In Maine: Grants Provide Opportunities for Schools to Partner with Climate and Environmental Community Organizations
The Maine Department of Education (DOE) awarded $750,000 in climate education professional development grants to 10 programs throughout the state. These programs will support partnerships between school administrative units (SAUs), schools, and community organizations to strengthen climate education opportunities for students across Maine.
This grant funding increases access to climate education for students throughout Maine. The grant directly funds professional learning for educators to partner with climate science experts and organizations in their communities. These programs are instrumental in providing educators and schools the support needed to address climate and resiliency in the classroom.
Maine continues to be a leader in outdoor learning and climate education. The Maine DOE’s Rethinking Responsive Education Ventures (RREV) initiative, funded through a $16.9 million federal grant, has supported the expansion of outdoor education classrooms, programs, professional learning, partnerships, and spaces across the state. Schools across Maine utilized federal relief funding to expand outdoor learning spaces and programs. Governor Mills’ Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative has provided thousands of Maine middle and high school students with coastal and inland forestry learning and career exploration opportunities during the summer. The Maine DOE recently hired a Climate Education Specialist to support and expand this work with educators, schools, and community partners across the state. You can learn more about the Maine DOE’s climate and outdoor education work here.
The grant initiative was designed out of LD 1902, which was passed by the Legislature in 2022 and signed by the Governor to establish a pilot program to provide support for climate education in Maine public schools. Priority was given to communities historically underserved by climate education, socioeconomically disadvantaged communities, and interdisciplinary, place-based, and project-based learning-focused activities. In its second year now, the Climate Education Professional Development Pilot Grant Program has awarded over $1 million dollars to 16 programs that will serve 40+ schools in 10 counties and hundreds of teachers and thousands of students statewide. The program will accept applications for 2025-26 School Year programs this coming winter.
Read the full release on the Maine DOE’s website.
Tags: funding, school-community partnerships, state policy, STEM
