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Summer Camps & Workshops

Family Nature Day Camp | Garden Nature Day Camp | Exploring the Maine Coast Family Week | Summer Field Studies | Educator Workshops| Adult Workshops

FAMILY NATURE DAY CAMP

Parents and Kids pose with plant life from the forest
A group of parent and child teams pause in the forest with the plants they discovered during their hike.

An exploration of nature and local ecosystems with your family, ages 5 and up are welcome! Join us this summer for a five-day session held from 10 am to 2 pm at Ferry Beach Ecology School campus in Saco, rain or shine. Each day will bring a new adventure for adults and children to explore together
. Cost is $100 per child and $150 per parent for the weeklong session. Additional children/adults are of course welcome! Please call for additional prices.

  • MONDAY: NATURE DETECTIVES Explore the Forest and Beach ecosystems, and learn how to fully utilize your senses to enhance your outdoor experience. Introductory activities will also be conducted.
  • TUESDAY: JUNIOR-ECOLOGISTS Discover the difference between Pond and Stream environments, and even venture out onto the Salt Marsh where we'll discover how these water bodies connect!
  • WEDNESDAY: ECO-EXPLORERS Uncover the hidden secrets of the Tide Pools as we explore the East Point Audubon preserve to find marine organisms living in this unique and extreme environment!
  • THURSDAY: BE THE CHANGE Visit the Ecology School organic garden and get ready to roll up your shirt sleeves as we realize the human connection to nature, and the importance of our impacts.
  • FRIDAY: SWAMP THING Experience the Ferry Beach State Park, including the rare northern reaches of the Tupelo swamp, accessed by an adventurous boardwalk. We'll wrap up the week with a picnic lunch and playing on the beach!
    Schedule is subject to change, based upon low tide times.

FAMILY NATURE DAY CAMP DATES
June 28 - July 2, 2010

REGISTER FOR FAMILY NATURE DAY CAMP

Download the Health & Release form in Microsoft Word format or PDF format.

For more information contact Meg Edstrom or call her at 207-283-9951.

GARDEN NATURE DAY CAMP
It's a race to finish garden tasks before harvesting a snack.

Join us in the Ferry Beach organic teaching garden 9 am to 3 pm this summer to play in the soil and learn about all the amazing things that help our food grow! We will spend time working in a greenhouse, harvesting fruits and vegetables and preparing and eating delicious snacks from the garden. Bring your creativity for garden arts and crafts projects and your sense of adventure for afternoon beach, forest and freshwater explorations. Afternoon activities will also include time to swim at the beach!
$175 per camper for the week. Camps are appropriate for campers entering 1st-6th grades. Campers may sign up for one or both weeks.

GARDEN DAY CAMP DATES
July 12-16, 2010
August 2-6, 2010
(Limited space still available. Please call before registering your campers!)

REGISTER FOR GARDEN NATURE DAY CAMP

Download the Health & Release form in Microsoft Word format or PDF format.

For more information contact Meg Edstrom or call her at 207-283-9951.

"EXPLORING THE MAINE COAST" —
A FAMILY CAMP & WEEK IN NATURE

Ocean Ecology Family Weekend photo
Join Ferry Beach Ecology School for a week of outdoor exploration in local ecosystems and enjoy your stay at Ferry Beach on Saco Bay in southern Maine.

This fun-filled and adventurous week offers families a chance to explore Maine's Southern coast: ecosystems including beaches, tide pools, salt marshes, and even an organic garden will be visited. Family teams of adults and children will make trips to local hot spots, such as lighthouses, canoeing through marshes and short hikes up nearby mountains. Meals will be enjoyed in the dining hall on the Ferry Beach Park Association campus in Saco, Maine, and sack lunches will be brought along on daily adventures. Lodging options will be either dormitory style accomodations or on the Park Association's campground. Each day the group will be led by Ecology School staff for a wide variety of hands-on activities, games and experiences.
All this and so much more! Click here for more information on "Exploring the Maine Coast".

"EXPLORING THE MAINE COAST" FAMILY CAMP DATES
July 24-31, 2010

REGISTER FOR EXPLORING THE MAINE COAST FAMILY WEEK.

For more info contact Meg Edstrom or call her at 207-283-9951.

 

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Tuition Discounts
Referrals
If you are a returning camper and you have referred friends to one of our camps, you are eligible for a discount!  For each new camper that registers with details of your referral, you will receive 20% off your total tuition. Discount is limited to three (3) referrals.

Siblings
If you have more than one camper, you are eligible for our sibling discount.  You will receive a  20% discount off each additional camper registration.

Multiple Camps
1st camp full price; 2nd camp 20% discount.

