When teachers are supported....

Hurricane Island’s brand of teacher professional development programs reliably punctuate my work with delight each year. There is something undeniably special about connecting directly with students and sharing the island with them that will never get old… AND I feel my greatest contribution to our programming is providing opportunities for educators to be supported and be challenged, renewed and reinvented. I view this work as an exponential investment in our education systems and our global future and so it was with heartwarming joy and anticipation that I hosted a group of amazing educators for a retreat on Hurricane Island in August. 

These educators were part of an effort at least three years in the making to increase teacher capacity to implement impactful, place-based learning in their classrooms and communities with a focus on environmental sustainability.  Teachers joined us from Bucksport, Islesboro, North Haven, Vinalhaven, and St. George for a week on Hurricane Island to explore various aspects of place-based learning and how to design their year around these types of educational opportunities. Far from a one-and-done professional development opportunity, this ‘kickoff’ was just the start of Hurricane Island support throughout this school year and beyond. What made it even more special was that the kickoff program was fully funded by a grant from the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) under their ee360 Initiative, allowing us to provide teachers with stipends for their time in addition to funding the retreat itself.

The Island gave people a place to rest and recharge as we had fabulous meals prepared for us, an expansive outdoor classroom that both engaged people and invited them to pause, and real TIME to be with each other and have meaningful conversations (the beautiful weather didn’t hurt either!).  Teachers left Hurricane feeling inspired, renewed, and, most of all, supported.  They were supported by their administrators and coworkers to be there (some of them even had their administrators and coworkers present!). The time they invested was compensated. They were welcomed into a community that was excited to have them and made new connections with like minded educators. Their previous work was celebrated and they were bolstered to continue to create and innovate in their classrooms.

So what happens when teachers are supported? I could tell you about the multi-school initiatives to address questions that matter to their communities and their students (like the scallop spat bag project that will be deployed across four of the schools in lower Penobscot Bay this school year)…. but I think it is more impactful to let the teachers tell it in their own words (see below). A closing note of thanks first to all the grantors, administrators, thought partners, donors, colleagues, teachers, and others who have helped and continue to help make this program possible. We all do our best work when we feel valued and supported and your support is what makes it possible for these teachers (and others) to continually evolve their teaching practices and have an exponential impact on their students. Final thanks goes to the teachers themselves - thank you for showing up, being open, and impacting ME so deeply. You inspire me to constantly improve myself and continue to find ways to facilitate the work you do.

It was especially good to work in a team from my school so I am not “an island within an island” - I know someone else will understand where I am coming from and even help to coordinate efforts to bring high-quality, meaningful curriculum to our students.

To bring people together in this focused, common purpose is a powerful affirmation of our goals, both individually and collectively. Deep conversation, new frameworks, new resources, and the making and strengthening of collegial relationships is formative professional development that will provoke thoughtful reflection from here on in my work, and even life, with the sense that I can be successful having this support.

All the discussions and time to process really allowed me to think about my students and how best to reach them. I have always thought that science should be about connecting to, observing, and feeling the natural world. Being able to plan out my year with place-based units/activities will not only make my students better stewards of the earth, but it will allow them to use their critical thinking and observation skills. I am grateful for this experience, and my students are “unknowingly” grateful as well.

Adventures in Art: Changing how we view and experience the island

It is guaranteed that things change on Hurricane island. The granite itself wears with time and tides, organisms migrate, move, grow and die, and people come and go, taking their memories with them and leaving parts of their heart behind. This year one of my favorite changes was the addition of our Middle School Adventure Art program, bringing eight vibrant young women to our shores and into the fabric of the Island’s life. The program was led by local artist and educator Laura Freeman, who helped us all see the island, its environments, and its inhabitants with new eyes and through new mediums. While the students had a variety of ‘traditional’ island experiences, they also forged new paths through print making, natural sculpture, scientific illustration, painting, and even turned their ‘art debris’ into high fashion. Their connection to this place was rooted in seeing and experiencing the island more deeply than any other group of middle school students has done before through the sheer amount of time they had to just immerse themselves in the place and notice/focus on details that most pass on by. This may make it sound like the group was reserved and demure… but of course that wouldn’t do justice to the goofy and energetic fun they brought to the island. I have never had a more surreal experience on the island than when the girls helped me find my ‘true laugh’ (if you haven’t experienced it, just google it…. doubt it… try it… and then spend the rest of your time trying to figure out a better name for it and wanting to know the science behind it - or maybe that is just my reaction!). I feel so fortunate that I got to work with these girls last week and I loved the conversations with them about what course they are coming back and doing in the future. I’m just glad Laura and I have a year to save up our energy before we do it again! Even when they come back or when we run this program again, there will be plenty of changes based on who is part of the program, adaptations we make based on feedback from the week, the shifting and deepening passions of the people involved in instructing, and of course the changes in the island itself. Despite those things, looking back on our time together there is nothing I would change for the world except getting more time with such a wonderful cohort.

