The Damariscotta River Association’s Education Program,
The School for Field Naturalists: Our goal is to enable students to make their own discoveries about the natural world. Engaging in this process of discovery is what connects them to nature. All programs are designed to teach basic concepts of ecology and integrate hands-on opportunities to learn scientific methods. Students learn to study, analyze, and interpret natural systems through intensive observation. In the tradition of the great American naturalists like Aldo Leopold and Rachel Carson, we teach observation as a critical life skill and as a data-gathering process by which we can discover the natural world. Providing youth and the public with opportunities to better understand and experience the natural world also furthers the Damariscotta River Association’s (DRA) goal of “preserving and promoting the natural, cultural and historical heritage of the Damar-iscotta River watershed for the benefit of all.”

Several programs are offered depending on the season. Click on the following links for more information.

• Jr. Naturalist After-School Program
• Native American Living Skills and Culture Program
• Midcoast Stewards Program for adults
• Camp Mummichog Summer Camp Program
• Pollywogs and Frogs for the very young
• Assorted Natural History Programs for Groups

School for Field Naturalist Programs
Jr. Naturalist After-School Program: Inquiry-based, hands-on learning in a safe outdoor environ-ment culminating in a family evening at which youth share their discoveries about the natural world. The DRA site is on a bus route from two elementary schools and close to route 1, making this location ideal with respect to accessibility. This after-school program is offered January through May from 3:00 – 4:45 pm to youth ages 6 to 12.

Return to List of Programs

Native American Living Skills and Culture: For two weeks each fall, students come in school groups to Blackstone Point at the DRA farm to learn a variety of outdoor living skills in the tradition of Maine’s native people. Participants build wigwams, smoke meat, make cedar string and spoons from birch bark and learn about Wabanaki culture from Penobscot Educator John Bear Mitchell and DRA staff.

Return to List of Programs

Midcoast Stewards: This program meets twice weekly over five weeks each spring providing information to participants about their local cultural and natural resources. The cohort of individuals becomes part of a network of educated and com-mitted volunteers working together to conserve and protect the natural and cultural resources of midcoast Maine. Each person is required to volunteer at least thirty hours to a conservation program of their choice over the next year in compensation for the program. Co-sponsored by the Maine Coastal Program.

Return to List of Programs

Camp Mummichog: We offer nature dis-covery, games that teach ecological con-cepts, arts and crafts, and a supportive environment to grow, learn and play. Summer day camp is offered from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm for youth ages 6 to 13 on selected weeks through the summer.

Looking forward to its third season, the Damariscotta River Association’s School for Field Naturalists is offering summer day camp this July and August. The program will provide guided nature discovery in the outdoors to youth ages 6 to 12 encouraging them to follow in the footsteps of the great naturalists like Rachel Carson and John Hay. Youth will have the opportunity to explore the many acres of forest, fields, fresh and saltwater wetlands and uncover some of nature's mysteries. All programs include field trips and/or guest speakers who are experts in their field in addition to nature inspired games and crafts.

Each year Camp Mummichog receives rave reviews from kids and their parents. Parents’ evaluations say that they appreciated the “small size, individual attention, beautiful setting, creative caring, knowledgeable, safety oriented instructors” and “this was the best camp our child has ever attended.” Highlights cited included “tons of real science” and “spending so much outdoor time in the wild.” The focus of each camp session is to provide campers with time to explore nature, play competitive and noncompetitive games that teach ecological concepts and in the tradition of many of the great naturalists, journal about their discoveries.

Marine Adventures July 7-11, 8:30-4:00 pm Ages 9-12
Highlights: Track horseshoe crabs in Great Salt Bay, take the Hardy Boat and hike Monhegan Island (parents transport to New Harbor) and seal watch, play nature games and make new discoveries in salt marshes and tidal areas with a naturalist.
Cost: $160 members/$170 non-members

Wild Wetlands July 14 - 18, 8:30-3:00 pm Ages 6-9
Highlights: Get wet! Visit the Maine Department of Marine Resources (parents transport to Boothbay), meet reptiles and amphibians or our wetlands, track horseshoe crabs, play nature games, keep a nature journal and make new discoveries in salt marshes and tidal areas with a naturalist.
Cost: $160 members/$170 non-members

