PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 8, 2022
On Jan. 27, the Press Herald editorial board raised a number of questions about L.D. 1902, a bill in the Legislature proposing a climate education grant program in Maine public schools. A point that deserves correction is the concern that there aren’t “enough community-based groups to partner with the kinds of rural and tribal school districts that the law would target.” Much of the professional development the bill would provide to educators would be delivered through community partners. There is no shortage of organizations ready and waiting to partner with schools on this pilot program, particularly in underresourced districts in rural Maine. The Teach ME Outside directory tells us that there are at least 32 programs focusing on professional development and climate education, and every county in Maine is served by at least 13 of these programs. ~ Nathan Broaddus, Nature Based Education Consortium; Diana Allen, Sanford Middle School