S.E.A. in the News

The Board of the Stewardship Education Alliance announces a new grant cycle for teachers and high school students in Appleton, Camden, Hope, Lincolnville, and Rockport. Most grants will be for $500 or less, and S.E.A. hopes to fund 5 - 7 such grants.

Members of the board and advisory board of The Stewardship Education Alliance (S.E.A.) announced the opening of a S.E.A. Park at the Camden Public Landing next to the Harbor Master’s building. The project features a 300-gallon marine aquarium along with picnic tables and planters built by students from the Camden Regional High School Hatchery Innovation Center...

Did you ever wonder about the poems that appear mysteriously on store windows in downtown Camden every spring? They are the expression of a public arts-initiative called Poetry on Windows, an annual celebration-in-verse of who we are and where we live....

New for 2023: High school students may apply for an individual or group grant as long as they have the support of a teacher.

Please submit your application online before March 4. S.E.A. hopes to announce awards before the end of March.

Thanks to the generosity of donors, Stewardship Education Alliance was able to offer a second grant cycle to fund four additional grants to teachers in local schools for a total of ten in 2022.

Stewardship Education Alliance brought its Mobile Marine Tank, with sea critters, for a recent visit to Rockport library.

From Memorial Day weekend, through mid-June, the Stewardship Education Alliance (S.E.A.) presented Poetry on Windows. Poetry about the environment by students in Appleton, Camden, Hope, Lincolnville, and Rockland graced store windows in Camden, Lincolnville, and Rockport. As Wendell Berry writes, “It all turns on affection,” which is the core of what Poetry on Windows seeks to foster and embody—the hearts of our children and their love for the land, sea and air that we inhabit. If we don’t foster affection, we can’t hope for preservation.

Three years ago, S.E.A. Board member Elphie Owen, who teaches at Camden-Rockport Middle School (CRMS), suggested to start Poetry On Windows. Who could have predicted that Poetry on Windows would so quickly become a local institution?

This year passers-by can enjoy poems in Camden, Rockport, and Lincolnville, and next year they may see them on store windows in Appleton and Hope as well.

From Memorial Day weekend, through mid-June, the Stewardship Education Alliance (S.E.A.) presented Poetry on Windows. Poetry about the environment by students in Appleton, Camden, Hope, Lincolnville, and Rockland graced store windows in Camden, Lincolnville, and Rockport. As Wendell Berry writes, “It all turns on affection,” which is the core of what Poetry on Windows seeks to foster and embody—the hearts of our children and their love for the land, sea and air that we inhabit. If we don’t foster affection, we can’t hope for preservation.

Three years ago, S.E.A. Board member Elphie Owen, who teaches at Camden-Rockport Middle School (CRMS), suggested to start Poetry On Windows. Who could have predicted that Poetry on Windows would so quickly become a local institution?

This year passers-by can enjoy poems in Camden, Rockport, and Lincolnville, and next year they may see them on store windows in Appleton and Hope as well.

What do soft shell clams, bird houses, a rain-barrel system, a community garden, a GPS Camera drone kit and binoculars have in common? All will enhance special programs at local schools, and all are made possible by grants from the Stewardship Education Alliance.

The Stewardship Education Alliance exceeded its Winter Capital Campaign goal of $5,000.00. The S.E.A. offer grants to schools in Appleton, Camden, Hope, Lincolnville, and Rockport.

The Stewardship Education Alliance has announced the opening of its Winter Grant Cycle for schools in Appleton, Camden, Hope, Lincolnville, and Rockport.

Science teacher John Dietter wanted to take his 7th Grade students at Camden-Rockport Middle School to Camden Harbor to trawl for tiny particle of disintegrating plastics called micro-plastics. Micro-plastics enter our watershed in many ways including when we launder materials made with plastics, litter, and even from the air. The challenge? Where to get professional quality trawls and a boat trip that would accommodate his students. John applied for and won a grant from S.E.A. that allowed him to buy the trawls, which will be used for many years, and a boat trip. As a side benefit, for many of our students, this was their first trip in the harbor.

Each trawl the students made revealed in the lab that it contained micro-plastics. The photographs below of students on their trip and in the lab show their work, and their conclusion, that the micro-plastics look so much like food sources that many sea creatures eat them.

The Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in Boothbay has just concluded a study showing that micro-plastics are harmful to lobster larvae.

Read the article below for more information about this recent study.

The Board of the Stewardship Education Alliance has announced the election of Jenna VanRyn, a student at Camden Hills Regional High School, to the S.E.A. Board.

CAMDEN — Students thrive on discovery. And it’s through some of those discoveries that local elementary, middle and high school students are today preparing for a future filled with possibilities and opportunities.

With support of the Stewardship Education Alliance (S.E.A.) – a year-old nonprofit with the mission of increasing community awareness of ways to be better stewards of local watersheds – students, teachers and communities are benefitting from grants for special projects, activities and professional development. The 501 (c)(3) nonprofit has been supporting public and private school educators and after-school programs in Camden and Rockport since 2020, and in January expanded its support to also include public and independent schools in Appleton, Hope and Lincolnville

Forty friends of S.E.A. enjoyed a sunset cruise aboard Schooner Appledore as a fund and awareness raising event.

On June 4th, 16 environmental organizations sharing the mission to foster good stewardship gathered at the Camden Public Library Amphitheatre to show their stuff!

When COVID-9 interrupted plans for spring and summer events, Board Member and teacher Elphie Owen suggested S.E.A. sponsor Poetry on Windows. Students and local poets submitted poems with an environmental theme, which scribes wrote on shop windows downtown Camden. A Scavenger Hunt lures participants to the stores and the event was such a success that we were asked to extend it for a second week.