This web site has been constructed to support non-profit community projects and organizations as well as provide interesting and informative material about this region. We hope you enjoy it..
Back to Index

		Richard H Buck Copyright© 1997 Photographs & Text by Richard H Buck. All rights reserved world wide.

Jordan-small Students In Unique Summer Institute A raindrop falling atop Rattlesnake Mountain in Raymond wends its way through the Sebago Lake Watershed and into Casco Bay. On June 25, 12 fifth and sixth graders from Raymond's Jordan-Small School will hike to Rattlesnake's summit for a birds-eye view of Sebago Lake and the Crescent Lake, Panther Pond, and Thomas Pond sector of its watershed. The hike highlights "Watershed Day," the start of a series of five hands-on day trips roughly following that raindrop through the watershed to Casco Bay--where the students will enjoy a cruise at this "Summer Institute's" conclusion. Raymond is one of eight school districts in Southern Maine involved in a grant program called the Annenberg Challenge Rural Initiative. Administered by the University of Southern Maine (USM), the Rural Initiative is designed to encourage school districts to determine which resource in their community reflects most significantly that community's character, then involve the students in a coordinated community project involving the resource. The goal of the initiative is development of "curricula of place" to promote solid academic gains for students through use of local resources, to preserve rural character and lifestyles, and to address the dual need of preparing students for rural and urban futures. Jordan-Small's Summer Institute committee, noting that Raymond's waterways are economically and environmentally vital to its rural lifestyle and are "home to the landlocked salmon," chose "waterways" as the rural characteristic on which to focus their efforts. Summer Institute coordinators Jill Izzo and Debbie Blanchard, both Jordan-Small teachers, recruited Jody Smith of the Portland Water District (PWD), and they set out to establish a truly hands-on educational experience for participating students The 12 student participants, chosen according to their interest in the program based on written essays and teacher recommendations, are: Sixth Grade; Lizzie Crockett, Kevin DeSorbo, Josh Geib, Brandon Pullen, and Stacy Stanley: Fifth Grade; Chelsey Conant, Zack Fey, Zack Kamppi, David Lawler, Sam Lobel, Ashley Stowe, and Ali Traver. Coordinators Izzo, Blanchard, and Smith came up with a plan. On June 25, while the students reflect on the watershed from atop Rattlesnake mountain, Smith will explain related concepts, including surface and groundwater, and pollution sources. Izzo will give the students a topographical overview of the watershed, using a compass and maps. Next day, at the school, Norm Maze of the PWD will show the students how watershed maps are produced on computers. Then they go canoeing in Tenny River at Camp Hines. Roberta Hill Burdette of LEA will discuss the important streams in Raymond, their ecology, how streams are monitored for chemicals and organisms, what the pollution threats are, and how clean our streams are now. June 27 is "Fishin' Day." It starts with a Casco Hatchery tour and a lecture from Steve Trembly of the hatchery staff. It continues at the Mill Street Bridge area where biologist John Boland of the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Department will talk about regional fish (especially landlocked salmon), and Charley Mann and Mark Roby will provide some hands on fly fishing and fly tying. Frye Island is the destination on June 30, where PWD staff will lecture and give demonstrations related to lake ecology, monitoring, pollution, and the current status of our lakes. A boat ride on Sebago Lake will follow. On "Aquifers and Presumscott River Day," July 1, at the school, the students will learn about Raymond's groundwater and its quality from Marianne Dubois of Maine's Department of Environmental Protection, and from Annie Blanchard and Joanna Hoyt who are watershed stewards and Jordan-Small alumni. From there the group will view a wetland at Jones Beach, tour Eel Weir Dam, where they will learn about the importance of dams, and proceed to Dundee Park. There Mark Robinson of Windham Parks and Recreation will provide an overview of river ecology, monitoring, and Presumscott pollution. The final day, July 2, will start at Maine Audubon Society in Falmouth where Lisa Silverman-Gent will provide a walking tour and an overview of wetlands, marsh, estuary and Casco Bay ecology and monitoring. In the afternoon, the Summer Institute program will be topped off with a seal/whale watch cruise on Casco Bay. 1997 is Jordan-Small's first of three years' funding eligibility. The program's design for the next two years will depend on what educational and community benefits are derived from this year's program. This Summer Institute program is made more remarkable by the fact that no taxpayer funds are involved in any way. Walter A. Annenberg, former U.S. ambassador to Great Britain provided private funding for the Challenge that bears his name, and school districts receive grants from it through USM's Southern Maine Partnership. We plan to publish an informal follow up report on this unique and ambitious project in a few weeks.