This winter, high school students from three different rural schools came together at the University of Maine to engage in hands-on learning, collaboration and the opportunity to share their projects as part of the Maine Forest Collaborative (MFC) mid-year cohort day. 25 students from Schenck High School, Tri-County Technical Center and Telstar High School experienced UMaine’s research facilities and amenities through interactive sessions, got to know their peers from other schools and gained feedback on their own projects. Cohort days are an exciting component of the MFC program where students from participating schools across the state converge for a day of hands-on experiential learning and fun related to forest management, sustainability, and innovation.
The Maine Forest Collaborative is part of the Rural Aspirations Project, which works to honor the inherent value of rural schools, places and people by collaboratively designing educational opportunities that inspire youth aspirations and strengthen community vitality for students in rural Maine. They operate in collaboration with educators and school administrators from across the state, providing support to rural schools through professional development, networking and connecting community partners, and designing student programs. The Maine Forest Collaborative student program works with local schools to empower students to create and implement projects in their community related to forest economies and management. The program aims to expose students to the breadth of job opportunities in these fields and awareness of natural resources that is often lacking in traditional education.
“These cohort days allow students to see natural resource and forestry sectors from a different perspective. While students do learn about the challenges facing Maine in these sectors today, they also get to experience opportunity, innovation, and real-world problem-solving and research,” said Sara King, the Maine Forest Collaborative Program Coordinator.
At UMaine, students were mixed up into groups with students from other schools, allowing them to get to know each other while attending different sessions related to forestry-related technologies, sustainability initiatives, and career pathways in natural resources. One group toured the Process Development Center to learn about cellulose nanofibrils manufacturing. Students learned how this versatile non-toxic bio-product is created and its many uses, and even explored the material hands-on.
Other students visited the Hudson Museum to learn about brown ash basketmaking in Wabanaki communities. They additionally learned about the invasive emerald ash borer, an insect posing a threat to ash trees.
In another session, students learned about autonomous drones used for forest management and data collection. They utilized virtual reality to tour a local Maine forest, mimicking the way drones collect data under the tree canopy and the challenges faced in this endeavor. As one student noted, “I loved using the VR and seeing the challenges they face in the building of drones.” Finally, students gained an economic perspective in a session focused on resource allocation. Students used trees as a shared resource and simulated the difficulties in allocating trees for paper, energy, furniture, and construction, obtaining skills in real-world decision making.
After these sessions, students were given the opportunity to present their own progress on their class project. As part of MFC, and guided by their teachers and Rural Aspirations staff, students at each school develop a place-based project related to a natural resource challenge affecting their school or community. At Schenk High School, the class is working to design and construct an outdoor classroom for elementary students in their school, utilizing trails behind their school to help younger students connect with nature. At Tri-County Technical Center, students are exploring ways to educate their community on invasive fish species in Maine. At Telstar High School, students are in the process of determining a natural resource challenge in their community, such as flooding, pollution, and lack of recycling options. All students and teachers were then able to share feedback and recommendations for each school. At the end of the school year, students will present their work to the MFC group and local stakeholders at a final cohort day.
Through this experience, students were able to connect with others from around the state, explore innovative activities and research at UMaine, learn about careers and post-secondary opportunities, and further their own progress with sustainability and forest management.
This work was supported in part by the NSF RII E-RISE Maine-FOREST grant.
Story by Heather Johnson, Graduate Assistant
