Processing Your Payment

Please do not leave this page until complete. This can take a few moments.

Sponsored by: The Ecology School
Updated: September 28, 2020 2020 Giving Guide

The Ecology School

2021 Goals

Our River Bend Farm campus opens in Winter 2021! The Ecology School has embarked upon a $14.1 million construction project to transform our new home at River Bend Farm, a 105-acre farm located on a scenic bend in the Saco River. The move will propel our educational initiatives by increasing program capacity and providing “live what you learn” opportunities for participants through hands-on exploration of Maine’s ecosystems, sustainable living practices, direct connection to food systems and farming along with modeling conservation-in-action. The Ecology School at River Bend Farm will become one the most sustainable environmental learning centers in the country, modeling a community living in balance with nature.

  • A 7,000-square-foot dining commons and 9,000-square-foot dormitory will be two of the most sustainable buildings in the United States.
     
  • The buildings will use more than 200,000 board feet of local Maine Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified lumber, produce 105% net positive energy through 718 on-site solar panels, and house a combustion-free kitchen (the first of its kind in the country).
     
  • A farming program based on ecological principles (agroecology including permaculture design and organic farming practices) will provide hands-on learning opportunities for youth and adults to farm, harvest, and eat.
     
  • To support distance learning in 2020, our Program Team quickly adapted, funneling their programmatic excellence and energetic teaching styles into Nature Nuggets. These biweekly, easy-to-do outdoor activities are mini-lessons taken directly from our award-winning curriculum. We’ve been overwhelmed with the success of Nature Nuggets — over 25,300 views on the 18 short videos!
     
  • The Ecology School stands as a ready partner and resource for schools. We are proven experts in outdoor learning with 20-plus years of experience in outdoor classroom management, nature-based curriculum development, and integrating NGSS standards into these initiatives.

Fundraising Events/Opportunities

The Ecology School will continue to monitor and follow the safety guidelines outlined by the State of Maine when offering opportunities for community members and volunteers to participate in environmentally-focused activities, classes, programs, and engagement events at River Bend Farm in 2020 and beyond.

Giving Opportunities

The Ecology School has $1.2 million left in our Capital Campaign to fund the construction of a Maine’s first Living Building Challenge certified structures—a dormitory and dining commons devoted to environmental and sustainable education. Design and construction adhere to the strict standards of the Living Building Challenge, the world’s most rigorous proven performance standard for buildings. This regenerative design framework was developed to create spaces that, like a flower, give more to the environment than they take. Upon completion, The Ecology School will be one of the most sustainable environmental learning centers in the country.

The Ecology School provides over $250,000 in scholarships and tuition subsidies through its annual campaign to ensure all students can participate in programming.

Help us teach people to thrive using the power of the outdoors! Make a gift to The Ecology School at River Bend Farm: TheEcologySchool.org/Capital-Campaign

Volunteer Opportunities

Businesses who seek to volunteer, partner, and collaborate with an innovative and community-focused environmental education non-profit should reach out to The Ecology School! We host on-site volunteer days at River Bend Farm where groups can participate in farming and gardening projects, ecological research, and assist in maintaining biodiversity on the property through stewardship work and conservation awareness.

Leadership

Drew Dumsch, President and CEO
Mary Martin, Board Chair : RSU 16 School Board Chair, Retired Maine School Principal

Board officers

Tom Merrill, Board Vice Chair: Retired Attorney

Amanda Magee, Board Treasurer: CFO, Curtis Industries, LLC

Linda Boudreau, Board Secretary: Planning Board Member, City of South Portland

Board Members

Robert Adkins, Board Director: Retired Attorney

Catherine Goodwin, Board Director: Retired, Former State Office Representative for U.S. Senator Collins

Steven Grindle, Board Director: Managing Partner, Grindle Robinson LLP

Mike Hansen, Board Director: The Ecology School Educator Alumnus, Classroom Teacher/Environmental Educator

Corey Hascall, Board Director: Vice President of Alumni & Public Engagement, USM Foundation

Abby Humphrey, Board Director: Entrepreneur and Educator, Morning at the Market

Kristin Hunter Thomson, Board Director: The Ecology School Educator Alumna, Owner at Dataspire Education & Evaluation LLC

Amy Ouellette, Board Director: Retired Psychiatrist

Susan Swanton, Board Director: Retired, Executive Director of Maine Maritime Trade Association

At A Glance

Established: 1998
Employees: 9 FTE
Annual revenue: $2,185,038

Top funding sources

54% Program Income
36% Fundraising and Grants
10% Other Income

Contact

River Bend Farm,
184 Simpson Road Saco, ME 04072
(207) 283-9951

TheEcologySchool.org
facebook.com/EcologySchool
twitter.com/EcologySchoolME
instagram.com/TheEcologySchool

Mission Statement

The Ecology School inspires stewardship of and connection to the natural world through experiential learning in ecology, conservation, farming, and sustainability.

Service locations

The Ecology School hosts over 12,000 program participants annually from around the United States for year-round environmental education opportunities including overnight and day programs for schools, outreach programs, conferences, retreats, professional development, and camps. The majority of school year programming is provided to school districts in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Vermont. In 2019, 55 New England schools partnered with The Ecology School to integrate experiential, innovative ecology and sustainability programs into their science curricula. This included 6,684 students from 31 Maine schools.

Awards/Accolades

In March 2020, The Ecology School was given the honor of first in the world distinction for completing Living Community Challenge Vision and Master Plan Compliance, a hard-earned step in the process of becoming a Living Community, a program of the International Living Future Institute.

2020 SXSW (South by Southwest) in Austin, TX – Alex Grindle, Meg Edstrom Jones, and Caitlin Brooke were featured in SXSW’s Equity Lounge for “making a difference in sustainability and water stewardship.”

Director of Programs, Alex Grindle, elected as 2018/2019 Board President of the Maine Environmental Education Association

Partner 2018-2019, Residential Environmental Education Partnership (A nationwide collaborative, organized by NatureBridge, to further develop and incorporate Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) frameworks, research, and preferred practices into residential environmental education (EE) programming across the country.)