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Growing Hurricane Island’s (inter)national connections and impact

Alternate title: Confessions of a self proclaimed North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) Groupie

Hurricane Island with other 2018 ULIEA winners

It all started with an application to a joint program between Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and NAAEE.  I still remember sitting in a local coffee shop for several days working on Hurricane’s application to be a UL Innovative Education Award winner and feeling such pride in where I worked and what we had been able to accomplish up to that point in our existence. Now two full years later, not only was Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership selected as a 2017 Tier II award winner with ULIEA, I have personally fallen down the rabbit hole and become a full fledged NAAEE groupie (complete with a profile on NAAEE’s eePRO platform and a subscription to their Imagine If podcast).  While we were well on our way to having national impact previously, our involvement with NAAEE has sped up that process by leaps and bounds.

One measure of that impact is through the amazing collaborative opportunities that came directly out of the connections we made through the ULIEA network.  One such collaboration with the Chicago Eco House (another 2017 ULIEA winner) was highlighted on the ULIEA blog recently, outlining the work we are doing with HAWX Open Ocean and the Islseboro Central School to improve an innovative new device called a Sea Rocket. The students from both programs will be working on improving the sustainability of the device and the Islesboro students will be testing the newly engineered solutions and using the Sea Rocket to collect data in Penobscot Bay.

Nayeli Perez (WINS student) holding a juvenile lobster on Hurricane Island

Another collaboration is with the Women in Natural Sciences (WINS) program (2015 ULIEA winner), an amazing and intensive after school and summer science enrichment program through the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. The young women in this program progress through two major phases, the second of which expands their career horizons and gives them experiences outside of Philadelphia. One of these young women, Nayeli Perez, came to Hurricane Island on a scholarship and wrote an amazing piece about her time on Hurricane for the most recent WINS newsletter.  I teared up (and laughed out loud) reading her narrative so I highly suggest you read it yourself as an amazingly honest view of how impactful the whole experience was for her on multiple levels.

The 2018 ee360 Community Fellows being very ‘serious’

Apparently not content with what we already had accomplished through our work with NAAEE, I threw my hat back in the ring in 2018 and was selected as one of 32 international ee360 Community Fellows.  These fellows were selected from as far away as Nepal, New Zealand, India and China, and as close by as a fellow Mainer and everyone was joined by our desire to address environmental challenges and build community resilience. The connections with these amazing individuals has already impacted me beyond measure and I am bringing that energy and new knowledge into my work at Hurricane Island. My action project is specifically designed to support a cohort of teachers to implement place-based education projects with their own classrooms and communities, kicking off with a joint retreat this August on Hurricane Island.

Hurricane continues to grow its impact and we have an incredible year round and seasonal staff that are pushing the work forward. To say that I feel privileged to work for this organization is an understatement and I similarly cannot fully express how grateful I am (and we are) to NAAEE and all the programs mentioned for recognizing the work we do and helping us to expand our reach to more individuals, more organizations, and more communities. You can be sure we will continue our work in 2019 so check back often for updates on all our endeavors and we would love to hear about any other connections you want to send our way!

Making connections at RootSkills Conference

Between the end of November and the beginning of January many people are in a holiday 'blur', so it is understandable if you attributed that surge of positivity and global hope you felt at the beginning of December purely to the cheer of the season. What you were really feeling on December 1st and 2nd was the emotional glow generated by over 300 community organizers, funders, nonprofits, and sustainable businesses gathering together in Manchester, New Hampshire for the 2017 RootSkills Conference put on by the New England Grassroots Environment Fund. The conference itself was formed to 'bridge the divide between social and environmental justice' and even though it was centered in New England it drew in people from as far away as California to join us.

Robin and Jenn participating in the 2017 Emerging Changemakers group - Photo from MEEA's website

From the visionary keynote presentations given by Vien Truong (CEO of Dream Corps), San Juana Olivares (President of the Genesee County Hispanic/Latino Collaborative), and Rev. Mariama White-Hammond (Minister for Ecological Justice, Bethel AME Church), to the workshop tracks that spanned everything from Local Food to Youth Activism, the entire conference was inspirational beyond words. Among the many sessions I attended was one delivered by members of the Maine Environmental Education Association. Hearing how MEEA has worked so hard to eliminate power dynamics within their organization based on age was a highlight of the conference for me, especially when it was being presented by the youth representatives themselves. It made me proud that Hurricane is part of MEEA's Environmental Changemaker's Network and even more energized to help empower and support youth on Hurricane Island and in our communities as the change-makers of our collective future.

