(Pictured: First and fourth grade students during Forest Friday)

After a long week of learning inside of the traditional brick-and-mortar classroom, students at Phippsburg Elementary School head outdoors to immerse themselves in nature for what’s known as “Forest Friday.”

Forest Friday is an academic block of time when students experience place-based outdoor learning. Through professional development and shared teaching and learning experiences, teachers have embraced this as a time to focus on hands-on learning, grounded in science and social studies standards. 

In elementary school, much of a student’s day is focused on reading, writing, arithmetic, and—especially at the K-2 level—on how to be a learner and a student. That is one reason why the opportunity to have time for outdoor learning has become quite popular among Phippsburg School students and staff. Students look forward to this time to learn outside with one another in a way that allows them to be a bit more inquisitive. Movement is also always a part of Forest Friday, as it is proven to have a direct impact on improving students’ cognitive functioning.  

Outdoor education is not new to Phippsburg School, as the town has an active conservation committee and garden club run by volunteers. In fact, from 2019 to 2024, Phippsburg had a dedicated outdoor educator one day a week, who was also the physical education teacher. With the loss of COVID funding and restructuring of school personnel, Phippsburg School’s leadership team was left with the question of what to do next and how to keep outdoor education as part of students’ educational experience. 

When the school year started, many teachers and staff had experience with outdoor learning. Some did not, but everyone at Phippsburg School jumped in with ideas about how to keep outdoor education alive. Each week on Friday afternoon—rain, shine, or snow—the school principal takes two classes (an upper grade and a lower grade) and plans an outdoor learning experience. This is how Forest Friday began. This time not only engages students in nature; it also assists in helping to build strong working relationships among students—an integral part of the school culture at Phippsburg School.

On the weeks when grade levels don’t collaborate, classroom teachers plan outdoor learning experiences for their own classes: From historical hikes to visiting graveyards with local historians to snowshoeing to tree identification, staff at Phippsburg School are embracing stepping out of their comfort zone and keeping this meaningful learning alive. 

“Sometimes, we do a very focused lesson that ties into our classroom learning. Sometimes, we do hands-on science experiments, like building snow volcanoes and animal habitats.  Sometimes, we use Forest Friday as an opportunity for play and social emotional learning. The goal is to have fun and expose students to learning that they may not experience on a daily basis,” Principal Nina Willette said.  

The town of Phippsburg has many natural spaces that provide outdoor, nature-based experiences, from hiking trails to beaches, rivers, and ponds; however, many students may not have access to all that Phippsburg has to offer. One of the school’s goals is to bring equitable accessibility to outdoor learning experiences in the community.

Phippsburg School students begin the school year with an annual trip to two local beaches. Students in grades 3-5 hike Morse Mountain to Seawall Beach, and K-2 students visit Totman’s Cove (a local beach) to help pick up trash during Coastal Clean-Up Week. These place-based visits set the stage for community-based outdoor learning.

This spring, students in Phippsburg will have opportunities for place-based learning that connects to Phippsburg’s Climate Change Resilience Committee’s work. In pre-K to grade 5 classrooms, students will study the plants and animals that live in their community and learn how they can protect them to promote the sustainability of marine industries. Students in fifth grade will go on a kayak trip to Malaga Island. Students in fourth grade will reseed a local clam flat, led by diggers from Phippsburg’s shellfish committee, and release wild salmon they are currently raising in a classroom aquarium. Students in third grade will visit the Coast Guard Wharf at Fort Popham to board a local lobster boat, and students in second grade will visit the West Point oyster farm. All of these experiences will be part of a culminating celebration of learning where students showcase their research.

“The thing that I love most about experiential learning is that it provides opportunities for students to connect to their community through service-learning projects, scientific discovery, and local history. Students are often the drivers of these educational experiences, which makes learning meaningful and relevant. It can be simple or complex by design. The most magical part is seeing students in action as they discover the world around them,” Principal Nina Willette said.

Phippsburg School looks forward to continuing to bridge connections between traditional education, community, and nature-based outdoor education, which is an integral part of the school’s community. 

This story was submitted by Phippsburg School. To submit a good news story to the Maine DOE, please fill out the good news submission form.