Simple Science Experiment!
Come together with family and friends to experiment with the impacts and results of oil spills by following the simple science experiment instructions at home. Great to do with elementary and middle school kids.
What is Trust in Education?
We are a nature-based educational outreach program for rsu21.
Trust in Education provides field trips for the students of RSU21 in Kennebunkport, Kennebunk and Arundel, Maine.
In 2018, our programming hit every elementary school in the district, along with a Gulf of Maine course in Kennebunk High School and at the University of New England. We work alongside teachers, principals, and superintendents to create programs that provide hands-on, nature-based education while meeting NGSS and other national standards. These half day and full day field trips get kids outside on Trust properties and thinking critically about the environments they see today compared to how they once were. While we have an environmental science focus, we love connecting science to history, reading, math, and English skills.
This program also travels to schools! Whether classes want to learn about magnets and forces or biospheres, we create custom in-school classroom programs to fit the needs of our teachers. Want to bring a program to your classroom? To learn more about our K-12 programming through the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust, contact our Education Coordinator Jenna Van Haren at jenna@kporttrust.org. To learn more about the Gulf of Maine course and climate programming contact Executive Director of The Climate Initiative, Leia Lowery at Leia@theclimateinitiative.org.
Our programming is heavily reliant on our amazing volunteers! If you’re interested in running a field trip station or just learning more fill out the form below.
Elementary School Programs
ADOPTING A PROPERTY
Each year, students from RSU21 adopt a different property at the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust. Visiting the property throughout the school year, students connect with their local landscape while exploring NGSS curriculum through hands-on, nature-based education. This program also introduces students to numerous community members, business owners, and other groups who come to volunteer each trip.
FROM KINDERGARTEN TO FIFTH GRADE
Our kindergarteners are introduced to Goose Rocks Beach where they practice their observational skills while learning about geography, the importance of measurements, and the sun’s impact on the Earth’s surfaces. Next year, in first grade students move to the forests of Tyler Brook! Here students are focused in on the changing seasons, comparing and contrasting fall and spring as the Earth tilts and moves around the sun. Our second graders dive deep into river ecology and history as they travel the Kennebunk River from source to mouth, visiting the Grist Mill along the way. By third grade, kids are ready to hit the islands and wade out to Redin Island to study the intertidal zones. In fourth grade, students get an in depth exploration of the Emmons Preserve, tackling colonial history, reading landscapes, and alternative energy. Finally, it’s time to return to Cape Porpoise harbor in fifth grade and explore Stage Island to learn about the history of the harbor, recent archaeological findings, invasive species, and more!
CONNECTING Kennebunkport WITH The CLIMATE INITIATIVE
Trust in Education is working alongside The Climate Initiative to bring relevant climate education to our high school students along with KCT’s Trust in Education program to bridge the gap between elementary school and high school learning. We want to introduce students to science that they’ll study all the way through RSU21 and connect them with older students and teachers who they’ll see along the way!