Teach ME Outside
About the initiative: Teach ME Outside is a collaborative project between the Nature Based Education Consortium, Maine Environmental Education Association, and the Maine Math and Science Alliance that supports and works in partnership with Maine communities to ensure that all Maine youth have access to powerful, hands-on environmental learning opportunities.
Building on the results of the 2019 Census of Community-Based Environmental Learning, this initiative focuses on reducing barriers and sharing creative community-designed solutions to increase schools’ and organizations’ ability to implement community-based environmental learning (CBEL). This website is designed to share resources and opportunities for professional learning, data sharing, systemic reform, networking, and partnership support.
Teach ME Outside aims to reduce barriers and share community-designed solutions to increase schools’ and organizational ability to implement community-based environmental learning. We are working to increase opportunities for professional learning, data sharing, systemic reform, networking, and partnership support.
Building long-term, systems-level support in Maine
Landscape Analysis Data
Evaluation Collaborative
Culturally Responsive Evaluation Training
Open-Source Professional Development
Network Building
Why Community-Based Environmental Learning (CBEL)?
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Increases students’ motivation
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Improves standardized test scores
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Supports students’ diverse learning styles and needs
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Enhances critical thinking, leadership, and collaboration skills
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Empowers students to make a difference in the community
Maine's CBEL Landscape
A recent landscape analysis of Maine CBEL initiatives found a variety of creative programs, in addition to many challenges including isolation from similar programs, a lack of resources or training, and a lack of consistent evaluation methods.
On the Teach ME Outside website, you'll find Community-Based Environmental Learning (CBEL) resources for educators as well as an interactive searchable map that parents, educators, and community members can use to find environmental learning partners and collaborators in their area.
Teach ME Outside builds on the collaborative work of many different organizations and individuals over the past decade and is led today by a partnership between the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance, Maine Environmental Education Association, and Nature Based Education Consortium. This project is made possible with support from the Pisces Foundation and the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation.
