different species adapt and survive a winter in Maine. Trails Tuesdays at Mountain View School with Frenchman Bay Conservancy is just beginning and those students will learn about their local land trust while meeting the goals of their school science curriculum.

We also have a few community programs on deck, so stay tuned via our social media (links below) and Events page for details on those once they become available.

Don’t forget that we at MOS are Registered Maine Guides ready to create a custom outdoor experience for you and your friends or family year-round! Ever wanted to learn how to snowshoe? How about the basics of animal tracking? How about a guided nature hike complete with snowflake identification? Winter offers many wonderful ways to get to know nature. Simply reach out to us for details.

All MOS programs are fully customizable and suit learners of any age. Visit our website or contact us to learn more.

Support Maine Outdoor School

ISSUE #12

The Outdoor Insider

MAINE OUTDOOR SCHOOL'S QUARTERLY E-NEWSLETTER

ISSUE #12
OCTOBER 2019

 

Maine Outdoor School exists because we believe that personal and community resilience in rural Maine is essential to the resilience of society as a whole. We believe that resilient, flourishing communities are rooted in the careful study of our history and natural surroundings by lifelong learners of all ages, backgrounds, and occupations.

Milbridge student practicing nature journaling

River Camp participants learn fly-tying (photo courtesy of River Camp)

Narraguagus Jr/Sr High School students learning about nutrient cycling during Teen Ag Camp

Harrington students enjoying Woods Wednesdays

Co-Founders' Note:

While days draw shorter, geese chatter noisily as they travel south, and back-to-school advertisements appear everywhere, MOS also leans into the busyness of the school year, our busiest time of year. This school year we are pleased to share that we are expanding our regular weekly programs in several schools throughout the area, interspersed with various field trips and community events. For the first time since we started programming in late 2016, combined with our various side jobs that allow us to make this entrepreneurial adventure work, our schedules are just about full to bursting! This is exciting as we feel we have greatly increased our impact with each passing season. We are still getting people of all ages outside, engaged with nature, and developing personal and community resilience every step of the way--now more than ever.

As you settle yourself along with us into the old rhythms of the new season, check in regularly on the MOS events and news pages to get updates about our programs and events. If there’s a school, organization, or person you know that you want to be sure can access MOS programming, you can send us a donation to support that. Simply reach out to us for details.

And, don’t forget that we now have MOS “bumpah stickahs” for sale! They look great on your vehicle, waterbottle, computer, and more. Proceeds support MOS programming.

Thanks for your support and interest and please enjoy some highlights from the last quarter in this edition of The Outdoor Insider.

~Hazel and Joe

 

Tracks:

 

The Ondich family on their guided nature hike with MOS. Ondich family photos in this issue courtesy of MaineTerrain.com.

Community Commendations:

The Ondich family on their guided nature hike with MOS. Ondich family photos in this issue courtesy of MaineTerrain.com.

This quarter we would like to tip our hats to the Ondich family. Last spring, this family reached out to MOS to feature us on their blog, Maine Terrain, which is all about exploring our region. You can read their blog interview of us here. The family was so interested in what MOS was all about that they wanted to experience our guided services first hand on some local public lands while they spent time in Milbridge this summer. It is one thing to have a good experience and to be thankful, but it takes extra effort and selflessness to go out of one’s way to write a review. The Ondich’s took it upon themselves to review us on Facebook, Google, and Yelp--our very first reviews! So thank you to the Ondich family for being exemplar students of nature and supportive neighbors. Here’s an excerpt from their Yelp review:

“If you have a small or large group and want someone with a lot of local knowledge to explore Downeast Maine with, call them and ask. They know their stuff and this is their full time business, not a side hustle. We will definitely plan another activity with them next time we're in Milbridge!”

If you have also enjoyed MOS programming, we invite you to take the Ondich family’s lead and review us online, too!

 

Biomimicry:

Out the window and across the road of the MOS office at 293 North Main Street in Milbridge, there sits a low place swaddled in alders which look a bit worse for wear as the nights draw colder and the days shorter. Amidst the shabby scrub is a single red maple defiantly blazing vivacious crimson as a child might have one last dance break before bedtime. While this color is more about reallocating nutrients and changing the spectrum of light the leaves can receive as the days shorten, it is nonetheless a vivid reminder that for the majority of northern plants, we are entering into a time of the year that is for rest and rejuvenation. So critical is this restorative timing that some northern trees will simply decline and die if brought indoors and robbed of their winter dormancy. This phenomenon is quite familiar to the bonsai artist, whose craft of shaping trees must abide by this cycle in order to maintain the health and well-being of their trees. This phenomenon is less familiar, however, in our modern western work schedules.

