The Outdoor Insider

MAINE OUTDOOR SCHOOL'S QUARTERLY E-NEWSLETTER

ISSUE #12
OCTOBER 2019

Maine Outdoor School exists because we believe that personal and community resilience in rural Maine is essential to the resilience of society as a whole. We believe that resilient, flourishing communities are rooted in the careful study of our history and natural surroundings by lifelong learners of all ages, backgrounds, and occupations.

Co-Founders' Note:

While days draw shorter, geese chatter noisily as they travel south, and back-to-school advertisements appear everywhere, MOS also leans into the busyness of the school year, our busiest time of year. This school year we are pleased to share that we are expanding our regular weekly programs in several schools throughout the area, interspersed with various field trips and community events. For the first time since we started programming in late 2016, combined with our various side jobs that allow us to make this entrepreneurial adventure work, our schedules are just about full to bursting! This is exciting as we feel we have greatly increased our impact with each passing season. We are still getting people of all ages outside, engaged with nature, and developing personal and community resilience every step of the way--now more than ever.

As you settle yourself along with us into the old rhythms of the new season, check in regularly on the MOS events and news pages to get updates about our programs and events. If there’s a school, organization, or person you know that you want to be sure can access MOS programming, you can send us a donation to support that. Simply reach out to us for details.

And, don’t forget that we now have MOS “bumpah stickahs” for sale! They look great on your vehicle, waterbottle, computer, and more. Proceeds support MOS programming.

Thanks for your support and interest and please enjoy some highlights from the last quarter in this edition of The Outdoor Insider.

~Hazel and Joe

Tracks:

Healthy Acadia's Teen Ag Camp participants learned about nutrient cycling
Downeast Salmon Federation and the Cobscook Community Learning Center's River Camp participants learned fly-tying and fly-fishing
Summer visitors enjoyed a guided nature hike
MOS co-organized and tabled at the Downeast Roots Festival
Harrington 4th-graders began weekly Woods Wednesdays
Milbridge 3rd and 5th-graders began weekly Thursday Forays
Jonesport 5th and 1st-grade buddies began weekly Forest Fridays

Community Commendations:

The Ondich family on their guided nature hike with MOS. Ondich family photos in this issue courtesy of MaineTerrain.com.

This quarter we would like to tip our hats to the Ondich family. Last spring, this family reached out to MOS to feature us on their blog, Maine Terrain, which is all about exploring our region. You can read their blog interview of us here. The family was so interested in what MOS was all about that they wanted to experience our guided services first hand on some local public lands while they spent time in Milbridge this summer. It is one thing to have a good experience and to be thankful, but it takes extra effort and selflessness to go out of one’s way to write a review. The Ondich’s took it upon themselves to review us on Facebook, Google, and Yelp--our very first reviews! So thank you to the Ondich family for being exemplar students of nature and supportive neighbors. Here’s an excerpt from their Yelp review:

“If you have a small or large group and want someone with a lot of local knowledge to explore Downeast Maine with, call them and ask. They know their stuff and this is their full time business, not a side hustle. We will definitely plan another activity with them next time we're in Milbridge!”

If you have also enjoyed MOS programming, we invite you to take the Ondich family’s lead and review us online, too!

Biomimicry:

Out the window and across the road of the MOS office at 293 North Main Street in Milbridge, there sits a low place swaddled in alders which look a bit worse for wear as the nights draw colder and the days shorter. Amidst the shabby scrub is a single red maple defiantly blazing vivacious crimson as a child might have one last dance break before bedtime. While this color is more about reallocating nutrients and changing the spectrum of light the leaves can receive as the days shorten, it is nonetheless a vivid reminder that for the majority of northern plants, we are entering into a time of the year that is for rest and rejuvenation. So critical is this restorative timing that some northern trees will simply decline and die if brought indoors and robbed of their winter dormancy. This phenomenon is quite familiar to the bonsai artist, whose craft of shaping trees must abide by this cycle in order to maintain the health and well-being of their trees. This phenomenon is less familiar, however, in our modern western work schedules.

So this month, you can take a leaf from the book of a red maple tree and remember to take time for rest amid the hustle and bustle of modern life.

Resilience Tip:
Among the benefits of forest bathing are relaxation, less stress, connections with nature, and insights to take home. (Learn more about what forest bathing is all about here)

What's Upstream:

Here’s a sampling of just a few of our upcoming programs:

Beals Pre-K-4th grade are exploring tidepools and the forest at their town park this month
Cherryfield Fall Festival: Swing by Cherryfield Academy from 11-2 on October 19th to play a nature-exploration game with us and win a prize!
Frenchman Bay Conservancy: We’ve been contracted to design a program that their staff can lead when school groups visit their Tidal Falls Preserve, as well as provide a couple of family group hikes on their preserves and a series of “Muddy Mondays” for a local school.
Island Institute: Students from many Maine islands will explore and learn from the easternmost point of the USA with us

Stay tuned for our regular posts on our News section of the MOS website about our Forest Fridays at Jonesport Elementary, Thursday Forays at Milbridge Elementary, and Woods Wednesdays at Harrington Elementary! Our social media sites are also great places to get even more regular updates.

All MOS programs are fully customizable and suit learners of any age. Visit our website or contact us to learn more.

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