|Julie Fralich|
Like other schools in Maine and across the country, Fiddlehead School of Arts & Sciences, based in Gray, has had to adapt, modify, reimagine and reinvent its classes, schedule, curriculum and indoor and outdoor space to accommodate the impact of and guidelines related to COVID-19. According to Executive Director Jacinda Cotton-Castro, “it’s been the experience of a lifetime, and one I hope to never have to do again.”
One of 10 charter schools in Maine, Fiddlehead School opened its doors in 2013 with 42 students in pre-K to 2nd grade. Each year it has continued to add grade levels and now has students in Pre-K to 7th grade. Next year it will expand to include the 8th grade.
Like other schools in the area, Fiddlehead adopted a “hybrid model” with two “pods” of children alternating between being “in school” two days a week and at home the other three days. Some families also chose fully remote learning for their children.
When it opened this fall, Fiddlehead had added “outdoor classrooms” for students in grades 2, 3 and 4 at the gazebo at Thompsons’ Orchard and had arranged to use the yurt field at Norumbega Farm on Woodman Road for students in grades 5, 6 and 7. (Note: the author is owner of the yurts and field at Norumbega Farm).
According to Jacinda Cotton-Castro, outdoor classrooms have been the “silver lining of COVID-19 and really saved the teachers.” The philosophy and approach of Fiddlehead always included hands-on, experiential, nature-based learning. And while the school embraced these concepts in its first years of operation, the pandemic pushed the staff and school to find new ways to expand their outdoor classrooms and more fully implement their original mission.
“Once the school was able to secure the outdoor space, the teachers got really excited about the possibilities and it really gave them permission and freedom to incorporate the physical space and environment as integral to the student experience and learning,” says Cotton-Castro.
Pivoting to outdoor classrooms also meant working through the many logistics of transportation, bathrooms, water, tents, daily health screening, storage and of course daily weather monitoring. At Thompsons’ Orchard, the second graders have a home base in front of the gazebo with a large tent for cover; the third graders are down in the woods behind the gazebo with a large tarp and wood stumps for chairs; and the 4th graders use the gazebo as their learning base. At Norumbega Farm, Fiddlehead bought two tents that were placed in the yurt field and students have access to one of the yurts. The students spread out in the field in front of the yurt and have the stream and adjacent trails as adjuncts to the classroom.
The 5th, 6th and 7th grade teachers (Kerry Loupe, Jonathan Erde and John Wessman) work as a team and have enthusiastically embraced their outdoor classroom space. According to John Wessman, “it’s been awesome, an amazing experience and a chance to live our mission.” The land, woods and nearby stream have provided a unique learning environment.
Testing water samples. Photo: John Wensman 
Wading in Talking Brook. Photo: John Wensman
And the team was fortunate to find a ready and willing partner with the Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District whose educational mission focuses on the interconnectedness of nature and environmental stewardship. The staff from the Cumberland County Soil and Water provided four 1-hour sessions on watersheds, water testing and pollution. The students were able to put on waders and learn first-hand about the Royal River Watershed. They looked for macro-invertebrates, learned about the importance of the diversity of species, and collected water samples to test for turbidity, oxygen and PH levels, and temperature. They were also pleased to report that the water in Talking Brook is very healthy. Such place-based and hands-on learning provides “more transfer of knowledge and more skills to be learned”, says Jonathan Erde, than sitting in a classroom.
In the fields at Thompsons’ Orchard, the teachers (Liz Harrington – 2nd; Mara Wiggin – 3rd; and Jennifer Damon – 4th) are integrating the natural environment into the daily curriculum. Students are experiencing the movement and placement of the sun during the day, observing the changes in the season, and learning about the habitat of the wildlife at the site. Students have spent the early weeks exploring the fields and orchard and mapping the space.
Fiddlehead students at Thompsons’ Orchard. Photo: Julie Fralich 
Learning under a tarp. Photo: Julie Fralich
Students are using observation skills to identify birds and trees, learn about wildlife habitats, and note differences in the ways red and gray squirrels store food. Some have drilled holes in trees, examined mushroom spores, used tools to whittle and made their own sit-spots.
Teachers are incorporating math skills (e.g. counting and sorting acorns); writing skills (e.g. to record observations and sensations); and reading (e.g. Burgess Bird Book for Children) into the daily activities.
In Ms. Harrington’s class, students became fascinated with the many birds they observed and she found a curriculum at Cornell with resource materials and ideas. Now the students have each picked a bird to study, have explored and made bird wings, and have been given an at-home, build-a-beak challenge. In the coming weeks they will be collecting materials for bird nests to make nests of their own. In all cases, the teachers are using the outdoor environment as their toolkit for observation and emergent learning.
In terms of meeting COVID-19 requirements, the teachers report that the” kids have been amazing” and “masks are basically a non-issue”. Times for mask breaks are set aside. The task of explaining six feet of distance has required some creative thinking. The pool noodle provides a good physical example as does the visual of a cow – when seen from head to toe.
Of course, all is not easy, when conducting outdoor education, particularly when the space is remote from the school building, the infrastructure is rustic and the weather is unpredictable. And the children in each group only have school outside one day each week. In many classes, the teachers report attendance is better on days when school is outside. As the colder weather approaches Fiddlehead will be re-examining and adjusting accordingly.
But all in all, access to outdoor space has been a “breath of fresh” air. And a practice that many hope can survive, thrive and expand beyond this pandemic.
Further information and resources
Other schools in Maine have been embracing outdoor education in various formats and settings. COVID-19 has created an environment where outdoor education is not just an educational philosophy but an important strategy for responding to the pandemic. Schools and communities that have successfully launched outdoor education have found some important key ingredients include support from the community, partnerships with local organizations (for land, supplies, architectural or building assistance), and patience from parents and teachers as education as we know it is transformed before our eyes.
Resources
Nature Based Education Consortium is a network of organizations focused on building support for and equitable access to outdoor learning opportunities for all Maine youth. The website Includes an Outdoor Learning Quick Reference Guide, training opportunities, funding opportunities, webinars, school stories and news stories.
Maine Environmental Association works wards building an environmentally literate Maine where powerful learning experiences connect individuals to the state’s landscapes. The website includes a new Teach ME outside video, funding resources, community calls on emerging topics and Environmental Education and Outdoor Learning Provider Directory.
Outdoor education research summary provides a summary of research that shows that outdoor education increases school performance, increases students social, mental and social health, and supports child development.
