Nearly 100 educators receive outdoor learning project funding with the Maine Environmental Education Association
Maine students are kelp farming in Belfast, making honey to study pollinator health in Bath and studying why the Bloomfield School in Skowhegan is home to one of the largest colonies of endangered cliff swallows in Maine. These are just a few of the 146 outdoor learning projects funded this year through the Maine Environmental Education Association’s 2025-26 Mini Grants for Outdoor Learning Program.
In the region two Piscataquis Community Secondary School teachers — grade 7-8 science teacher Emily Anderson and high school life science teacher Gabrielle Cochrane — will each use $1,500 in funds to participate in the Maine Forest Collaborative
Another $1,500 will go toward the outdoor classroom at the SeDoMoCha School in Dover-Foxcroft.
Getting outside during the school day is gaining traction in Maine as a way to develop key skills, decrease behavioral challenges, and cultivate young Mainers’ care for our environment. With so many benefits for students’ social, emotional and academic growth, every year MEEA funds Maine public schools representing all 16 counties, with this year distributing $127,615 in funding. Ninety-nine of those educators received funds for the first time!
“I am really glad to see so many applications from educators who have not made requests in the past,” said Anna Sommo, MEEA’s director of school and community partnerships. “This is very exciting because it tells me that there are still lots of educators who might not be a part of the environmental education network in the state who are excited about getting students outdoors.”
The grant program provides up to $1,500 to public school teachers in Maine to fund outdoor learning projects. They empower teachers to design and implement nature-based learning experiences that enhance students’ academic, social and emotional growth while connecting them to the local environment around them. Since the grant program’s beginning in 2020, MEEA has raised and redistributed $914,886 in funding for outdoor learning to teachers in Maine public schools.
“We continue to receive lots of requests for foul weather gear and outdoor classroom supplies such as benches and picnic tables, and this year we were able to fund 17 Wabanaki studies requests from educators,” Sommo said.
Many of these educators participated in MEEA’s Wabanaki studies professional development workshops in the fall, including workshops in Ellsworth, Unity and Topsham. This shows their commitment to following through on teaching about Wabanaki history and culture in the classroom and outside in nature. And this shows that there continues to be a big need for Wabanaki studies support in Maine schools, which has been required by law in Maine since 2001.
“We are hopeful it will keep up the momentum to bring Wabanaki studies to more students,” says Sommo.
Still, the need for outdoor learning funding in Maine schools is greater than what MEEA was able to meet with the funding we had this year. They had 173 applications for more than $220,000, and were only able to fund 146 requests giving out $127,000, with many of those schools receiving partial funding. The Mini Grants for Outdoor Learning Program is 100% funded through donations.
If you are interested in donating to support this 100% donation-funded grantmaking program, please contact Sommo at anna@meeassociation.org or donate at https://www.meeassociation.org/. To learn more about the Mini Grants for Outdoor Learning Program or to apply for future cycles, visit https://www.meeassociation.org/minigrants-for-outdoor-learning.