On a cold and rainy Saturday at the end of May, approximately 100 educators gathered at Gilsland Farm Audubon Center in Falmouth to participate in a daylong professional development workshop program. The Phenology Summit: Being with the Seasons was held in partnership with Portland Arts and Technology High School (PATHS), the recipient of the Climate Education Professional Development grant from the Maine Department of Education.
We are living during times when the world is changing fast and our relationship with the natural world is being severed, especially amongst youth. The Phenology Summit: Being with the Seasons was an invitation to do just that—to be with nature with all of our senses, and to bring new tools to classrooms that connect students more deeply with the natural world around them. Phenology is the study of the seasonal and cyclical changes in plants and animals. By noticing and tracking these changes, as well as attuning students to what’s happening in the natural world, we can begin to understand the impact of climate change, as well as anticipate, address, and prepare for the future.
The summit was the culmination of a year-long exploration of phenology with the Outdoor Leadership and Education Program at PATHS, and the creation of teaching materials. Throughout the academic year, Maine Audubon educators visited PATHS each month, engaging high school students in practices such as nature journaling and visiting sit spots. Together, we read from Naturally Curious (a phenology book by Mary Holland), and noticed and collected information about the seasonal shifts and processes happening in their schoolyard. Students also met with experts who led deep dives into seasonal phenomena such as birds and bird migration, woodchucks and hibernation, the life cycle of plants and winter seed sowing, wildlife and their strategies for surviving winter, maple trees and maple sugaring as an indigenous practice, and vernal pools and the breeding of amphibians.
The summit attracted kindergarten through twelfth grade teachers predominantly from schools across Cumberland County, but teachers from as far as Washington County also joined for the day, as did informal educators.
In the morning, teachers congregated in our new Ann and Jim Hancock Native Plants Education Center, which opened just days before the summit.
Katie West, the head of the inaugural Outdoor Leadership and Education program at PATHS, welcomed everyone, and affirmed our common commitment to connect youth with science and nature.
Attendees also heard from Keri Kaczor of UMaine’s Signs of the Seasons and Mihku Paul, Wolastoqiyik educator and artist. Mihku consulted on the grant and shared about how Indigenous Knowledge (IK) and language are derived from being in relationship with nature. Etuaptmumk or “Two-Eyed Seeing” emphasizes the importance of marrying western science and IK as the way of most effectively engaging youth in conversations around climate change. The more connected we are, the more empowered we become.
Attendees circulated between morning workshops, building practical skills for keeping a phenology calendar, how to safely and effectively teach students outdoors, opportunities for integrating Wabanaki Studies, and classroom activities for tracking phenology, collecting data, and participating in community science.
In the workshop entitled Nature Journaling and Keeping a Phenology Calendar, Katie West introduced a new tool that was created with funding from the grant. Working with illustrator Zoe Ciolfi, we designed and developed a communal Gregorian calendar to be hung on the walls of schools, classrooms, and nature centers, that encourages students to notice what’s happening outside during the different seasons and provides a space to record their observations.
As a companion, a circular calendar was developed with the help of Mihku Paul to represent the indigenous worldview, in which time is not linear and natural events are used as cues for survival and sustenance. For example, Shadbush blooming in May is an indicator that migratory fish such as shad, alewives, and salmon, are returning to their spawning ground.
In the afternoon, after the rain and wind had subsided, teachers had their choice of an adventure. Activities included a bird or native plants walk, looking for frogs and macroinvertebrates down at the pond, and nature journaling and poetry. After a morning of thinking deeply about how to connect youth with nature, teachers had the opportunity themselves to explore, be curious and ask questions of experts, and find joy and awe with colleagues.
We are truly thankful for the community of dedicated educators who joined us, and to everyone who supported the summit. Thank you!
Ponding with Greg LeClair
