Maine Department of Education (DOE) has awarded $1.8 million in climate education professional development grants to support partnerships between 14 school administrative units (SAUs), schools, and community organizations to strengthen climate education opportunities for students across Maine.  

School Union 93, Central High School in Corinth, Fryeburg Academy, Greenville Consolidated School, Saco, Biddeford and Dayton Schools, Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit (RSU 12), and Vinalhaven and North Haven schools all received grants in this first round of funding.

Grant funding will allow educators to learn from experts and organizations that have created, sustained and grown outdoor and environmental education opportunities and programs tailored to their region’s assets and needs. Educators will be able to bring what they’ve learned back to their classrooms and schools to expand innovative and engaging climate education to more Maine students. 

“These grants provide Maine educators and schools with the tools, resources, and partnerships they need to provide students with engaging, hands-on climate and environmental education. From the mountains to the coast, Maine has enormous natural resources for students to explore and learn from so they can be effective environmental stewards and leaders,” said Maine Education Commissioner Pender Makin. 

SVRSU educators will participate in a three-day professional development workshop with community partner Friends of Cobbossee Watershed. Educators will adapt and align existing watershed-specific curriculum with school standards and develop a rich foundation of region- and lake-specific environmental and climate content knowledge for use in the classroom.   

“The Friends of the Cobbossee Watershed is really pleased to be partnering with RSU 12 and the Maine State YMCA Camp on this Climate Education Professional Development.  With the challenges we are experiencing due to the effects of climate change, we are excited to bring together educators from across the region to form a network for ideas and best practices. Utilizing the watershed lands and waters as the classroom brings the power of experiential and hands-on teaching pedagogy into the hands of the teachers on the front lines,” said Tom Mullin, executive director of Friends of Cobbossee Watershed.  

Maine DOE’s Rethinking Responsive Education Ventures (RREV) initiative, funded through a $16.9 million federal grant, has supported the expansion of outdoor education classrooms, programs, professional learning, partnerships, and spaces across the state. Schools across Maine utilized federal relief funding to expand outdoor learning spaces and programs. Gov. Janet Mills’ Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative has provided thousands of Maine middle and high school students with coastal and inland forestry learning and career exploration opportunities during the summer. Maine DOE recently hired a Climate Education Specialist to support and expand this work with educators, schools, and community partners across the state.

The grant initiative was designed out of LD 1902, which was passed by the Legislature in 2022 and signed by the Governor to establish a pilot program to encourage climate education in Maine public schools. Priority was given to communities historically underserved by climate education, socioeconomically disadvantaged communities, and interdisciplinary, place-based, and project-based learning activities. A second climate education RFA will be announced early in 2024.