So this month, you can take a leaf from the book of a red maple tree and remember to take time for rest amid the hustle and bustle of modern life.

 

Resilience Tip:
Among the benefits of forest bathing are relaxation, less stress, connections with nature, and insights to take home. (Learn more about what forest bathing is all about here)

 

What's Upstream: 

Here’s a sampling of just a few of our upcoming programs:

  • Beals Pre-K-4th grade are exploring tidepools and the forest at their town park this month

  • Cherryfield Fall Festival: Swing by Cherryfield Academy from 11-2 on October 19th to play a nature-exploration game with us and win a prize!

  • Frenchman Bay Conservancy: We’ve been contracted to design a program that their staff can lead when school groups visit their Tidal Falls Preserve, as well as provide a couple of family group hikes on their preserves and a series of “Muddy Mondays” for a local school.

  • Island Institute: Students from many Maine islands will explore and learn from the easternmost point of the USA with us

Stay tuned for our regular posts on our News section of the MOS website about our Forest Fridays at Jonesport Elementary, Thursday Forays at Milbridge Elementary, and Woods Wednesdays at Harrington Elementary! Our social media sites are also great places to get even more regular updates.

All MOS programs are fully customizable and suit learners of any age. Visit our website or contact us to learn more.

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ISSUE #11

The Outdoor Insider

MAINE OUTDOOR SCHOOL'S QUARTERLY E-NEWSLETTER

ISSUE #11
JULY 2019

 

Maine Outdoor School exists because we believe that personal and community resilience in rural Maine is essential to the resilience of society as a whole. We believe that resilient, flourishing communities are rooted in the careful study of our history and natural surroundings by lifelong learners of all ages, backgrounds, and occupations.

New MOS Bumpah Stickahs

Building a Living Willow Shelter in Jonesport

Great Wass Trash Cleanup

Fly-tying at the Dorcas Library

Co-Founders' Note:

Since MOS is so attuned to the school year, summer has actually allowed for a bit of reflection and catching up on paperwork, which actually feels great! This past quarter has probably been MOS’s most exciting quarter yet. We led a lot of programs for nearly 600 people from Pre-K through adulthood (see Tracks below for details) and launched some new offerings, including:

  • MOS “bumpah stickahs,” available for $5 each and support MOS programming. Please check out our new “MOS Swag” page to order yours! It makes a big difference to get our name and logo out and about so new people learn about us and others are reminded about us.

  • Guided Experiences: Hazel and Joe are Registered Maine Guides, offering educational paddling adventures on inland waters, hiking, “Knit & Summits," and fishing. Check out our new Guided Experiences page for more information and our feature on Back 40 Adventures about our "Crepuscular Crawl."

  • Nurture in Nature: Outdoor Childcare Services This is just one more way we're diversifying to get more people outside and curious about the world around them.


The other fun highlights of this past quarter included being featured in The Ellsworth American (here) and in this article in Maine Terrain. Both illustrate a bit of the MOS story, our goals, and experiences so far.

Enjoy these long, warmer days!

~Hazel and Joe

 

Tracks:

  • Microadventure-focused teacher workshop in Jonesport

  • Built a living willow shelter with Jonesport 2nd Graders

  • Led fly-tying workshops with Downeast Salmon Federation in Grand Lake Stream, at the Smelt Fry in Columbia Falls, the Dorcas Library, Cohill's Inn in Lubec, and schools in Beals, Cherryfield, and Ellsworth

  • 5th grade student-designed Milbridge Thursday Forays

  • 3rd grade radio project during Milbridge Thursday Forays

  • “Nature’s Numbers” Forest Fridays with Jonesport Grades 1 and 2

  • Harrington Whole School Programs

  • "Who lives here?" Forest Fridays with Jonesport Grade 3

  • Allegany Nature Pilgrimage Workshops and Presentation

  • Great Wass Trash Clean-Up with Beals Grades 5-8 and Volunteers

 

Donna Kausen with her boat full of trash! Photo courtesy of Jon Keller.

Community Commendations:

Donna Kausen with her boat full of trash! Photo courtesy of Jon Keller.

