School Programs

Exploring Estuaries

• Who: Third through fifth grade school groups up to 60 people.
• What: Explore the interdependence of estuarine creatures and their habitats in the great outdoors. Activities include looking at plankton under a microscope, testing the salinity of estuary water, looking at skulls and skins of local wildlife, and learning about human impacts on estuaries.
• When: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:15 am to 12:30 pm in October, November, May, and June.
• How much: $4.50 per student. Financial aid is available through the Laudholm Trust Mattina Proctor Seacoast Explorers Fund, Download financial aid application.

Water Quality Monitoring Field Studies

• Who: Sixth grade through high school school groups up to 30 people.
• What: Students collect water samples from three different spots along the Little River estuary then analyze them in our lab for fecal coliform, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity.
• When: Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:30 am to 1 pm in October, November, May, and June.
• How much: $4.50 per student includes all field sampling equipment, lab equipment, and chemicals. Financial aid is available through the Laudholm Trust Mattina Proctor Seacoast Explorers Fund, Download financial aid application.

Microscopic Drifters

• Who: Fifth grade through high school school groups up to 30 people.
• What: Introduce your students to the diverse world of plankton. Through this program, they will collect, observe, and identify live plankton, come to understand the importance of plankton to healthy ecosystems and learn plankton life histories. Students collect plankton from the estuary then view them using both dissecting and compound microscopes. Aligned with Maine Learning Results.
• When: Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm in October, November, May, and June.
• How much: $4.50 per student includes all field sampling and lab equipment. Financial aid is available through the Laudholm Trust Mattina Proctor Seacoast Explorers Fund, Download financial aid application.

Self-guided Program

• Who: School groups of any age
• What: This field trip can focus on anything the teacher desires, from wildlife to nature journals to tree identification.
• When: Mondays and Fridays by appointment only
• How much: $1 per person ($3 if borrowing equipment) + $30 consultation fee to work out the specifics of the program. Financial aid is available through the Mattina Proctor Seacoast Explorers Fund, Download financial aid application. A consultation is good for 3 years provided that the group is led by the same leaders and is following the same program.

Watershed Evaluation Team

W.E.T. places students in the field and lab to collect and test water quality in the Little and Webhannet river watersheds.

Download provisional W.E.T. data

Group Visits & Reservations

Reservations are required for all group visits and space is limited. Please book early to avoid disappointment, especially during October, November, May, and June. By limiting the number of people using the site, we protect fragile ecosystems and avoid overcrowding on trails and in facilities.