SACO — The Ecology School received a generous $10,000 donation on May 5 from the Poland Spring plant in Hollis to support the delivery of hands-on, outdoor STEM education to all sixth- to eighth-grade students from Bonny Eagle Middle School.
This is the second of two donations The Ecology School received from Poland Spring in the past year; the first was for $12,000 from the Poland plant to support students in grades K to 6 who attend RSU 16 (Poland, Minot Mechanic Falls).
Poland Spring’s two donations will help provide programming for a combined 1,810 students from eight towns (Hollis, Standish, Limington, Buxton, Frye Island, Poland, Minot, and Mechanic Falls.)
Both Bonny Eagle and RSU 16 participate in EcoSySTEM, The Ecology School’s multi-year curriculum delivered through single day, outreach, and residential programs. In 2010, The Ecology School was awarded the “Natural Leader Award” by Poland Spring
“We have built a strong community partnership with Poland Spring. Over the past 16 years, Poland Spring has provided over $277,000 in funding that has resulted in more than 7,000 young people from the elementary schools of RSU 16 (Poland, Mechanic Falls, and Minot) and Bonny Eagle Middle (Buxton) being able to participate in our transformative outdoor ecology education.” said Drew Dumsch, Founder and Executive Director of The Ecology School.
The Ecology School is based in Saco and delivers experiential environmental education to 12,000 individuals each year with an emphasis on STEM, sustainability, and connecting local students to Maine’s abundant outdoor learning environments.
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