Agriculture at MeANS
Since the founding of the school in the fall of 2011 on the grounds of the Good Will-Hinckley School in Hinckley, the Maine Academy of Natural Sciences has been a pioneer in promoting agricultural skills and knowledge as a vital form of education for all of their students. The first Maine high school to focus purely on the natural sciences with the purpose of inspiring and engaging students, their student body represents more than 30 Maine school districts. From structuring their year-long curricula around the agricultural calendar to building in natural opportunities for students to connect their academic work with outdoor, hands-on projects, they see the experiential side of learning as essential to student growth and to developing lifelong, independent learners.
Campus
Consisting of a 1-acre farm, their campus includes three greenhouses, a Maker Space barn, an apiary, a chicken coop, an aquaponic system plus a maple sugar shack. They even have a blacksmith shop!
Events and Field Trips
Each year, they celebrate the seasons with a variety of related activities such as:
- the harvest season in October with their annual Harvest Fest, when students showcase their agricultural projects
- maple sugaring season in March with their MeANS Maple Sunday event giving students an opportunity to educate the public on the art of maple sugaring showing their training on how to operate over their four years at MeANS
- an all school field trip to the Common Ground Fair every fall, where they help with community service and agricultural presentations.
- every spring they visit Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens as a school to connect their gardening programs to theirs.
Intensives
With a mission to inspire and engage students through project-based, student-centered instruction immersed in the natural sciences of Maine with a focus on agriculture, forestry, and the environment, MeANS challenges all students to connect with their education in order to grow as individuals, interact with their communities, and lead fulfilling lives.
One of the primary ways that they embrace this mission is through their Sixteen Natural Science Intensives. During these intensives, students dive into a two-week, grade-level, interdisciplinary exploration of the natural sciences. Venturing out on field trips, conducting independent research and partnering with local experts, students create place-based projects that apply academic content and skills to meet the needs of their school, community, and local environment.
Want to know more?!
- Contact Jeffry Chase, Ag Specialist at jchase@maineacademy.org
- Website: Maine Academy of Natural Science
- Facebook: Maine Academy of Natural Sciences
