Courtesy photo

SACO, Maine – Over the course of September, The Ecology School has welcomed more than 200 seventh and eighth grade students from Amherst Middle School for five-day immersive, hands-on learning experience at its new River Bend Farm campus in Saco, Maine.

During their overnight stay at The Ecology School, students participated in at least six hours of outdoor, unplugged E-STEM (Environmental-Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) lessons a day. Divided into small teaching groups led by Ecology School educators, Amherst students explored ecosystems, observed patterns in the landscapes around them and witnessed natural processes such as cycles, change and disturbance at work in different ecosystems.

Beth Penney, a seventh grade Life Sciences teacher at Amherst Middle School, has chaperoned two of the Amherst groups this month, and even attended The Ecology School as a student herself. “Coming to The Ecology School as a kid was the best thing ever; I was a science kid, so I was in my element. I feel the same way when I come here now. The Ecology School builds community so well – the family style dining, the recreational time, and being outside pulls students out of their comfort zone, they learn a ton, they connect with people and their teachers on a different level. I wish all kids got to do it,” she shares.

Amherst Middle School and The Ecology School have been partnering for 24 years to provide students with this unique, experiential educational opportunity. Community engagement and collaborative living are essential components of The Ecology School experience – students stay in the 144-bed dormitory and enjoy family style meals, including farm-grown produce, in the Poland Spring Education and Dining Commons. Both of these buildings were designed and built to meet the Living Building Challenge, the most rigorous green building certification program in the world that ensures buildings give more than they take, creating a positive impact on the human and natural systems that interact with them.