Maine Project Learning Tree coordinator Lena Ives (left) presents Anita Smith (right) the inaugural Anita Smith Stewardship Award With a small gathering of colleagues and friends, Anita Smith, retiring Project Learning Tree Steering Committee Chair, received the newly renamed Anita Smith Stewardship Award from Maine Project Learning Tree (PLT). The award was renamed to honor…
As highlighted in previous seedlings and OverSTORY articles, Maine TREE Programs and Outreach Coordinator Kelly French worked on a research investigation during the spring semester with the 6th-grade science class at Edna Drinkwater School in Northport. First, the students collected tree cores from trees found on their school’s campus. They then looked at the ring widths and local climate…
After three years of virtual meetings and webinars to fill the absence of in-person conferences, the national Sustainable Forest Initiative and Project Learning Tree hosted their annual conference in Madison, Wisconsin, in the middle of June. Every state in the United States and province in Canada has a Project Learning Tree coordinator responsible for connecting…
by Lindsay Strout – Wildlife Biology Teacher, Sanford High School I want to give a huge thank you to Maine TREE for helping fund Sanford High Schools’ Wildlife Biology field trip to the Maine Wildlife Park. Twenty-four of my students got to see all the animals that we’ve been studying all year long. From huge…
Since 2020, the Nature Based Education Consortium’s (NBEC) Climate Education (Advocacy Working Group has been committed to expanding the access to outdoor and environmental learning for all of Maine’s students. One of their early successes came in the inclusion of climate education in the Maine Climate Council Climate Action Plan. To create a state of…
With the continuous evolution of education pedagogy, Project Learning Tree (PLT) is consistently creating and revising curriculum for all ages of students to create captivating activities for students and educators. PLT’s newest addition, Trees & Me, was released this March contains hundreds of ideas for fun, easy-to-do, hands-on experiences to connect young children to nature,…
The past three school years have had an upending impact on students, teachers, and parents alike. From countless days spent virtually learning and learning to educate in a hands-off and distanced manner, all educators (formal and non-formal) and school staff deserve our utmost respect for their resilience and dedication to their craft. One of the…
This winter, a 6th-grade science class at Edna Drinkwater School (EDS) in Northport, ME, is diligently investigating the impacts of climate change on their school campus’ trees. Their research question is one that many academics and professional researchers still seek to answer, as many tree species respond very differently to disturbances and differences brought on…
Maine TREE is excited to welcome Lena Ives as its new director of education. This position is responsible for sustaining and expanding Maine TREE’s capacity to meet the needs of schools, teachers, parents, students, and other partner organizations for environmental education programs connected to Maine’s forests. Lena graduated from the University of Connecticut with a…
After completing a climate change unit, middle school students from Sedomocha and Piscataquis Secondary School were excited to see what they could do in their local communities. Appalachian Mountain Club’s (AMC) Director of Maine Conservation and Land Management, Steve Tatko, joined students for a day in the life of a Forester. Students explored their school’s…