Placing our opportunities and challenges on the path to great results!

The activity we participated in at RootSkills in the MEEA session had us all thinking about the opportunities and challenges we all face in helping youth have an equal voice on any playing field but particularly around environmental issues. We brainstormed and discussed our ideas in small groups while we wrote the opportunities on colorful paper fish and the challenges on small 'boulders'. We then came back together as a group and all shared what we came up with and placed our fish and boulders on a paper 'river', with all the fish moving towards the end result: empowering young people from all communities who are passionate about the environment.

Through every session we participated in, Phoebe, Robin and myself made more connections to other people and organizations and grew our mental networks as much as we grew our professional networks.  We all left the conference vibrating with new ideas and positive energy and we are riding that momentum into our 2018 season.  On that note.... we would love to have other passionate individuals join us on that journey so if you know of someone who would like to work on the island this summer please send them our way! :)

Endings and Beginnings: Oak Hill High School

Guest blog post by Science Educator Isabelle Holt

Enjoying the views from Gibbons

For the first time ever Oak Hill High School joined us on Hurricane for their very own island experience. While it was Oak Hill’s first time on Hurricane, it was our last on-island program as a staff this season. Together we bookended each other’s experiences. The energy and excitement Oak Hill’s first year class brought to the island was the perfect note on which to end a long, eventful, and wonderful season.

School leaders enjoying the time on Hurricane!

The first year class was split in half and each half, the A and B teams, spent 25 hours on the island, which meant that we had to pack a lot into the little time we had together. One singular and wonderful thing about the Oak Hill program was that we were not only joined by teachers from the school, we were also joined by the Oak Hill High principal, Marco Aliberti, and vice principal, Laurie Catanese. It is not often that we get to dig around in the intertidal with both students and their administrators alike These school leaders mirrored the excitement shown by their students at finding crabs and uncovering dog whelk eggs.

(Raft) challenge accepted!

Oak Hill is trying to shift the culture of the school towards being more field trip orientated and the school’s trip to Hurricane was an important first step towards that goal. Many students and parents were initially nervous about the trip and fewer students than expected attended the first round in team A. However, by the time team B came out to the island the word had spread about the magic of this place and more than the expected number of students were in attendance.

High cliffs hangout. 

One common theme among the feedback received from the Oak Hill students was how much fun it was to be able to learn science while out of doors and explore the island. All the Hurricane island classics were observed, from the raft challenge, to learning about scallops, and from the history hike, to squeezing through the “cracks.” As an educator it was a joy to have such an enthusiastic and adventurous group of students for my last program. There is something about sharing the Hurricane island experience with others that truly brings it alive for one’s self. I will dearly miss hearing my students’ exclamations, questions, comments, and even complaints as we learn and discover together. On Hurricane each day, each group, and each student make our community stronger as it grows and changes from season to season. Here’s looking forward to next year!

Watershed School: Challenge by Choice

Guest blog post by Science Educator Dana Colihan

Some laughs at the rock wall

Earlier this fall, Watershed School came to Hurricane Island for their orientation trip. Watershed is a small alternative high school that centers innovative teaching and project based learning. While at Hurricane Island, Watershed focused on growing their community and team building exercises. As an entire high school, students went rock climbing, rowing, built rafts, as well as participated in intentional debriefing time together. During these activities, Watershed faculty and students explored one of Hurricane Island’s core values, “challenge by choice.”

Student's belaying their classmates

Our Lead Science Educator, Robin Chernow, has a favorite quote, “A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there.” Just outside your comfort zone is your growth zone, but if you don’t leave your comfort zone, you will never be challenged to grow. We believe that we should lean into our discomfort. Being uncomfortable is usually a sign that learning is occurring! However, just beyond your growth zone is your danger zone. At Hurricane Island, we will not put students into their danger zones. We will never make a student do something they don’t want to do, but will encourage them to challenge themselves. What’s really important to realize about this is that we all have different comfort, growth, and danger zones. Some students can climb all the way up to the top of the rockwall unphased, but for others stepping on a boat and staying on an island is difficult.

A wave from the top!

