Finding the wild, close to home
By Gillian Graham
Staff Writer
“The sun, the sun, ah ah, the sun,” students sang while pumping their hands toward the sky.
Walking out of the sun and into the woods, they sat on the ground, stretching their limbs to mimic the growth of a tree. Later, they nibbled on hemlock needles and learned how hard it is for trees to grow.
The group of Biddeford Intermediate School fifth-graders spent part of their day in the forest near Ferry Beach during an overnight stay at the Ferry Beach Ecology School last month. They are among the more than 65,000 children and adults who have visited the school since it was founded in 1998.
Executive Director Drew Dumsch said the Saco ecology school has worked with the Biddeford School Department off and on for several years. This year, the fifth-grade class was divided into groups so students could stay overnight at the school and take part in a variety of ecology lessons.
Dumsch said the Biddeford trip was largely funded by a $20,000 grant from the Samuel L. Cohen Foundation and a smaller scholarship from the ecology school. The intermediate school contributes about $10 per student, he said.
For Dumsch, hosting local students is welcomed and encouraged; currently, most visiting students are from out of state. He said the school would like to work more closely with other Saco Bay schools, including those in Saco, Old Orchard Beach and Scarborough. He said more than 5,000 students live within 20 minutes of the school. Local learning is important and grants can help schools fund trips to Ferry Beach, he said.
“This gives us a chance to work with kids in Saco Bay,” he said. “They step out of their classroom and they’re in this amazing setting. We’re using outdoor classrooms as a way to teach ecology.”
The nonprofit school’s mission is to “foster stewardship for the earth by teaching the science of ecology and the practice of sustainability.” Through overnight residential programs and day trips to schools, the staff makes learning ecology fun and memorable with costumes, skits, songs and dance, Dumsch said. The school is within walking distance of eight ecosystems, including the beach and dunes, tide pools, salt marshes, river estuary and forest.
Naturalist Harvey Garcia of the Philippines is teaching his first term at the ecology school. One of three international naturalists currently at the school, Garcia said he enjoys teaching students in a hands-on environment. He said lessons are given as a narrative to show how the beach is connected to the dunes, which are connected to the beach and so on.
“We try to tell a story of ecology,” said Garcia.
Students are enthusiastic about learning in a place where they spend the day outside – and sometimes night – exploring the world in which they live, Garcia said. The nighttime lesson that brings students to the woods and beach is the most rewarding as a teacher because students are often scared at first but later recall it as their favorite.
Garcia and the other naturalists work with about a dozen students at a time. They use a variety of skits and lessons to engage students and make the experience fun, he said.
“It’s like science Disneyland for them,” Garcia said. “You know they’re learning, you can see it in their eyes.”
The Biddeford students agree.
Jacob Pierce, 10, said the ecology school made science more fun to learn. He especially enjoyed the “really cool” night walk in the woods, a sentiment echoed by 10-year-old Curtis Forcier.
“It’s really fun that you get to stay overnight and go on a hike at night,” Forcier said.
Fortier, eating a breakfast of sausage, pancakes and cereal, said the most interesting thing he learned was that owls have an ear near their jaw and another on top of the head.
Jarred Stankiewicz said his entire experience at the school – from lessons on the beach to family-style meals in the dining hall – was “amazing.”
“We do a lot of fun activities like going to the beach and the forest at night,” he said. “It’s just amazing.”
For chaperone Michelle Chase, the trip was educational and fun. Walking through the forest with her daughter’s group, she said some students had never been in the woods before. She said she also picked up new information about local ecology along the way.
“I think it’s wonderful,” she said. “It’s a great learning opportunity for the kids.”
Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.
Staff Writer
“The sun, the sun, ah ah, the sun,” students sang while pumping their hands toward the sky.
Walking out of the sun and into the woods, they sat on the ground, stretching their limbs to mimic the growth of a tree. Later, they nibbled on hemlock needles and learned how hard it is for trees to grow.
The group of Biddeford Intermediate School fifth-graders spent part of their day in the forest near Ferry Beach during an overnight stay at the Ferry Beach Ecology School last month. They are among the more than 65,000 children and adults who have visited the school since it was founded in 1998.
Executive Director Drew Dumsch said the Saco ecology school has worked with the Biddeford School Department off and on for several years. This year, the fifth-grade class was divided into groups so students could stay overnight at the school and take part in a variety of ecology lessons.
Dumsch said the Biddeford trip was largely funded by a $20,000 grant from the Samuel L. Cohen Foundation and a smaller scholarship from the ecology school. The intermediate school contributes about $10 per student, he said.
For Dumsch, hosting local students is welcomed and encouraged; currently, most visiting students are from out of state. He said the school would like to work more closely with other Saco Bay schools, including those in Saco, Old Orchard Beach and Scarborough. He said more than 5,000 students live within 20 minutes of the school. Local learning is important and grants can help schools fund trips to Ferry Beach, he said.
“This gives us a chance to work with kids in Saco Bay,” he said. “They step out of their classroom and they’re in this amazing setting. We’re using outdoor classrooms as a way to teach ecology.”
The nonprofit school’s mission is to “foster stewardship for the earth by teaching the science of ecology and the practice of sustainability.” Through overnight residential programs and day trips to schools, the staff makes learning ecology fun and memorable with costumes, skits, songs and dance, Dumsch said. The school is within walking distance of eight ecosystems, including the beach and dunes, tide pools, salt marshes, river estuary and forest.
Naturalist Harvey Garcia of the Philippines is teaching his first term at the ecology school. One of three international naturalists currently at the school, Garcia said he enjoys teaching students in a hands-on environment. He said lessons are given as a narrative to show how the beach is connected to the dunes, which are connected to the beach and so on.
“We try to tell a story of ecology,” said Garcia.
Students are enthusiastic about learning in a place where they spend the day outside – and sometimes night – exploring the world in which they live, Garcia said. The nighttime lesson that brings students to the woods and beach is the most rewarding as a teacher because students are often scared at first but later recall it as their favorite.
Garcia and the other naturalists work with about a dozen students at a time. They use a variety of skits and lessons to engage students and make the experience fun, he said.
“It’s like science Disneyland for them,” Garcia said. “You know they’re learning, you can see it in their eyes.”
The Biddeford students agree.
Jacob Pierce, 10, said the ecology school made science more fun to learn. He especially enjoyed the “really cool” night walk in the woods, a sentiment echoed by 10-year-old Curtis Forcier.
“It’s really fun that you get to stay overnight and go on a hike at night,” Forcier said.
Fortier, eating a breakfast of sausage, pancakes and cereal, said the most interesting thing he learned was that owls have an ear near their jaw and another on top of the head.
Jarred Stankiewicz said his entire experience at the school – from lessons on the beach to family-style meals in the dining hall – was “amazing.”
“We do a lot of fun activities like going to the beach and the forest at night,” he said. “It’s just amazing.”
For chaperone Michelle Chase, the trip was educational and fun. Walking through the forest with her daughter’s group, she said some students had never been in the woods before. She said she also picked up new information about local ecology along the way.
“I think it’s wonderful,” she said. “It’s a great learning opportunity for the kids.”
Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.
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