works
in the watershed elementary and middle schools to bring nature
into the classroom and the classroom into nature. Through teacher
training, classroom mentoring and extracurricular activities, program
volunteers instill within students an ethic of stewardship for
the local environment. Recent and ongoing projects include a gardening
initiative, wetland restoration, nature trail renovation, tree
plantings, and seasonal cleanups at PWA preserves.
At Great Salt Bay School in Damariscotta,
Earthways volunteers have been leading a Maine Apprentice Gardener
Program. The program is being developed in a cooperative effort
with the University of Maine Extension Service. The course began
in 2002 as a pilot project to develop a curriculum for statewide
distribution. Ultimately, the curriculum will be incorporated in
the Extension’s Maine Apprentice Gardener Program.
Earthways received the Maria Pirie Program
Award for excellence in 2002 from the New England Environmental
Education Alliance and the Governor’s Award for Excellence
in 1998.
is
an extension of our environmental education program, giving local
young people an opportunity to increase their enjoyment and understanding
of the natural world, and helping them to become good future stewards
of the earth. Scholarships are typically awarded each year to help
students within the watershed enjoy a week at Tanglewood 4H Camp
in Lincolnville, Morris Farm Day Camp in Wiscasset and Wavus-By-Day
in Jefferson.
our Ted & Elsa
Hauschka Scholarship Fund and is supplemented by support from the
camps and from parents as they are able. Contributions are always
welcome. Call or e-mail for more information.
Clean Water Learning Activities Developed
 At the start of this year, Peter Arnold, Coordinator of the Pathways to a Sustainable Future Program at The Chewonki Foundation, invited PWA to contract with Chewonki to develop a curriculum to complement their newly published Clean Water Poster. The vision was to have hands-on learning activities that directly taught the messages on the poster. After 7 months of collaboration, the vision has come to fruition, and this new “kit” of teaching tools is now available online at
http://www.chewonki.org/pathways/pathways_cleanwater_poster.asp
The goal of the lessons is to promote awareness, apprecia-tion, understanding, and stewardship of water resources. The five activities included in this curriculum correspond to each of the five contextual areas highlighted on the Clean Water poster: Less Lawn, Green Buffers, Waste and Recycling, Energy Choices, and Transportation. Additionally, the activities
were designed around behavioral learning objectives to pro-mote critical thinking and problem-solving skills related to the pollution dimensions listed across the bottom of the poster (Sediment, Chemicals, Oxygen Depletion, Metals, Biological).
The lessons are geared towards upper-elementary-age through middle-school-age children in science classrooms and informal teaching contexts. They were developed and field-tested by Tenley Wilder, PWA Education Coordinator, and reviewed by midcoast Maine educators. Each lesson includes a Navigation Bar that outlines the target audience of the activity, the time frame needed to complete the activity, and suggestions for other complementary lessons to be conducted before or after the activity. These extension activities offer service-learning opportunities to integrate meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the
learning experience, teach civic responsibility, encourage lifelong civic engagement, and strengthen communities for the common good.
PWA extends gratitude to Peter Arnold and his Program Assistant, Brendan Kober, and project advisors, Tracy Harkins of KIDS Consor-tium and Christine Smith of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. The Pathways to a Sustainable Future poster series project was funded by Poland Spring Water Company in recognition of their continued interest in the health of our natural resources.
Top |
|
Watershed Kids Day Camp – Summer 2008
Looking for great hands-on learning experiences for your children this summer? Want to ward off Nature Deficit Disorder by getting them outdoors, exploring, and having fun? Get your young ones connected (or re-connected) with the land and the world around us with Pemaquid Watershed Association's Watershed Kids Nature Day Camp. There will be two 6-day sessions of day-camp in July, tailored by age group. The first session, July 7-12, is for children 6- to 9-years old, and the second session, July 14-19, is for children 10- to 12-years old. Camp runs from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. daily and costs only $175 per camper per 6-day session. A brochure for Watershed Kids 2008 can be downloaded here in pdf format (free reader from Foxit Software) – or call the office at 207-563-2196 to request one in the mail.
 PWA's camp is so exceptional that a past camper's parent described it as the 'best kept secret in Maine.” Why? Because not only is it affordable and each day full of healthy outdoor adventure and skill-building, hands-on nature activities led by adult experts who really care about teaching kids, but the camp itself is held at three very different ecological sites, literally immersing campers in the diversity of our local environment. Over the 6 days, campers explore the Pemaquid watershed, from forest to sea, starting at the upland woodland and lakeside site of Doyle Preserve on Pemaquid Pond in Damariscotta, then traveling to the coastal salt pond habitat of the Rachel Carson Salt Pond Preserve in New Harbor, and ending with Family Day at the seaside ecosystem of Pemaquid Beach. Parents are invited to join campers on the last day of camp when campers will present their new understanding of watersheds and their reflections on what it means to be a good environ-mental steward. Family Day activities will include a beach scavenger hunt, a crafting project, a visit to Beachcombers' Rest Nature Center, and will conclude with a graduation ceremony and picnic to be enjoyed by all. More information on Beachcombers' Rest Nature Center is available at the bottom of this article.
PWA camp programming has proven to both excite and motivate youth as they explore the great out-doors. Participants experience the wonders of the out-of-doors while playing non-competitive educa-tional games and learning about ecological con-cepts including predator-prey relationships, plant and animal adaptations, wildlife habitats, and how humans are a part of this amazing natural structure. In addition to daily hikes, pond experiments, insect catching, and enjoying musical concerts surrounded by nature, campers learn the art of tracking, design-ing t-shirts with “natural stamps”, making recycled paper imbedded with seeds to plant in their gardens, making dream catchers and more!
The Director of the camp is PWA's Education Co-ordinator, Tenley Wilder, who has a BA in Marine Environment, Economics and Politics from Kenyon College, Ohio, and worked closely with environ-mental education programs at Kenyon's Brown Family Environmental Center. Locally, she has assisted the Audubon Society with adult workshops and youth camp programs on Hog Island. She is excited to be returning for her second summer with Watershed Kids. Wilder is certified in CPR/First Aid and is as dedicated to camper safety as she is to fun and learning. “Last summer was such a blast! The smiles on each camper's face at the end of a busy day were delightfully infectious. Though exhausted, we all could hardly wait for what the following day would bring. I look forward to another year of having fun, making new friends and teaching our youth about the wonders and mysteries of our natural world,” Wilder said.
To help enable kids to take part in summer camp, PWA established the Hauschka Scholarship Fund, a fund named in honor of the family who spearheaded the grassroots origins of the PWA in 1966. To con-tribute to this fund, please mail your tax-deductible donation to PWA at PO Box 552 in Damariscotta, 04543. Contributions of any amount are welcomed for this special fund that is dedicated exclusively to making the summer camp experience a reality when it might not otherwise be possible.
Summer camp and other activities at the Doyle Preserve are made possible in part thanks to the generous support of The First. The PWA's office is located at 15 Courtyard Street, above the Damari-scotta Region Chamber of Commerce and behind Salt Bay Café. For more information on summer camp, call 207-563-2196 or email pwalearn@midcoast.com.
§ Tenley Wilder, Education Coordinator §
Information on Beachcombers' Rest Nature Center is available here.
Top
|
The PWA’s Earthways program