Organizing a shore clean-up requires considerable logistics. It’s one thing to get a school group to collect the trash within the confines of a school day, it’s another to go back and do some further consolidation and bagging, and it’s yet another to figure out a way to get all that trash off the shore--a nearly impossible task for even a group of eager hikers to accomplish. We needed a boat to load up the trash at high tide.

This quarter, our Community Commendation goes to super-volunteer Donna Kausen, who not only captained her boat to the different trash caches along the shores of Great Wass Island, but also got four other people and one other boat to help with the job! Thanks to Donna for her incredible help wrapping up this project with us!

 

Groundhog. Photo Courtesy of Ettore Ballochi.

Biomimicry:

Groundhog. Photo Courtesy of Ettore Ballochi.

Summer, with its long days matched with all its outdoor recreation opportunities, gardening and lawn chores, and normal day-to-day responsibilities of work and domestic life, always feels like a whirlwind. Put in the wise words of Bilbo Baggins, I often find myself feeling “thin, sort of stretched, like butter spread over too much bread.”

Recently I took a momentary break from checking off items from my to-do list to enjoy the juicy ripeness of a fresh peach. I preemptively went over to the kitchen sink knowing full well that I would have peach juice dripping down my face. After a large, satisfying, and completely messy bite I stood there appreciating the fruit and looked out over the hawkweed that dotted the yard to find that I was being watched by a rotund rodent--a woodchuck. While I have no idea what, if anything, was going through this woodchuck’s mind, it certainly was soaking up the late morning sun as it grazed on clovers and dandelion leaves. It made its way from plant to plant in a relaxed fashion while still pausing vigilantly between mouthfuls to scan for predators. The ‘chuck seemed relaxed, mindful, and present in the season’s bounty.

So this quarter, you could take a note from the woodchuck’s playbook: be present, mindful, and relaxed as you try to make the most of the summer.

 

Resilience Tip: 
People who spend more time in natural environments as children have better mental health outcomes in adulthood.
(Learn more in Psychology Today here.)

 

What's Upstream: 

First off, we’ll be teaching teens about nutrient cycling and its relationship to agriculture as a small part of a Healthy Acadia program.

We'll also be sprinkling in some guided trips and planning for the school year, which will be here before we know it! Our school year calendar is getting busier by the moment, so if you’re hoping for a MOS program this fall, please reach out to get it scheduled ASAP!

We also hope to be fulfilling more bumpah stickah orders (wink, wink)!

All MOS programs are fully customizable and suit learners of any age. Visit our website our contact us to learn more.

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ISSUE #10

The Outdoor Insider

MAINE OUTDOOR SCHOOL'S QUARTERLY E-NEWSLETTER

ISSUE #10
APRIL 2019

 

Maine Outdoor School exists because we believe that personal and community resilience in rural Maine is essential to the resilience of society as a whole. We believe that resilient, flourishing communities are rooted in the careful study of our history and natural surroundings by lifelong learners of all ages, backgrounds, and occupations.

Knit & Sip koozie from Fogtown Brewing event

Jonesport 6th-8th-graders building leadership skills

Milbridge 5th & 3rd grader building an animal shelter together

Cherryfield Elementary students tying flies with Joe

Co-Founders' Note:

Just two weeks ago we were graced with warm weather that encouraged short sleeves, sunkissed faces, and crocuses opening. The very next day we woke up to inches upon inches of fluffy white snow which continued to fall for the next few days. Despite the minor flips and flops of weather as the seasons progress, it is now undoubtedly spring. As we watch our local poplar buds swell with life and watch ducks return in numbers to our Downeast waters, we are filled with the anticipation of a landscape waking up all around us. 

Though MOS certainly hasn’t been sleeping though this winter of Forest Fridays, Thursday Forays, Knit & Sips, and Fly-Tying workshops, we have been sensing the uptick of program interest and opportunity from our community. Perhaps you, the reader, represent one of those organizations who has recently reached out to us with a program inquiry. If so, thank you. If not, you should reach out--we look forward to collaborating with your organization.

~Hazel and Joe

 

Tracks by Numbers:

  • Fly-Tying Workshops: 288 participants x 1.5hrs per workshop = 432 participant hours

  • Knit and Sips: 38 participants x 3hrs per workshop =114 participant hours

  • Forest Fridays: 47 participants x 1hr per session x 6 sessions = 282 participant hours

  • Thursday Forays: 27 participants x 1hr per session x 7 sessions = 189 participant hours

That’s a total of 1,017 participant hours of hands-on, outdoor, and resilience-focused learning! Put another way, that’s just over 127 eight-hour days of learning put together!

