The Ecology School receives one of its largest gifts ever, $500K from L.L.Bean

Courtesy / The Ecology School The Ecology School will continue construction at its new Saco campus using a major gift from L.L.Bean. Seen here is a pre-pandemic dinner theater performance at the school.

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By Staff

The Ecology School will receive a $500,000 charitable gift from L.L.Bean Inc. to support three major components of the school’s $14.1 million River Bend Farm campus in Saco.

The gift is one of the largest charitable contributions ever received by the school.

The funding will support construction of a new arrival plaza, a new waterfront area for recreation and environmental education on the Saco River, and a three-year sponsorship of the new River Bend Farm Family Camp.

The gift marks the retailer’s largest charitable contribution to a Maine nonprofit thus far in 2021 and the third-largest gift the company has bestowed to date in 2021.

“We are so grateful for this generous gift from L.L.Bean and energized by the fact that they wanted to invest in our work to invite people of all ages away from their screens and into the outdoors,” the school’s president, CEO and co-founder, Drew Dumsch, said in a news release. “All of these important gifts have allowed us to fulfill our hope of creating a campus of national significance.”

The school is a nonprofit environmental residential learning center founded in 1998. Its $14.1 million project broke ground in 2019.

The school is the first location in Maine to aim for Living Building certification, which exceeds the rating of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and the Passive House Institute.

Dumsch noted that L.L.Bean’s support of the plaza, waterfront area and family camp is in keeping with the company’s brand.

The family camp is scheduled to open this summer as a blend of curated programming and free time for families to reconnect with nature and with each other.

The River Bend Farm expansion is the result of dozens of generous donors and brought together green design, construction and renewable energy.

“We know that time outside can have a tremendous impact on our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing,” said Shawn Gorman, executive chairman of L.L.Bean. “We’re proud to partner with The Ecology School as they focus on helping kids of all ages learn about the world around them through an outdoor-first education approach.”

News of the gift came on the heels of the campus unveiling over Earth Week, which included opening a 9,000 square-foot dormitory and 7,000 square-foot Poland Spring Education and Dining Commons, and flipping the switch on a 712-panel solar array that generates 105% net positive energy.

Fundraising is nearly complete, but the school continues to seek support for handicapped accessibility features, permaculture landscaping, staff housing and a new kitchen root cellar for storing produce grown on the farm.

Major gifts to the Ecology School

The Ecology School has recently received generous support from numerous organizations and individuals, including:

• $750,000 from Poland Spring, in support of the Poland Spring Education and Dining Commons

• $350,000 from Daniel E. Offutt III Charitable Trust in support of Daniel E. Offutt III Dining Hall & Kitchen

• $125,000 from Jane’s Trust

• $75,000 from Quimby Family Foundation

• $75,000 multi-year grant from the Bangor Savings Bank Foundation, in support of the school’s Eastern Pathway

• $57,500 from Saco & Biddeford Savings ($50,000) and Paquin & Carroll Insurance ($7,500) in support of the Dining Commons Entry Way

• $25,000 from Bernstein Shur, in support of the School Nurse Station & Office

• $25,000 from Central Maine Power, in support of a Learning Meeting Space Yurt

• $25,000 from Hancock Lumber

• $20,000 from Efficiency Maine

• $10,000 from Biddeford Savings and Mechanics Savings Charitable Foundation

• $5,000 from ReVision Energy

• Over $1 million from individual supporters and other foundations

In addition, the school received $1.85 million in long-term financing from Coastal Enterprises Inc.

Two years ago, the school was awarded an $8.66 million loan from the USDA Rural Development’s Community Facilities Direct Loan and Guaranteed Loans program, the largest community facilities loan granted to an educational facility in Maine within the past decade.

About The Ecology School

The Ecology School is a nonprofit education center that transforms how people think about nature and the environment. Through joyful, hands-on, experiential programming students of all ages learn to become stewards of the environment as they explore local forests, coastal ecosystems, and food systems. Since 1998, The Ecology School has hosted more than 187,000 students and teachers from across the country, educating about the environment and our collective impact on the planet. In 2019, The Ecology School broke ground on its new campus at River Bend Farm in Saco.