The Maine Environmental Education Association has identified the Juniper Hill School in Alna as the 2013 School of the Year. This is quite an accomplishment for such a young school, but is recognition of the innovative work that the teachers and children are doing. The school was chosen from a very competitive pool of schools throughout Maine. 

In their letter to Anne Stires, the founder and director of the school, The Board of Directors of the Maine Environmental Education Alliance said, “You have created a culture at your school for innovation, holistic education and centering learning around experiences in nature and exploring the world.”

Stires received the award for the school at the annual Maine Environmental Education Alliance conference on March 22 in Wiscasset.

In addition to receiving the award, Stires was also a member of the Keynote Panel at the conference presenting her own pathway to environmental literacy. She led a breakout session afterward addressing the question of: How do you stay fresh and inspired in an ever-changing educational, cultural, political and environmental climate?

Stire’s enthusiasm and commitment to connecting Maine’s children to the meadows, mud and moss of their neighborhoods is one reason she can easily talk about staying fresh and inspired.

Stires, along with Zoë Foster, the other founding teacher at the school, are also contributing to the expansion of the nature preschool and forest kindergarten movement throughout New England when they present their work at In Bloom: Promising Practices in Nature – based Early Childhood at Antioch University New England in Keene, N.H., May 15. They will present a workshop entitled Principles, Practices and Policies.

Further information about Juniper Hill School and enrollment can be found at the school’s website at www.juniperhillschool.org or by calling 207-586-5711.