BATH
Bath Middle School has been named the Maine Environmental Education Association 2016 School of the Year.
“We’re both surprised and very honored to be recognized for the work. We take great pride in the community based environmental work that we do, so being recognized for that is a great achievement for the school and the staff and students here,” said school principal Brandon Ward.
MEEA was founded in 1982 as an organization thats furthers environmental education among Maine schools, individuals and groups. The organization gives a number of awards annually.
The email from MEEA congratulating Bath Middle School for the award notes that the school’s partnerships with environmental organizations like the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust is an effective way to engage students with environmental learning.
“Your partnership with organizations such as Chewonki, Kennebec Estuary Land Trust and The Ecology School are but a few examples of why Bath Middle School has been selected for this honor,” wrote MEEA Board Member and Award Committee Chairperson Alexandra Grindle. “Your good work stands as a role model for other schools in Maine to follow!”
Ward said that BMS has outdoor learning trips for all three grade levels, including a three day excursion to Ferry Beach Ecology School for 7th Grade and the four day Fundamental Learning on Water trip to Chewonki for 8th grade. The school also partners closely with KELT, who works directly with teachers to adapt outdoor, environment learning activities to their curriculum. One example of that partnership is KELT taking students to the Bath waterfront, where they chart sea level rise.
“During the course of the year, we follow an EL Education model, where we try to have students in the community doing important work that serves a purpose to the community. In our partnership with KELT, our 6th graders go out with representatives with KELT and they spend two half days charting sea level rise and learning how to use transits. Then they try to project what rise we’ve seen over the last number years, and what the Bath waterfront could look like in 10 or 20 years,” said Ward.
As an Expeditionary Learning school, BMS works to inspire and motivate students through engaging experiences.
“For us, working with Bath Middle School has been great because of their experiential learning focus,” said KELT Project Coordinator Ruth Indrick. “So we’re able to do programs that get kids outside. We’re able to do programs that get kids involved in their communities.”
“Anytime we can offer some sort of experience to bring the curriculum or textbooks to life outside is perfect,” added Executive Director Carrie Kinne.
The school will be recognized along with other individuals and organizations at an awards night hosted by MEEA in Falmouth on Jan. 25.
nstrout@timesrecord.com
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