 

Community Commendations:

It takes a lot of work and vision to lead an organization, but it takes selflessness and courage to pull together the different players in your community so that efforts are synchronized and collaborative. So this quarter, we honor Pammy Dyer-Stewartof the Women’s Health Resource Library in Milbridge and Wendy Harrington of the Maine Seacoast Mission’s Downeast Campus. Pammy and Wendy brought together a group of representatives of local organizations with social and educational missions because they knew that all of our organizational impacts would be increased if we were all in regular communication, promoting each other's work, and working together when it makes sense to do so. So thank you Pammy and Wendy for your work to enhance our community’s efforts through collaboration! We look forward to being part of this group into the future.

 

Paddling the Machias River in early May. Photo courtesy of H. Stark.

Biomimicry:

Paddling the Machias River in early May. Photo courtesy of H. Stark.

With spring upon us, Downeast waterways have finally broken free of most of their ice. The run of smelts from the bays and estuaries into our rivers is already underway and soon will be the runs of salmon and river herring, like alewives, blueback herring, and shad. All these fish rely on cool, oxygenated water to survive, but in order to go on their spawning run and ensure future generations of fish, they require ecosystem connectivity. They need the oceans to be freely connected to their estuaries, they need estuaries to be freely connected to rivers, and they need the length of those river and lake systems to be free of obstruction so they can move up and down as they have done since the dawn of time. 

Similarly, a high functioning human community relies on having high social connectivity in the form of open channels of communication and an adequate support network of family, friends, and community members. This interconnection between all people in a community is what gives it inherent strength and resilience. Only when these connections open can we charge unencumbered upstream from the oceans of childhood into the estuaries of adolescence and eventually the whitewater rivers of adulthood.

 

Resilience Tip: 
A 3-day weekend in a forest can increase the number of cells that protect you from disease by 50%. Those cell numbers are still elevated by 25% 30 days afterwards. (Learn more about the importance of nature time in this Hidden Brain episode here.)

 

What's Upstream: 

In addition to our continued Thursday Forays in Milbridge and Forest Fridays in Jonesport, we are in the midst of a 2-part series where Jonesport 2nd-graders are working towards building a living willow shelter. Stay tuned to our News page and social media to learn about that exciting “Someday” project funded by Transforming Rural Experience in Education (TREE). We'll also be taking all Harrington Elementary students outside this spring and lead Beals Elementary 5th-8th graders on a trail clean-up hike.

We were invited to present and lead workshops at the Allegany Nature Pilgrimage  in New York from May 31st-June 2nd. Join us as we nerd out with fellow naturalists from around the country about all the plants and critters around us. You could even attend our geology, phenology, or observation-focused workshops and talks!

On June 13th (stay tuned for exact time) we will be at Cohills Inn in Lubec withDowneast Salmon Federation where we will be leading a fly-tying workshop at a friend-raising event there. Stay tuned on our Events page for other community events.

And speaking of summer, did you know that MOS Co-Founder Hazel is a Registered Maine Guide? Whether you’re a year-rounder in Downeast Maine or a summer visitor, consider a guided exploration of the Maine outdoors with Hazel.  All MOS programs are fully customizable and suit learners of any age. Visit our website or contact us to learn more.

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ISSUE #9

The Outdoor Insider

MAINE OUTDOOR SCHOOL'S QUARTERLY E-NEWSLETTER

ISSUE #9
JANUARY 2019

 

Maine Outdoor School exists because we believe that personal and community resilience in rural Maine is essential to the resilience of society as a whole. We believe that resilient, flourishing communities are rooted in the careful study of our history and natural surroundings by lifelong learners of all ages, backgrounds, and occupations.

Jonesport student matching colors to nature

Fishing fly

Milbridge 3rd-grader's drawing of a red-breasted merganser

Jonesport student observing a snowshoe hare track

Co-Founders' Note:

While the days are officially getting longer, winter is just settling in. If you’re like us, however, this time of year is one of celebration and reflection on the past year. 2018 began with a series of outdoor after-school programs in the area and ended with immersive outdoor programming during the school day. But we aren’t just bound by the confines of school campuses, we also...

