Outdoor adventures for every child – Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust

Two free summer programs expand horizons for local schoolkids

Imagine a free, outdoor summer adventure program for kids that includes transportation, snacks and lunches. This summer, for the first time, local kids from the AOS 93 school district were invited to participate in just such a program, the result of a partnership between the school district and Coastal Rivers.

Free of charge thanks to grant funding, the programs took place three days a week from mid-July through mid-August. Participating schools included Great Salt Bay Community School, Jefferson Village School, Nobleboro Central School, and South Bristol Elementary School, which also hosted kids from Bristol while Bristol Consolidated School is undergoing construction.

students closely examining the trunk of a maple tree

Students at Jefferson Village School examine the trunk of a maple tree with Coastal Rivers naturalist Heather Hardy.

For kids entering kindergarten through 4th grade, the Summer School Enrichment Program took place outdoors at each school. As a warm-up to summer school academics, these younger grades played active games and explored with Coastal Rivers naturalists. They went on guided bird walks, played migratory hopscotch, caught and identified insects, read nature books, looked at mammal bones, learned to tell the difference between types of trees, made nature-focused drawings, built outdoor shelters, and played games.

students work on a project in the grass under a tree

Jefferson Village School students practice picking things up with different types of “beaks” while learning about birds.

For those entering fifth through eighth grade, Coastal Rivers offered a new Outdoor Adventures Enrichment Program at Plummer Point in South Bristol, where students enjoyed hiking the trails at Plummer Point and exploring the seashore. According to Coastal Rivers Education Director Sarah Gladu, the program had a three-part focus: problem solving skills, outdoor living skills, and outdoor careers.

The kids engaged in a number of group challenges, followed by a discussion of how it went: how the challenge was solved, how leadership skills unfolded during the activity, and how the group might meet future challenges more effectively.

students in a circle holding onto a thin rope

Students in the Outdoor Adventures Enrichment program at Plummer Point work through a group challenge.

Students practiced outdoor skills such as reading a map, using a compass, building a campfire, and cooking over a fire. They went kayaking with guides from Midcoast Kayak one afternoon each week. On one such outing, the group kayaked to Coastal Rivers’ nearby Stratton Island Preserve and hiked the mossy, forested trails around the island.

The kids also met with a variety of professionals whose careers take them outside regularly, including a Maine Forest Ranger, and an ecologist.

Lincoln Academy graduate Iris Pope, one of the program instructors, was enthusiastic about the enrichment program. “It’s fun for [the kids] to be in a familiar place and experience the nature that is right around their school,” she said. “[The program] does a good job of providing kids with educational opportunities that are engaging and, in many cases, new.”

Parents also appreciated the new program. “This is great for my kids, keeping them off the screens and getting them outside,” one parent said. “Plus, anyone can participate!”