Students in Aroostook County elementary schools are getting some hands-on exposure to the wonders of nature through a new project sponsored by the Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge in Limestone.
Called “Bombs to Biodiversity,” the project engages students in four classroom sessions and culminates with a trip to the refuge to apply and witness what they learned in the classroom.
The 7,500-acre Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge was established on the northeast corner of the former Loring Air Force Base in 1998, when land was transferred from the U.S. Air Force to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In addition to land transferred from the military, the refuge manages more than 2,500 acres in conservation easements.
During the Cold War years between 1950 and 1994, the portion of the base that now houses the refuge was the top-secret, self-contained storage area for nuclear weapons to arm the base’s B-52 bombers.
“It was separate from the base, a city unto itself,” said Betty Rinehart of Caribou, president of the Friends of Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge, citing a book on the history of the facility titled “North River Depot,” one of the “town’s” original names. “It was so secret, even people stationed at Loring didn’t know it was there. It was designed to look like a village from the air.”
The site that once concealed bombs has been restored to an ecologically diverse habitat for native species, one of 550 such refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System, a network of lands across the U.S. set aside for protection of wildlife. Buildings have been demolished, contaminated soils have been cleansed and 13 miles of hiking, ski and snowshoe trails have been created and marked with interpretive signs to aid bird-watching and nature study.
“We have woods, water — all that make it a bio-diverse park,” said Rinehart, explaining the title “Bombs to Biodiversity” acknowledges the history of the site and identifies what it is now.
Fourth, fifth and sixth grade students at Connor School, just north of Caribou, were among the first to participate in the educational program. Last fall, project coordinators Penny Kern and Rinehart led 45-minute sessions titled “What is an Ecosystem?” “What is Biodiversity?” “Water and Watersheds” and “Change” (working title).
“I think 45 minutes was wishful thinking unless the group of students we had at Connor was the exception,” said Kern. “They wanted to keep going beyond our time, they were having so much fun. We were there right before lunch, and they still didn’t want to end.”
Marion Lugdon, their teacher, concurred.
“Because it was hands on, the concepts stuck with the kids. They remembered the activities,” she said, mentioning such topics as predator and prey, the water cycle and the web of life as examples.
“I loved that it was so well planned, well organized and well presented at the kids’ level. They respected the kids and gained their respect,” Lugdon said, adding that the presentations augmented her science and health curriculum. “It’s not an add-on, it’s part of the program.”
A group of six students in the HEART homeschool group ranging from age 10 to 16 also helped pilot the “Bombs to Biodiversity” program last August. HEART (Home Educators of Aroostook Reaching Tomorrow) draws students from the Caribou area and Presque Isle.
“The children were very engaged in each of the activities,” said teacher Annette McEndarfer. “Each small group got a backpack chock-full of things for an exploratory outdoor scavenger hunt, following a water droplet through all kinds of areas and other educational activities.”
She said the Friends of the Aroostook Wildlife Refuge have offered “a variety of activities that our children have enjoyed many times.”
Kern said a grant from the Maine Community Foundation provided funds to purchase the backpacks to carry equipment needed to explore the refuge.
“We designed four or five activities for them to do along the trail and put all the supplies they needed in the backpacks,” she said.
Nine of the 10 packs are for land exploration, and she is assembling one to use for water experiments. The homeschool group was the first to use the backpacks and made some suggestions.
“That was a lot of fun, even though it was raining hard,” Kern said. “They stuck with it and got very serious about it.”
She said the Friends of Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge realized that “with a little preplanning, these backpacks would be perfect for families or organizations to check out and use while they explore the trails.”
The National Fish and Wildlife Federation provided funding for “Bombs to Biodiversity” and purchased android tablets so the explorers could take pictures and record what they found. Kern said the tablets are connected to her computer and use GNotes to collect data for a biodiversity map online to record the types of “life” at the refuge.
“Hopefully, over time, we will be able to track which species are returning and which ones may be gone forever,” she said. “Because we wanted to do this survey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Moosehorn, gave us GPS units the students could learn to use, and we created an EDUCACHE skill to practice with.”
The Connor school children have not been to the refuge yet, but Kern and Rinehart are planning their day of exploring and testing their theories.
“We will also take them to the weapons storage area and show them how nature is taking back,” said Kern, identifying nature’s ability to reclaim the land as an important theme in the program.
The success of “Bombs to Biodiversity” with the homeschooled and Connor students has inspired Rinehart and Kern to offer the free program to other elementary schools in the area.
“Our goal is to get kids to appreciate what is outside,” Rinehart said. “If we can get them interested, we can get them outside to explore and discover. Nature is remarkable.”
The trails are open daily from sunrise to sunset, and the nature store is open 1-4 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. For more information, visit www.fws.gov/refuge/aroostook.
Kathryn Olmstead is a former University of Maine associate dean and associate professor of journalism living in Aroostook County, where she publishes the quarterly magazine Echoes. Her column appears in this space every other Friday. She can be reached at kathryn.olmstead@umit.maine.edu or P.O. Box 626, Caribou, ME 04736.