  • Presented a guest lecture on entrepreneurship at Washington County Community College

  • Led professional development to prepare teachers to take students outdoors in Jonesport

  • Taught fly-tying workshops

  • Took students to various preserves for field trips

  • Designed and delivered bilingual programs for area youth

““Maine Outdoor School provides students a chance to get hands-on experience with nature. It provided our students with activities to help them better understand the natural world in Maine and their environment downeast.”

— George Crawford, Grades 5-8 teacher at Beals Elementary School, October 2018

Collaboration makes communities strong and we couldn’t have done all this without our strong partners at Downeast Salmon Federation,Cobscook Community Learning Center, and Mano en Mano, to name a few.  Overall, we reached well over 500 students across Washington and Hancock Counties this year, many of whom experienced multiple programs with us, deepening the quality of our impact. We are looking forward to an even busier 2019 full of outdoor exploration, learning, and hands-on fun. We hope to see you out there! 

~Hazel and Joe

 

Tracks:

  • Led fly-tying workshops in collaboration with Downeast Salmon Federation at pubs, libraries, community centers, and schools

  • Led Weekly “Thursday Forays” in Milbridge

  • Led Weekly “Forest Fridays” for Grades 4 and 5 and Pre-K and Kindergarten at Jonesport Elementary

 

Community Commendations:

Typically we devote this section to the  humans we’ve worked with in the past quarter that make this community wonderful. There are times, however, when those outstanding members of our greater ecological community are in fact other species or even non-living things, or "abiotic factors,” as some scientists call them. 

Ice is one such abiotic factor that really pulled its weight over the past quarter to add levity and restorative fun to our community. We have experienced deep freezes paired with gentle thaws over the past few months, making our local ponds, lakes, and streams freeze. Of course these newly frozen waterways make it easier for our four-footed friends to trek across the landscape, but it also gives us humans a chance to skate, play hockey, go ice fishing, free ourselves from the wants and worries of modern day life, and let us play innocently and childlike with goofy grins accentuated by rosy cheeks. So thank you cold, thank you ice, and thank you nature for always being there for us in times of need for recreation, restoration, and relaxation. 

 

Biomimicry:

Because winters in northern climates are tough no matter who you are, there is a huge variety of adaptations that different species use to endure winter. Of course, if a species is sufficiently mobile, the most effective winter survival adaptation may be the ability to migrate in order to dodge northern winters altogether. But there are many species that remain year-round residents, regardless of winter. I celebrate the first sticking snow of the season by running in the snow barefoot for a few short seconds. While usually a snowstorm encourages most creatures to hunker down, there I am full of cold-induced energy prancing around in the falling snow full of anticipation for the exciting new nature observations and adventures possible due to the arrival of snow. Over the years, alongside my enthusiastic footprints in the snow have often been the tracks of one other species that seems to similarly revel in snowfall: the ermine, or short-tailed weasel. They move and eat, move and eat, and repeat.

So the next time you’re outside and feeling chilly, you can take a tip from the ermine by staying moving and eating regularly—even just a quick snack will allow your body to metabolize that energy into a little more warmth.

This edition of Biomimicry includes an excerpt from Episode 055 of Hazel and Joe's radio show, The Nature of Phenology, airing 1/26/19 on WERU-FM at 8:30am EST.

 

Resilience Tip: 
More doctors are prescribing nature time due to its ability to decrease stress, improve cognitive abilities and blood pressure, and more. 
(Read more here.)

 

What's Upstream: 

In this next quarter, we’ll be continuing our Thursday Forays with Milbridge Elementary’s 3rd and 5th-graders as well as our Forest Fridays at Jonesport Elementary. We will also be continuing to offer free fly-tying workshops in schools and community centers in collaboration with Downeast Salmon Federation. If you want to host one of these workshops, email Joseph@maineoutdoorschool.org for more information. Check out our Events page for the next workshop near you.

In our other efforts towards outdoor-based resilience education, we will also be offering a knitting workshop in collaboration with Fogtown Brewing Company in Ellsworth on 1/31/19. Using natural materials and 100% wool yarn, participants will learn how to knit their very own beverage “koozie” and will go home with a pair of MOS-made knitting needles. The workshop cost is $25, which covers the cost of yarn, needles, and instruction, and pre-registration is required. There’s already a waitlist, but don’t hesitate to sign up in case of cancellations or if we schedule another one!

Does all this exciting outdoor programming get you itching to experience it yourself? We still have some space on the calendar for more programs! Our programs are fully customizable and suit learners of any age. Visit our website or contact us to learn more.

