Living & Learning

immersive Programs for all ages

The Ecology School offers a variety of programs for kids, families, and adults at our sustainable River Bend Farm campus on the Saco River in Saco, Maine.

Programs are designed to increase science literacy for all ages and provide memorable lessons about how the world works and our place within it. Living at beautiful River Bend Farm for a few days or a week is a one-of-a-kind experience that will inspire new ways of looking at food, farming, nature, communities, and technology.

Participants will reside in our new dormitory, designed to meet the “Living Building Challenge,” which demands that spaces give back more to the environment than they take from it, participate in growing and harvesting food in our permaculture gardens, take meals together in the Poland Spring Education and Dining Commons, and explore Southern Maine ecosystems on and around our campus, including river, forest, fields, marsh, and tidal zones.

When we live within the lessons that are amplified with fun and humor, the study of ecosystems, food systems, and sustainability becomes personally meaningful and actionable. As a result, The Ecology School’s Living & Learning Programs are an invitation to more thoughtful living, every day.

For Elementary & Middle School Students

Overnight School Programs

School partners from around the United States choose our deeply immersive and experiential ecosystem-based programs that empower students in elementary and middle school to discover the inner workings of the world around them and their connection to it. Exploration and investigation are conducted in the greatest classroom imaginable, the outdoors. Learn more.

Summer Overnight Camps

Our overnight camps will embrace a unique spin on the traditional, tried-and-true summer camp experience. Combined with camp favorites like arts and crafts, music and theater, campfire and songs, campers are immersed in environmental exploration, learning through hands-on activities and following their curiosity to uncover a deep-rooted eagerness to connect with nature. Learn more.

For education Professionals

Teacher Institute for Watershed Science and Conservation

For 20 years, The Ecology School has been creating innovative and immersive environmental educational programming that is rooted in students’ natural inclination to explore, be curious, laugh, and play. Thanks to the generous support of Poland Spring®, we are able to apply our curriculum — and host — this new initiative. In our three- to four-day programs, education professionals will learn (and practice!) the inner workings of our unique, and highly successful, pedagogy. Learn more.

For Adults

River Bend Farm Experiences

The Ecology School's River Bend Farm campus is a place where comfortable accommodations, delicious farm grown food, and beautiful outdoor spaces intersect with living, learning, working, and playing in ways that are restorative to the world around us.

From weekend programs like Mycology Outside to offering spaces to rent for your own retreats and gatherings, we believe living and learning together offers valuable opportunities to connect with each other and the world around us. Learn more about our tailored experiences just for adults here.

Interested in hosting your next conference, workshop, or retreat at River Bend Farm? Connect with Alex Grindle, Director of Learning Experiences!