As schools across the nation adjust to the changes prompted by the pandemic, many have looked to outdoor education as a means of increasing student safety while enabling in-person learning. In our region, schools have developed outdoor classrooms and meeting spaces and many teachers are seeking ways to increase outdoor learning opportunities. The good news for students and educators alike is that the outdoors can be an incredibly effective learning environment. Countless studies now document the positive effects on children who learn outdoors. Benefits include stress reduction, mood improvement, increased concentration, and increased engagement at school. In an effort to support local schools and teachers, Boothbay Region Land Trust (BRLT) is pleased to introduce a nature kit loaning program now available to teachers and schools across the peninsula.

BRLT’s new educational kits provide four distinct focus areas for nature-based learning: birds, trees, mammals, and schoolyard ecology. Each kit contains suggested activities as well as a variety of equipment designed to provoke curiosity and interest, as well as to support hands-on observations in nature for up to 20 students. Kits are adaptable to a variety of ages, and teachers will have the flexibility to use the kits in varying ways that suit their curriculum and learning objectives. Each kit can be checked out for up to a week, free of charge, to all schools in the region. Upon return, all kits will be fully sanitized before becoming available for check out to another group.

"Providing teaching resources that support environmental education and foster an appreciation for our natural world is one of Boothbay Region Land Trust's priorities," notes Tracey Hall, BRLT's Environmental Educator. "We understand that this year school groups may find it difficult to coordinate field trips, which typically provide hands-on experiential learning. We wanted to offer schools the ability to turn the schoolyard into a field trip. Our kits provide key equipment that environmental educators like myself use to engage students in nature.”

To sign up for a kit, educators should contact Tracey Hall at thall@bbrlt.org

Boothbay Region Land Trust continues to offer in-person environmental education for schools as well. Tracey is available to coordinate programs on a variety of topics. Interested teachers are encouraged to visit BRLT’s website and click on the link for education to learn to more about opportunities for schools, or reach out to Tracey at thall@bbrlt.org