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ISSUE #8

The Outdoor Insider

MAINE OUTDOOR SCHOOL'S QUARTERLY E-NEWSLETTER

ISSUE #8
OCTOBER 2018

 

Maine Outdoor School exists because we believe that personal and community resilience in rural Maine is essential to the resilience of society as a whole. We believe that resilient, flourishing communities are rooted in the careful study of our history and natural surroundings by lifelong learners of all ages, backgrounds, and occupations.

Milbridge students creating their own field guides during “Thursday Forays”

A hand-tied fly by Joe Horn

Fly-tying workshop participants’ hand-tied flies

Co-Founders' Note:

As summer slumped into fall, nights cooled off, and leaves transitioned from green to a whole array of golds, oranges, and reds in preparation for their winter dormancy. MOS, however, has been anything but dormant. We have been charging into this new school year with programs across the whole Downeast region for learners of all ages: from Pre-K  straight through to our elders. As always, we could not do this good work without the intrepid partners that make so much of this work possible. See the “Tracks” section below and click on the links to read about our latest programs.

We also want to convey two particular thank-you’s from this last quarter. First, thanks to those of you who filled out our survey to give us feedback about this very e-newsletter. We heard that the majority of you liked it as is, so we haven’t changed much! However, we will be making our e-newsletters available on our website soon, per your request. Second, thanks to reporter Aislinn Sarnacki of the Bangor Daily News for meeting with us and writing an amazing article about Maine Outdoor School, which is available online here and was in print on 10/5/18. That article represented our first official press and we think she did a great job!

Stay warm and get outside during this stunning season,

~Hazel and Joe

 

Tracks:

  • Fly-tying workshop for Cobscook Community Learning Center's River Camp

  • Several fly-tying workshops in collaboration with Downeast Salmon Federation

  • Weekly “Thursday Forays” in Milbridge

  • Weekly “Forest Fridays” in Jonesport

  • Beals Grades 1-8 Students Hiked at the Ingersoll Point Preserve

  • Beals Pre-K and K explored their local ecosystem

  • We presented at the Island Teacher’s Conference on building resilience through outdoor education

 

Community Commendations:

This month’s Community Commendation goes out to all the folks at at the Cobscook Community Learning Center’s Transforming Rural Experience in Education (TREE)program. These educational visionaries have worked tirelessly to increase opportunities for students in rural Maine and we feel lucky that they have invited MOS to take part in their work through our weekly programs at Jonesport and Milbridge Elementary Schools. Learn more about TREE here.

 

Biomimicry:

Walking out to my garden the other morning, I found sitting under a crabapple tree the most impressively voluminous pile of bear scat I think I have ever seen. So I got a bit closer and saw that the hefty heap was loaded with apple skins and seeds! So I looked around for the bounty of apples that once graced the grassy patch under the tree and instead found yet another tremendous pile of scat even bigger than the last! 

In the depths of this fall ripeness you may consider being like the bear and making the most of our autumnal bounty. Go pick some apples or cranberries, gather mushrooms, can the very last of your garden’s spoils, or even finish stacking this year’s firewood.

 

Resilience Tip: 
“Just five minutes of green [outdoor] exercise results in improvements in self-esteem and mood.” 
(Read more about the benefits of heading outside in this Harvard Medical School article.)

 

What's Upstream: 

For this next quarter, we will continue providing weekly outdoor programs at Jonesport and Milbridge Elementary Schools in collaboration with TREE. Jonesport Pre-K and Kindergartners will experience one hour of outdoor school per week for five weeks starting in late October, then the 8th-graders will experience that same schedule. Milbridge 3rd and 5th-graders will continue to experience an hour per week each through our “Thursday Forays.” 

Additionally, we will continue to offer free fly-tying workshops across Hancock and Washington Counties. Visit our Events page or our Facebook page to learn about the next free workshop near you. Are you interested in having a fly-tying workshop at your school, community center, or local business? Please reach out to Joe at joseph@maineoutdoorschool.org to learn more.

Does all this exciting outdoor programming get you itching to experience it yourself? We still have some space on the calendar for more programs! Our programs are fully customizable and suit learners of any age. We can even help you write grants to help you fund our programs. Visit our website or contact us to learn more.

To stay in touch with us and receive more frequent updates, follow us on social media (links below).

Support Maine Outdoor School