On their last night at Hurricane Island, Watershed faculty led a reflection at a campfire about these concepts. Students and staff shared something that had been challenging for them on the trip, a way that they could push themselves tomorrow, and how they would bring these strategies back to Watershed. A few students shared that physically being on an island and certain activities really put them outside of their comfort zones. A couple other students said that some of the activities weren’t challenging for them, but being at a new school or trying to make new friends pushed them a lot. It was powerful to see so many students openly share about things that were difficult for them. I was impressed at the level to which these students could openly talk about their feelings. It is an important skill that not everyone has and not all schools teach.

Leap of faith!

The next day, students who hadn’t felt particularly challenged yet pushed themselves out of their comfort zones in different ways. Some decided to take the polar plunge, while others sat with new people at breakfast. Throughout this program, I enjoyed seeing how Watershed engaged with this concept so intentionally. As individuals challenged themselves personally with the support of their peers, the school grew together as a community.

North Haven Community School: Learning to live by

Guest blog post by Science Educator Dana Colihan

Austin and Irene make apple cider

Last Week, 11 high school students from North Haven Community School journeyed to Hurricane Island for their fall expedition. This felt like a particularly important group to have because these students live so locally. Many have grown up on North Haven, have visited Hurricane Island before and will come here again. This year’s class has also three international students and a few new magnet students from the mainland. It was a joy to share the island with this mix of students who were both returning here and experiencing the island for the first time.

With this group, our activities had elevated significance and connections beyond our shores. The place based education that we teach on Hurricane was not confined to this island, but were pieces of knowledge these students could bring back home with them.

Students strategize the raft challenge

The most memorable example of this was teaching the students about the scallop aquaculture research occurring on the island. If climate change continues to warm the Gulf of Maine, many fisherman are afraid lobsters will move further north and to deeper waters in search of colder temperatures. People are looking to aquaculture as an alternative or addition to lobstering. Still using the ocean, it could be a more controlled and sustainable option.

Tyrese and Arnd belaying at the rock wall

To grow scallops on Hurricane Island, we deploy spat bags to harvest them in their planktonic form. Upon showing the spat bags to the students, one joked, “Hey, can I take one of those home with me?” Another was excited to see our aquaculture equipment in action, having already done a lot of research about scallop aquaculture techniques himself. Both of these students have grown up lobstering and come from six and seventh generation lobstering families. If they are already interested in this process in high school, there is hope that they could be growing their own scallops in a few years! While it can be tricky to get a license, our Research Technician Bailey Moritz was able to connect them with additional information about the process.

Working with these students reminded me of the value of doing placed based education with people connected to place. It is important to share this island with individuals who have never been to Maine or an island before. It is sometimes even more meaningful to share it with communities who live a just a stone's throw away.

Fryeburg Academy: Jumping into Hurricane!

Guest blog post by Science Educator Dana Colihan

Fryeburg Academy on their last morning!

This past weekend, seven students from Fryeburg Academy’s AP Environmental Science class traveled to Hurricane Island. This is Fryeburg’s third trip to the island with their teacher John Urgese, who brings a new group of students every year. The group consisted of two local students from Maine and five international students from China.

The crew landed on Hurricane Island on Saturday afternoon. Despite being late September, it was a hot day, and one of the first questions I received in the welcome circle was if we had any extra swimsuits. I was delighted to hear that a few of the students still wanted to brave our chilly waters and take the swim test. Rustling up a few extra trunks, four of the students decided to jump in after lunch.

Using stadia rods in the field

I grew up a water rat. I grew up with a penchant for flinging myself off of piers and into icy waters. Rivers, ponds, and lakes were fine, but nothing quite satisfied this urge like jumping into the ocean in Maine. My mom would always yell, “one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and four… to… go!” At which point, I would make the plunge. It’s a ditty I have brought with me to Hurricane Island, and enjoy sharing with our programs. As I stood on the pier holding our bright orange life-ring, I encouraged students by counting down, “One for the money! Two for the show! Three to get ready! And four to go!”

Jumping in goes against your instincts. The water is cold and wet, and the jump can be far. And yet for many, it’s an exhilarating thrill that feels so right. One of the students in particular, Ricky, after a couple jumps started to shiver, but kept wanting to go again.

Exploring on Gibbons Point

All of the students from Fryeburg Academy leapt into their time on Hurricane Island. While the group was only able to be here for 24 hours, we effectively utilized our time together. We went swimming, took a history hike, had a campfire, walked the perimeter trail, learned about climate change’s effects on our oceans, as well as how to use stadia rods to measure sea level rise in the field. It was a joy to have this group of engaged and inquisitive students who jumped right in to their time on Hurricane Island, both literally and figuratively.