Gilsland Farm Audubon Center in Falmouth, Saturday, May 30
For teachers and other educators in Cumberland County and beyond
Maine Audubon and Portland Arts & Technology High School (PATHS) will host a daylong, climate education professional development workshop funded by the Maine Department of Education for K-12 educators on Saturday, May 30, at Gilsland Farm Audubon Center in Falmouth.
“Being with the Seasons” introduces multi-disciplinary opportunities to observe, document, and celebrate phenology—the study of how plants and animals respond to seasonal changes. Maine Audubon has partnered with the outdoor education and leadership program at Portland Arts & Technology High School (PATHS) and countless science, humanities, and cultural experts to develop resources and models for K-12 classrooms and outdoor destinations immediately available to them throughout the school year.
Phenology Summit Sessions
Morning Workshops
Attendees will be able to attend two morning workshops, unless it’s a double session. Morning sessions are 1 hour each.
Keeping a Phenology Calendar through Observation and Nature Journaling
(Led by Portland Public School Environmental Literacy Teachers)
• Nature Journaling
Nature journaling invites us to slow down, pay attention, and build a relationship with the living world through observation, drawing, writing, and wonder. It transforms ordinary moments outdoors into opportunities for curiosity, scientific thinking, creativity, and connection. By returning to the same places over time, learners begin to notice patterns, seasonal shifts, and the subtle ecological changes.
• Phenology Calendars
A phenology calendar is a living record of the seasons — tracking first blooms, migrating birds, changing leaves, weather patterns, animal activity, and other signs of seasonal change. More than a calendar, it is a practice of noticing. Over time, these observations reveal the rhythms of place and help learners connect personal experience to larger ecological and climate systems.
Through being with the natural world together, we will explore creative ways to document seasonal change through sketches, felt experiences of weather, species sightings, poetry, and moments of wonder. Educators won’t just learn about phenology — they’ll begin to create their own calendars.
Nature’s Wheel: Tracking Phenology with Year-round Field and Classroom Activities
(Double session led by Keri Keczor from University of Maine’s Signs of the Seasons)
Explore hands-on, indoor and outdoor learning that builds deeper connections to the local environment. Phenology—the study of the timing of recurring life cycle events—documents nature’s calendar, from birds building nests to tree buds bursting and foliage changing color. Activities are appropriate for classrooms, school campuses, community parks, and just about any location. Educators will practice making phenology observations and leave with tools and knowledge to bring phenology to their schools and communities. Best for educators working with upper elementary, middle and upper school students.
KCICIHTOMUWAKON: Using IK and Western Science to Explore Natural Systems
(Led by Mihku Paul, Wolastoqiyik educator and artist)
“Two-Eyed Seeing” blends many centuries of indigenous knowledge (IK) with more recent approaches to understanding nature in western science frameworks brought by settlers. Waponahki language and world view convey phenology and other relationships which influence and enhance western methodologies of understanding natural history. This workshop will explore these connections in our schoolyards and communities, by visiting several common species of plants, an exercise involving the text Naturally Curious, and reviewing the content of Waponahki STEM posters.
Environmental Literacy Practices for Teaching Outside
(Led by Portland Public Schools Environmental Literacy Teachers)
In this fully-outside and experiential session, educators will learn about the 10 Core Environmental Literacy practices to help craft meaningful and interesting outdoor lessons for students of all ages. Through a series of activities, educators will experience first hand the basics of how to connect students with nature through simple practices such as nature walks, teamwork challenges, observations spots, weather recording and gathering pieces of nature respectfully. You will leave the session feeling more prepared to bring your lessons outside with tact, safety and a lot of fun!
Afternoon Activities
Attendees will be able to attend one afternoon activity.
Wandering with Birds: Come Learn the Basics of Birding
Experience Spring migration by taking a bird walk with a Maine Audubon Field Naturalist. Walk around Gilsland Farm, looking and listening for birds, and observing their seasonal behavior. Learn to identify birds in multiple habitats. Bring binoculars if you have them; otherwise they will be provided.
Maine Native Plants & Phenology Walk
Join Maine Audubon staff and Mihku Paul in visiting and exploring some common native plants. We’ll look at and identify some plants, explore some helpful resources, and discuss simple ways to enhance ecology in schoolyards and communities.
Happiness with Herps (Amphibians and Reptiles)
Head down to the pond and have fun looking for frogs, turtles, and macro-invertebrates. Greg LeClair, ecologist and environmental scientist will be there to help identify critters, as well as PATHS + Casco Bay High School student Diego Drozd. LeClair is also founder and President of Maine Big Night. Together, explore the pond ecosystem and learn about the adaptations of its wildlife, both aquatic and terrestrial.
Journaling Nature
Led by Samaa Abdurraquib, Executive Director of the Maine Humanities Council, participants will be invited to engage with the ecological world through observation, art, poetry, and open discussion. We will use our senses to drive our engagement, by listening to bird calls, observing nature-based art, reading nature poetry, and handling samples provided by the facilitator. Copies of poems and art by Aimee Nezhukumatathil and from Cascadia Field Guide: Art, Poetry, Ecology will be provided. Participants will also be given space and direction to practice nature journaling and poetry writing on their own.
The summit will take place between 8:30 am and 2:30 pm, and will include lunch, teaching resources, and $125 stipend for attendees.
If you’re an educator in Cumberland County, or know an educator(s) who would benefit from this experience, please share this information!
For more information about the Phenology Summit, please email jaffleckfitz@maineaudubon.org
Project Background & Past Content
On Saturday, May 30, Gilsland Farm Audubon Center in Falmouth will host 100 classroom teachers and other educators from throughout Cumberland County for a Phenology Summit, funded by a Climate Education Professional Development Grant from the Maine Department of Education. Maine Audubon helped advocate for climate education staffing, resources, and this state grant program as part of the “Maine Won’t Wait” Climate Action Plan.
Thanks to this funding, Maine Audubon has partnered with the Outdoor Education & Leadership program at Portland Arts & Technology High School and Wabanaki educators to develop resources, training, and activities which explore phenology as a climate indicator for millennia. PATHS educator and grant recipient Katie West is the lead instructor of the school’s inaugural Outdoor Education and Leadership program. As students learn wilderness skills and activities throughout the academic year, they also meet with Maine Audubon staff and partners to weave in experiences and information about phenology, or what’s happening in nature, each month. Phenology is often called “nature’s calendar,” as it tracks the specific time of year that natural events happen, including bud burst, migration, breeding, dormancy, and more.
Partner and Wolastoqey cultural knowledge sharer, Mihku Paul, who will also present at the summit, has helped incorporate indigenous knowledge and Wabanaki Studies themes which help shape and expand our perspective on science and integrate indigenous ways of knowing and being in nature.
In May, teachers will get stipends to participate in training and modeling activities, and receive new materials which will help their students use phenology to study climate in their own schoolyards and communities.
