This spring Hidden Valley Nature Center (HVNC) in Jefferson received $10,500 in grant support from the Horizon Foundation for a new school outreach effort. Fourth grade students from Great Salt Bay Community School in Damariscotta and Whitefield Elementary will visit HVNC at least eight times during the 2014 – 2015 school year. HVNC is partnering with the Sheepscot Valley Conservation Assoc. (SVCA) in this effort. Students will work with Lynne Flaccus, Program Manager at (SVCA) and Sue Kistenmacher, a Maine Master Naturalist and retired science teacher. The two educators bring over fifty years of outdoor and science education to this initiative.

Students from both schools will visit HVNC each month from October to May. When on site they will work with Flaccus and Kistenmacher on projects and lessons ranging from bog ecology to sustainable forestry. The lessons will make use of HVNC’s diverse natural infrastructure and students will have the opportunity to learn in pond, bog, forest, and field settings. HVNC and SVCA will work closely with participating teachers to make sure that field experiences enhance and expand on class room learning. Participating classes will also be part of ongoing citizen science projects like the Maine Forest Inventory Growth Project in which students will measure and describe precise forest locations time after time, year after year to assess changes in forest growth and character.

“We’re excited to work with Sue and Lynne,” said HVNC Director Andy McEvoy. “We’ve been looking for the right way to build a school program that will deepen students’ perspective on nature and I cannot imagine two more qualified instructors to do that.”

For more information about HVNC’s events, or to find out how you can support HVNC, visit www.hvnc.org, write to info@hvnc.org, or call 207-200-8840.