K-12 Education

Programs

Knox-Lincoln SWCD offers a wide range of programs and activities for youth.

Please visit Events and Programs for current activities, or click on images below for more information.

 
 

K-6 Poster Contest

The annual National Conservation Poster Contest provides K-6 students with the opportunity to convey their thoughts about soil, water, and related natural resource issues through art. Poster theme follows the annual stewardship theme of National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD).

Read ME Agriculture

Read "ME" Agriculture has reached more than 100,000 Maine students since 2008, and 700 classrooms annually. During Ag Week, volunteers read and give books about agriculture to K-4 classrooms.

Envirothon

Envirothon is a state and national environmental competition where teams of high school students test their knowledge of natural resources issues in five categories.

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Summer Ecology Camps

Summer Ecology Camps offer exciting, outdoor nature experiences for young children.

Through gardening, games, experiments, and observation, young campers enjoy an introduction to ecology and the natural world in these half-day camps. Activities include planting and maintaining a flower/vegetable garden, bug hunts, nature hikes, tree and animal identification, an ocean touch tank, and more.

These two weeks of Summer Ecology Camps include Eco-Explorers for children ages 7 to 9, and Little Sprouts for ages 4 to 6. Both camps allow developing minds to get up close and personal with plants, insects, animals, and natural systems in their Maine backyard. Camps take place at Merryspring Nature Center, in a mostly outdoor setting.

Eco-Explorers (Ages 7 to 9)

For children ages 7 to 9 who are looking to explore the natural world, conduct experiments, and get up-close-and-personal with the plants, insects, and animals in their Maine backyards.

Little Sprouts (Ages 4 to 6)

For younger campers ages 4 to 6 who love to be outdoors, discover the world around them, play outdoor games, and get creative.

Summer Ecology Camps are made possible through a partnership between Merryspring Nature Center and Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District. Camps take place at Merryspring Nature Center at 30 Conway Road in Camden.

Summer Explorer Kits

This summer we will again be partnering with Merryspring Nature Center to offer fun, take-home activities for kids ages 4-9.

Free EXPLORER KITS for families and children will be available at Merryspring Nature Center, 30 Conway Rd in Camden. Stay tuned for program dates during the Summer 2023.

Pollinator Parties

Our Pollinator Parties program provides standards-aligned, hands-on learning about pollinators and the plants that support them.

Knox-Lincoln SWCD will provide learning sessions for your Knox-Lincoln classrooms on request.

Enviroscape Watershed Model

We all live in a watershed - an area of land that drains to a particular body of water such as a river, lake, or bay. Everything that happens in a watershed affects the river, lake, or bay. Our watershed model demonstrates this concept to students of all ages.

Knox-Lincoln SWCD will provide learning sessions for your Knox-Lincoln classrooms on request, or teachers may borrow the model to use with their class.

Additional Programming to be Announced

Stay tuned.

Additional Programming to be Announced

Stay tuned.

Resources

 

Organizations and Programs

American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture

Kids Gardening

Maine School Garden Network
Maine Ag in the Classroom
 Be sure to sign up for their newsletter that highlights great resources!
Gulf of Maine Research Institute: Vital Signs

Maine TREE

Maine Project Learning Tree
National Association of Conservation Districts

New England Dairy Live virtual tours of dairy farms



Teaching Resources

Maine Ag in the Classroom Resources for Remote Learning:

https://tinyurl.com/remote-learning-resources

Agricultural lessons for preK - 12: Teach ME About Food & Farms:

Ag Mags:

"Ag Mags" are 4-page agriculture magazines designed for grades 3-5, produced by the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture. These educational magazines include information, activities, farmer interviews, and more! They're aligned to standards and come in classroom sets of 30. Check out the many different topics of Ag Mags.

New Issues include:    

Forestry Entomology

Bat Education  

Bat Trunk - available locally for loan
Project EduBat Activities  

 

Book Ideas

Explore our growing collection of books on the Agriculture Literacy Curriculum Matrix that celebrate traditions throughout the world, support Multicultural Literacy, and highlight cultures that take part in the farm to fork process of our food. Find the collection on the MatrixPrintable book list and descriptions

Climate Change Webcasts for Students: www.ClimateChangeLIVE.org

Gardening/Healthy Meals:

Dig In! A Gardening Guide Curriculum for 5th and 6th Grades
If your school participates in Federal Child Nutrition programs: http://tn.ntis.gov 


All others, view & download lessons: http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/library.html
Kit includes: Standards-based lessons, 28 pages of handouts, a gardening guide, 35 Dig In! at-home booklets for parents/caregivers, & 6 different fruit and vegetable posters

USDA Recipes - What's Cooking?
       

Homeschooling Lessons: eLearning Boxes: 

These eLearning Boxes, created by National Agriculture in the Classroom, are designed to support various forms of homeschool, virtual learning, and online classes. These kits provide ready-to-use supplies to facilitate hands-on learning and discovery. Each kit contains materials for one student to complete a variety of activities found on the PreK-2 Grade eLearning or 3rd-5th Grade eLearning lesson site. These kits can be found on the ag classroom storeGrades PreK-2 KitGrades 3-5 Kit

Pollination Activity Booklet:
http://www.life.illinois.edu/entomology/pollinators/docs/Pollination%20Activity%20Book.pdf

Soil Health:
Basics

Dig & Learn

Cover Crop

No Till

Phosphorus Cycle Challenge

Unstoppable Learning (Ted Radio Hour podcast-a must for all teachers!):    
http://www.npr.org/2013/04/25/179010396/unstoppable-learning?showDate=2014-08-29.

Water:
Water Quality Experiment: Erosion & Sedimentation