Financial Aid
Campers who are eligible for school free/reduced lunch program are eligible for our camp scholarships.

Refunds
Refunds for summer day camp sessions, less a $50 processing fee, will be issued on cancellations made prior to June 1. After that, refunds will only be issued if the vacancy is filled.
Refunds for vacation day camp sessions, less a $20 processing fee, will be issued on cancellations made prior to April 1.
Full refunds are given if FBES cancels the camp session. Refunds will NOT be granted for no-shows.

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SUMMER FIELD STUDIES

Ocean Ecology Family Weekend photo
Our field studies institutes seek to provide an academic field experience to high schoolers during the summer months.

During our summer field studies institutes, students are engaged in hands-on science, including hands-on field experiments, group activities, and explorations of and comparisons between up to ten distinct ecosystems, natural and cultural sites in southern coastal Maine.

In planning each week's program, Outreach Director Meg Edstrom works with coordinators to address individual group goals and needs. She then crafts a personalized program based upon desired curriculum and site visits.

Our summer series have worked with various groups from near and far:

  • New Jersey Academy for Aquatic Science CAUSE program is designed to address the needs of underrepresented minorities in the science and education workforce and to provide quality science education through early intervention to underserved youth K-12.
  • The National Aquarium in Baltimore's Henry Hall Program provides free educational opportunities for students who attend or are graduates of the Baltimore City Public School System.
  • Suffolk University's Upward Bound Program offers both academic support and guidance through the college application and financial aid process through year-round enrichment programs.
  • The GEAR UP program (visiting from The English High School, outside of Boston in Jamaica Plain, MA) is designed to increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education.

To bring your students to Maine for a summer field experience, please contact Outreach Director Meg Edstrom at 207-283-9951 or email her at meg@fbes.org

ADULT PROGRAMS
Parent Workshops
This two-hour workshop is devoted to parents and adults interested in and concerned about the lack of time children spend outside in nature. Obesity, depression and ADHD are ailments that Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder, and some researchers are linking to children's limited experiences outdoors. Outreach Director Meg Edstrom will lead the program and offer parents innovative activities and ideas for creating a safe and more meaningful outdoor experience for their children. Topics to be covered include:

  • Exploring your role in supporting your child’s experiences and trips outdoors.
  • Learning activities for structuring outside time, and participating in a scavenger hunt using Ferry Beach Ecology School’s ecosystem field guide.
  • Discover easy techniques to incorporate fun into your trip outside while discovering the amazing stories nature has to tell.
  • Question and answer conversations focused on issues of structuring outside time, safety and awareness outdoors.
  • Using new literature to support your child’s outdoor adventures.
  • Gaining exposure to Ferry Beach’s unique, proven teaching methodologies using narrative education techniques.
  • Collaborating with other parents and adults - make connections with others looking to head outdoors!
To bring this workshop to your parent group, PTO or other venue, please contact Outreach Director Meg Edstrom at 207-283-9951 or email her at meg@fbes.org

 

EDUCATOR WORKSHOPS
AT YOUR SCHOOL
Workshops can be designed for teachers and educators as in-service learning opportunities or afternoon programs at your school. A 2-hour ABCs of Ecology: Live and Unplugged! workshop for up to 20 educators is a terrific way to combine education, entertainment and inspiration into one afternoon.

AT OUR SEASIDE CAMPUS

We also offer Educator Workshops at our campus in Saco, Maine, with a cost of $15-$50 per participant depending on length and whether meals are included. Workshops are offered year-round, 7 days of the week.

DURING YOUR SCHOOL'S RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM
While your students are out on an ecosystem lesson during their Overnight program, why not take advantage of our incredible outdoor classroom to expand your knowledge? We will work with attending teachers and administrators on specific content issues, teaching methodology, or addressing new NCLI legislation during on-site sessions. What better way to get those professional development hours? Cost is $15-$25 per participant, depending on length, for up to 20 participants.

To bring a workshop to your school or teacher group, or a workshop at the FBES campus, please contact Outreach Director Meg Edstrom at 207-283-9951 or email her at meg@fbes.org

 

 
 

 

REGISTER NOW for 2010 Camps:

Family Nature Day Camp

Garden Nature Day Camp

"Exploring The Maine Coast" Family Week

 

CALL US ABOUT OTHER GROUP PROGRAMS
Contact Outreach Director Meg Edstrom to coordinate a workshop for your school or parent organization. You can reach Meg by email at meg@fbes.org or by calling her at 207-283-9951.

 

 

 

 

 

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REGISTER NOW:

Garden Nature Day Camp 2010

 

 

 

 

 

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REGISTER NOW:

"Exploring The Maine Coast" Family Week
July 24-30, 2010

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

teachers enjoy and in-service training workshop