Maine Department of Education awards $1.8M in climate education professional development grants
AUGUSTA – The Maine Department of Education awarded $1.8 million in climate education professional development grants to support partnerships between 14 school administrative units, schools, and community organizations to strengthen climate education opportunities for students across Maine.
Grant funding will allow educators to learn from experts and organizations that have created, sustained, and grown outdoor and environmental education opportunities and programs that are tailored to their local region’s assets and needs. Educators will be able to bring what they’ve learned back to their classrooms and schools to expand innovative and engaging climate education opportunities to more Maine students.
The Greenville Consolidated School received grants in this first round of funding. The school will partner with the Rural Aspirations Project to create elementary and middle school place-based science maps, align their curriculum, and design middle school climate intensive units.
“These grants provide Maine educators and schools with the tools, resources, and partnerships they need to provide students with engaging, hands-on climate and environmental education. From the mountains to the coast, Maine has enormous natural resources for students to explore and learn from so they can be effective environmental stewards and leaders,” said Maine Education Commissioner Pender Makin.
Maine continues to be a leader in outdoor learning and climate education. The Maine DOE’s Rethinking Responsive Education Ventures initiative, funded through a $16.9 million federal grant, has supported the expansion of outdoor education classrooms, programs, professional learning, partnerships, and spaces across the state. Schools across Maine utilized federal relief funding to expand outdoor learning spaces and programs. Gov. Janet Mills’ Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative has provided thousands of Maine middle and high school students with coastal and inland forestry learning and career exploration opportunities during the summer. The Maine DOE recently hired a Climate Education Specialist to support and expand this work with educators, schools, and community partners across the state.
The grant initiative was designed out of LD 1902, which was passed by the Legislature in 2022 and signed by the Governor to establish a pilot program to encourage climate education in Maine public schools. Priority was given to communities historically underserved by climate education, socioeconomically disadvantaged communities, and interdisciplinary, place-based, and project-based learning activities. A second climate education RFA will be announced.