Birds and other Flying Creatures July 21-25, 8:30-4:00pm Ages 9-12
Highlights: Discovery time with naturalists during bird walks in a variety of habitats, nature journals, a bird-watching field trip to Audubon’s Hog Island and nature games.
Cost: $160 members/$170 non-members

Insect-mania July 28 – 31, 8:30- 3:00 pm Ages 6-9
Highlights: Meet an entomologist, learn to identify dragonflies, sculpt (with Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts), create a nature journal and spend lots of time investigating the ways of creepy-crawly critters with a naturalist. (Note: this is a four day session)
Cost: $130 members/$140 non-members

Be Woods Wise August 4 - 8, 8:30-4:00 pm Ages 8-12
Highlights: Practice outdoor living skills including archery, kayaking (with Midcoast Kayak), shelter-building, tracking wildlife and cooking at a campfire.
Cost: $160 members/$170 non-members

Wabanaki Ways August 11– 15, 8:30-3:00pm Ages 9-12
Highlights: Kayak Great Salt Bay (with Midcoast Kayak), build a wigwam, learn to track animals, taste wild edibles, play traditional native American games and enjoy lots of discovery time in forests, fields and wetlands with a naturalist.
Cost: $160 members/$170 non-members

All sessions meet daily at the DRA Heritage Farm on Belvedere Road in Damariscotta with the exception of field trip days when parents transport to a meeting location and pick up at that location at the end of the day. To register you may use the form here or contact the DRA Office 207-563-1393 for a brochure.

Return to List of Programs

Pollywogs and Frogs: Year-round monthly thematic parent child programs for the very young – ages two to five.

Return to List of Programs

Group Programs: Initiated in January 2007, we are pleased to again be offering natural history programs to groups. There are many topics to choose from including: forest ecology, insect adaptations, seeds and dispersal mechanisms, coastal ecology and mammals of Maine. Programs are designed to work towards state learning results. More information is available here.

Return to List of Programs

For more information, please contact The Damariscotta River Association at 563-1393 or email us at dra@dracltorg The Damariscotta River Association is a non-profit membership supported organization dedicated to preserving and promoting the natural, cultural, and historic heritage of the Damariscotta River, its watershed, and adjacent areas for the benefit of all. The Association has active programs in the areas of land protection, stewardship, community education, water quality monitoring, marine conservation and cultural preservation. Come visit us at the Salt Bay Heritage center at 110 Belvedere Road in Damariscotta.

Sarah Gladu, Education Coordinator
Damariscotta River Association
Phone: (207) 563-1393
FAX (207) 563-2639
dra@draclt.org

Fall Programs 2007:
Two Day Nature Workshops
For ages 8-12
Time: 3:15 – 4:45 pm (snack provided)
Cost: $5.00 /per workshop

“Navigation in Nature: Orienteering and Migration”
September 20 and 21
Practice map and orienteering skills and learn how wild animals navigate in migration. Study migrating insects and birds.

“How to Live in the Woods”
September 27 and 28
Learn to find a shelter site, build a shelter, make a fire safely, and cook on it. Focus on animal tracks and signs to learn about the animals around us.

“Telltale Trees”
October 4 and 5
Explore the woods and discover the tales that trees tell us about the past and about their lives among the animals. We will do a group project to create a journal of a trees’ life. Try a tasty tree treat!

Jr. Naturalist
For ages 6-10
Time: 3:15 – 4:45 (snack provided)
Cost: $30.00/month-long session

“How Animals Prepare for Winter”
November (meets every Thursday and Friday except the 22nd and 23rd in November)
Explore wetlands, fields and forests looking for signs of wildlife preparing for winter. Nature journaling is incorporated as a means to nature study.

Frogs and Pollywogs
For ages 2-5 and their parents/guardians
Cost: $2.00/per child suggested donation
Times: 9:30-10:30am and 1:00-2:00pm
These programs are generously sponsored by the Twin Village Hobby Shop and The Maine Cloth Diapering Company.

“Do You Like to Peer for Deer?”
September 27
White-tailed deer are preparing for winter. Come look for their tracks and signs while we hike and learn about their fascinating lives. Make a craft to take home.

“Do Oak Trees Freeze?”
November 29
Take a nature hike to discover how plants and animals have prepared for winter. Make a craft to take home.

Top