The Land Lab

A Vision for Connection:
Reestablishing The Land Lab at Evergreen Outdoor Education

At Evergreen Outdoor Education, our mission is to cultivate a profound and lasting connection between individuals and the natural world, fostering a generation of thoughtful stewards and engaged citizens. We believe that authentic environmental education blossoms not from textbooks alone, but from the rich soil of direct experience, curiosity, and a deep sense of place. With this core conviction, we propose an important initiative: to reestablish and revitalize the beloved Land Lab, integrating its proven model into the heart of the Evergreen Outdoor Education campus.

Reclaiming A Legacy: The Land Lab Reimagined

The Auburn Land Lab began with a simple but powerful philosophy: providing students an “Opportunity to Learn Differently.” Established in the mid-1980s under the vision of educators like Phil Brookhouse and Jim Chandler, the Lab transformed the natural landscape of East Auburn into a living classroom. For nearly 30 years, it operated as a dedicated budget line item within the Auburn School Department, serving over 3,500 K-12 students annually from across central Maine.

By reestablishing the Land Lab on our campus, we are not merely resurrecting a program: We are reimagining a vibrant hub of discovery. In this living classroom, the boundaries between nature and culture dissolve. Our campus, with its diverse ecosystems, open spaces, and existing infrastructure, provides the ideal setting for this revival. We will create a dynamic outdoor learning environment, featuring walking trails, a thriving garden, a composting system, and dedicated spaces for hands-on scientific exploration, mirroring the successful model of the original Land Lab. This will be a place
where the “Five Es Model of Inquiry”—Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate—comes to life, empowering learners to become active researchers of their local environment.

A Cornerstone for Our Schools: Benefits for the Local Education System

The reestablished Land Lab at Evergreen Outdoor Education will serve as an indispensable resource for the local school system, offering an unparalleled complement to existing curricula. We understand the pressures educators face, particularly in meeting standardized testing requirements. Our Land Lab is designed to enhance learning outcomes in tangible ways, mirroring the positive gains in science proficiency observed at East Auburn Community School when the original Land Lab was active. We will partner directly with local elementary, middle, and high schools to provide:

Experiential Science Units: Developed in collaboration with teachers, these units will align with state science and technology standards, offering hands-on activities that make abstract concepts concrete. Imagine students dissecting owl pellets, building pollinator and bat habitats, or observing the life cycle of local fish – all within a framework that encourages inquiry and discovery while fostering deep understanding.
Place-Based Field Trips: Our campus will become a living laboratory for school groups, offering structured field trips that connect classroom learning to the immediate Maine environment. Programs that enable students to engage in hands-on exploration, discovery, and analysis of the natural environment around them are prime examples of the powerful, locally relevant education we will provide.
Teacher Resources and Training: Evergreen will develop and maintain comprehensive science kits, filled with materials and lesson plans, enabling teachers to bring embodied experiential learning directly into their classrooms. We will also offer workshops to familiarize educators with our place-based, hands-on methods for using our science modules in their daily teaching.
Targeted Academic Support: Inspired by the original Land Lab’s “academies,” we will offer specialized programs for students who benefit from alternative learning environments, providing focused, community-based instruction that re-engages them with academics through the lens of environmental discovery.

By providing this range of services, The Land Lab at Evergreen Outdoor Education will ensure that every student, regardless of their school’s resources or family income, has equitable access to experiential education that cultivates environmental literacy and fosters personal responsibility and confidence.

Expanding Our Reach: Opportunities for Families and Homeschoolers

Evergreen Outdoor Education believes that environmental learning is a lifelong journey, and that the connection to nature should extend beyond the school day. The reestablished Land Lab will be a vibrant community asset, welcoming families and homeschool groups to participate in enriching, hands-on experiences:

Family Discovery Days: We will host regular weekend programs, inviting families to explore our trails, participate in gardening activities, learn about composting, and engage in nature-based crafts and games. These programs will foster intergenerational learning, creating shared memories and strengthening family bonds with the local environment.
Homeschool Curriculum Support: The Land Lab will offer dedicated programming and resources tailored to homeschool families, providing structured science lessons, access to our facilities, and opportunities for collaborative learning with other homeschoolers. This will allow homeschool parents to leverage our expertise and resources to provide a robust, hands-on science education.
Summer Workshops and Holiday Programs: Our campus will host immersive summer workshops and holiday programs, offering extended opportunities for children and youth to dive deeper into environmental science, outdoor skills, and place-based exploration. These programs will be designed to be accessible, with scholarship opportunities to ensure broad participation.

By opening our doors to the wider community, the Land Lab at Evergreen Outdoor Education proves that one need not travel to distant wilderness areas or pay for expensive private programs to enjoy a meaningful outdoor learning experience. The opportunities are, in fact, deeply rooted in our own backyards, neighborhoods, and local ecosystems.

Cultivating Connection: Bridging the Nature-Culture Divide

At its heart, the reestablished Land Lab aligns with Evergreen Outdoor Education’s core values by bridging the divide between nature and culture. The future of environmental stewardship depends on dismantling this false dichotomy. The Land Lab will actively work to reframe the narrative by:

Fostering Local Relevance: Every program, from gardening to studying local wildlife, will emphasize the interconnectedness of human actions and the immediate environment. Students will learn how their daily lives are intertwined with the health of their local ecosystem.
Promoting Active Stewardship: Through hands-on participation in maintaining the garden, composting, and trail systems, learners will develop a tangible sense of agency and responsibility for their local place. They will see themselves not as mere visitors to nature, but as integral parts of it.
Teacher Resources and Training: Evergreen will develop and maintain comprehensive science kits, filled with materials and lesson plans, enabling teachers to bring embodied experiential learning directly into their classrooms. We will also offer workshops to familiarize educators with our place-based, hands-on methods for using our science modules in their daily teaching.
Offering an Alternative to Screen Time: In an increasingly digital world, the Land Lab provides a crucial counterpoint. It offers a space for authentic, multi-sensory engagement that screens cannot replicate. While technology has its place, we believe that direct experience with the natural world is irreplaceable for fostering environmental values and critical thinking.

A Call to Action

The re-establishment of the Land Lab at Evergreen Outdoor Education is more than a project. It is an investment in the future of our community and our planet. It is an opportunity to deliver vital, accessible, and highly impactful environmental education that cultivates connection, fosters stewardship, and empowers a new generation to understand and protect the world around them. It fosters a meaningful relationship with the vast natural world that is our birthright as human beings.

We invite you to join us in this critical endeavor. Volunteer, Donate, and Participate. Your support will enable Evergreen Outdoor Education to bring this invaluable resource back to life, ensuring that every child, every family, and every member of our community has the chance to discover the profound beauty and interconnectedness of our local environment. Together, we can cultivate a legacy of environmental connection that will thrive for generations to come.