The Katahdin Learning Project is a place-based learning program in the Katahdin region offering a variety of programs to nurture connections between learners and land in Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument and the surrounding communities. Programs vary through the seasons and include lessons and activities in the national monument, outdoor learning at local schools, place-based and service-learning projects, trail crew opportunities, and teacher professional development. Since its founding by local teachers and National Park Service staff in 2016, the Katahdin Learning Project has engaged over 11,000 students from the Katahdin Region and around the state through more than 565 programs (as of spring 2023). The Katahdin Learning Project welcomes educators and students from all areas to join us for programs in the Monument. For more information click here to download our current catalog or contact Kala Rush, Education Director at kala@friendsofkww.org.

Learn about what drives us
MISSION:

The mission of the Katahdin Learning Project is to nurture connections between learners and land in Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument and the surrounding communities.

VISION:

We envision a community where learners benefit from a breadth and depth of place-based experiences, forge lifelong connections to nature and their communities, and realize the full potential of their education. We envision a community where Wabanaki people determine how Indigenous and settler peoples learn about the history and culture of the Wabanaki Nations.

VALUES:

Engaged Learning
Reverence for the Land, Water, and Their Teachings
Honoring History, Looking Toward the Future
Respectful Collaboration
Organizational Excellence

Learn about our programs
We run a variety of programs year round in all four seasons ranging from visits to the national monument to professional development and trail crews. Interested in signing up your class or school for a program? Contact Kala Rush, Education Director at kala@friendsofkww.orgKLP Program Catalog (5.5 × 8.5 in) (RGB) (1)
MONUMENT VISITS:

Guided visits to the national monument are our most popular program and are offered every summer, fall, and spring. Programs are offered on subjects ranging from local ecosystems to history, animals, and more. To stretch the learning beyond your trip we also offer school visits in conjunction to the monument visit which help cement the lesson and connect it back to your curriculum. Students and families are also invited to come to Stars Over Katahdin in the fall which focuses on our dark skies.

SCHOOL VISITS:

In the winter when the roads to the national monument are closed we bring the monument and its learning to your schoolyard! Lessons are typically focused around winter and early spring activities like snowshoeing, identifying animal tracks, and even tapping maple trees!

SERVICE LEARNING:

Service learning programs are an opportunity for middle and high school students to give back to their communities while gaining real-world experience! Service learning can look like anything from clearing brush and doing trail work in the national monument to volunteering at a Friends’ event.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:

Our main professional development opportunity each year is Teacher Camp offered every summer. Typically a two-day experience in the national monument with lodging available nearby, Teacher Camp brings together teachers from all across the region and the state for outdoor fun and place-based learning workshops. Extended learning credits are offered for Teacher Camp through Katahdin Valley Higher Education Center.

TRAIL CREWS:

Each summer we support incredible trail crews that work in the national monument. Through a partnership with Friends of Baxter State Park the Baxter Youth Conservation Corps spent one week of their season working in the national monument in 2019. Through a partnership with Wabanaki Youth in Science, Maine’s first Ancestral Land trail crew has spent each summer working in the national monument since 2020.

Learn about where we're going

From 2020 to 2021 our team worked with a variety of community supporters to create a strategic framework to guide our program’s growth into the future. This framework maps out four priorities for our next four years: 1) Relationships, 2) Impact, 3) Visibility & Understanding, 4) Capacity & Infrastructure. You can explore the plan using the viewer below:

Photo Gallery: