On Thursday, May 30, staff at Spruce Mountain Elementary School shared information with Maine Department of Education Office of Innovation officials about its outdoor education project and the impact it is making for staff and students.
In the fall of 2022 the school was awarded a $100,000 Rethink Respond Educational Ventures [RREV] grant to build a greenhouse with outdoor classroom space and hire a coordinator for outdoor learning opportunities. Teachers Sarah Dyer, Tammy Deering and Jennifer Stone began working on the grant that spring after Dyer learned of the funding through an email sent to an educators list by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
In December 2022, the fourth grade class was awarded two $1,500 grants from the Maine Environmental Education Association to support the outdoor education program, Principal Pat St. Clair reported during a board of directors meeting. Funds will buy snowshoes, ski pants, anything needed, he noted. An extension was also granted for the $100,000 RREV grant to build the greenhouse/outdoor classroom space, so the school has two years to spend grant funds, he stated. A $1,400 check from the Hannaford Helps program would also support the outdoor education program, he added.
Dyer, Deering, Stone and St. Clair met with Elaine Bartley, RREV project director; Helene Adams, RREV lead coach and Nick Runco, RREV team coordinator to share updates and additions to the greenhouse project. Efforts have been made to integrate with the middle and high schools, Dyer noted.
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