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By Hope Light
On July 17, several dozen community members gathered in Brownville, Maine, off of Iron Works Road, to learn about their Forestry Immersion Program, a collaborative project of Maine TREE and the Brewer School Department. This unique program empowers young adults by focusing on and strengthening their essential life skills, creating better opportunities for their future. It hones teamwork, communication, a strong work ethic, and problem-solving abilities, skills that are not new but are crucial for success in any field. The program aims to explore and deepen these skills through unique careers and forest exploration, opening up new life opportunities.
Over the six weeks, participants immerse themselves in a unique learning environment, camping in the Maine woods four nights a week, visiting job sites, engaging in online academics, and going on hands-on discovery tours in the forest to learn and grow. This innovative approach to education allows the students to operate harvesting equipment, including a chainsaw, processor, and forwarder, at an active logging operation, contribute to construction projects, embark on day hikes in some of Maine’s most iconic woodlands, and collect forest inventory data through the Forest Ecology Research Network Program. Participants can earn up to two credits toward high school graduation while gaining the tools and values necessary to become stewards of the Maine woods and influence others to do the same.
During their visit, guests observed students operating equipment and heard how the program has impacted their educational experiences. In its second year, the Forestry Immersion Program has continued to make a significant impact on students, their communities, and the forest products sector. In 2023, there were nine participants from Brewer High School, one of whom has since gained employment in the forest products sector. Building on the first year’s success, 17 students representing six schools, including two returning from last year, are participating this year. During their guest and media day, roughly one-quarter of participants said that their career plans had changed as a result of their participation, with most citing the desire to work in the logging industry.
“Ultimately, while the students learn about careers and programs in Maine’s forests, they are learning vital life skills: cooking, cleaning, general communication skills, and how to be in a work environment. Additionally, 4 of this year’s 17 participants learned to swim during this year’s Forestry Immersion Program,” said Logan Johnson, Executive Director of Maine TREE. This personal growth is a testament to the program’s impact and potential to shape these young adults into well-rounded individuals.
Despite the high temperatures, participants enthusiastically dawned all the required safety gear to lead demonstrations. Later in the morning, while some participants prepared lunch for their many guests, others led independently chosen demonstrations of skills they had learned in the first four weeks of the program. Students demonstrated tent-pitching and tree identification, explained the educational structure of the program, and discussed recreational opportunities in an area devoid of cell service and with minimal electricity. Participants reported that conflict between them had been minimal but that when it had come up, the teachers helped them talk through their issues, explaining that the day-end debriefs held in a circle around the campfire each night were a safe space to bring up anything and that some evenings these talks could last a couple of hours. When asked what their favorite part of the experience was, participants’ responses ranged from hand-felling trees to the many picturesque hikes they’d gone to operating machinery; one thing every student seemed to enjoy was their afternoon swims in Pleasant River. Their enthusiasm for the program is truly inspiring and bodes well for the future of forestry education. Cody shared a heartfelt poem he had written one weekend while he was home and missing being at the forestry immersion program, and Lilac played guitar for lingering guests as the day concluded.
The Forestry Immersion Program was the idea of Mark Savage, an educator for the previous four decades. Mark called Logan Johnson, executive director of Maine TREE, to help make the dream a reality. “It’s the best thing I’ve ever done, and I’ve been fortunate to do some pretty neat things in the last 40 years in education, but this exceeds anything I’ve ever done,” said Savage. He said his new dream is for this program to serve as a model for a year-round Forestry School. The first two years’ funding came from the governor’s emergency education relief fund through the Maine Department of Education through the Forest Stewardship and Career Pathways program. The current funding structure or source will run out this September. Maine TREE is urgently seeking funding for the program to run as it is currently structured for the future, for scaling the program statewide, and for creating long-term established school programs that promote forest-based and outdoor education. Community support is crucial in ensuring the continuity and expansion of this impactful program. You can help keep this program going by donating here!
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