POWNAL — A five-week summer program in Auburn is helping multilingual learners strengthen their English skills while building connections to the Maine outdoors.

On Thursday, three educators and a dozen high school students traveled to Bradbury Mountain State Park in Pownal to squeeze in their third field trip before a thunderstorm and heavy rain rolled in. There, they hiked to the peak of the mountain, stopping every tenth of a mile to make observations about the trees and landscape around them.

The purpose of the summer program is to give English language learners extra class time to build their academic vocabulary, and practice math and literacy skills. But this year, teachers have crafted the curriculum around outdoor education.

Students have practiced outdoor survival skills, like navigation and building fires, in the summer program. They’ve also learned the words needed to talk about trees, animals and the natural environment.

“We’re trying to give kids the opportunity to learn to love being outside,” said Alice Crawford, a teacher.

Students in the program hail from Angola, Afghanistan, Vietnam and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, she said, adding that most arrived in Maine within the last six months.

Auburn educational technician and Maine Guide Kevin Frost said teachers aimed to make the program feel a little more like summer camp, rather than school. The coursework for each week is centered around a field trip.

The group has already visited Mt. Apatite and the Maine Wildlife Park this summer. Next week, teachers are planning to bring students to Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park in Freeport.

“Even though it’s outdoors, we’re still incorporating reading, writing and math,” Frost said. “That’s important.”

Summer school teacher Tiffany Whiting said she believes the program’s strength is teaching students useful skills in a fun way. She believes the program helps build teamwork skills among the students and that getting outside is a positive boost for their mental health.

Rising sophomore Isabel Lusano said she has enjoyed the program, adding that she’s had fun with the field trips and has made friends with other students in the program.

Her favorite unit was wilderness survival. Lusano said she learned to always bring a first aid kit when heading into the forest, and if she ever gets lost, to make sure she’s visible from the sky.

“Being outside is fun,” the Angola native said. “It’s important to learn about animals, plants, trees, things like that.”

Lusano said she sees more animals in the United States, something she likes. Her favorite animals are dogs, she said.

“It’s rare to find an animal in Angola,” she said.

Yones Malekzada, a 10th grader from Afghanistan, said he’s enjoyed hiking and has learned leadership skills in the summer program.

His family has been in the U.S. for nearly two years, but his father, who spent nine years working for the U.S. in Afghanistan, has struggled to find a job, mainly because he doesn’t understand English well, Malekzada said.

Seeing his father’s struggles has helped motivate him to learn English well, he said. He believes that the U.S. government should create a program to help people like his father find employment.

Ultimately, Frost said he hopes the program helps introduce students to the Maine outdoors and then help give them the confidence to seek it out themselves. He hopes that this program is just the start for incorporating more outdoor education into the Auburn school district’s school programming.

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