For Maine Audubon educators, winter is one of our favorite times of the year to explore Maine wildlife and habitat with young people. Here in southern Maine, our youth programs include hosting field trips at Gilsland Farm Audubon Center, working with LearningWorks AfterSchool at Portland schools, running early education programs for little ones, and doing educator visits to schools.
This past December and January, Maine Audubon has worked with more than 300 youth! Program topics included animal adaptations and winter strategies, habitat investigations, and phenology and seasonal happenings.
Field Trips:
When visiting Gilsland Farm, all students spend time outside making discoveries. On the trails, groups search for evidence of wildlife, such as squirrel dreys and abandoned bird nests, turkey tracks, scat, burrows, and mole holes. Indoors, students examine artifacts from our taxidermy collection and discuss various adaptations. Programs are tailored to all ages.
After School Programs:
This school year, Maine Audubon has conducted weekly environmental education lessons for LearningWorks AfterSchool (LWAS) program at both Reiche Community School and East End Community School in Portland. LWAS “provides free, high-quality after-school and summer programs for students in grades Pre-K-5 who are academically performing below or partially below grade level and may not have the resources to access a paid after-school enrichment or tutoring program.” Activities for afterschool enrichment include tracking and winter scavenger hunts, playing games outside, studying wildlife mounts and pelts, and creating fun nature inspired crafts!
Early Childhood Programs:
Our Early Childhood Programs continued both onsite at Gilsland Farm and in schools throughout the community. Using developmentally appropriate songs and games, students learned about which animals sleep, migrate, and stay active in the winter. Our programs can take place either inside the classroom or outdoors, as pictured below in our visit to the Friend’s School of Portland Kindergarten class.
We also hosted several family programs at Gilsland Farm this winter, including Winter Family Fun (pictured above), a Winter Solstice Lantern Walk, and Winter Friday Free Plays. At each program, young children and their grown-ups are guided to explore the wildlife at Gilsland Farm. This year, we were lucky to have fresh snow for snowshoeing, tracking, and sensory play. Early Spring Family Fun will start up again on Wednesday, March 4. Details here >
School visits:
Maine Audubon educators visit schools as well! If you’re a classroom teacher who wants to add more hands-on education to a unit or conduct field work at your school, we can help provide programming to your school community. Learn more here >
