Year: 2018

With snow on the trees and ice on Monsweag Bay, Boys Camp Assistant Director Henry Heyburn and Wilderness Trips Coordinator Jen Adams are visiting colleges and universities across the Northeast to meet young adults who might be outstanding camp counselors or wilderness trip leaders. “We want them to know about the great place Chewonki is …

Looking for a Couple of Real Heroes Read More »

Floating is one of the first things art teacher Sue West asked her students to do when they arrived for Maine Coast Semester 61 at Chewonki. On a late-summer afternoon, they splashed into Montsweag Brook’s salty water and then drifted, letting the tide carry them. “I asked them, Why float on the tide?” she says, …

Art and the Natural World Read More »

Standing at the head of his portable sawmill, stationed in front of the Whitehouse, Mike Reed, a sawyer from Nobleboro, Maine, is sawing boards from white pines harvested on Chewonki Neck, transforming tree trunks into  2”- and ½”-lumber that Camp Chewonki boys will use next summer to make miniature wanigans*, toy boats, birdhouses, and other …

Ya Wanna Wanigan? Read More »

“Put away that umbrella,” chides Kary. “We don’t need umbrellas here!” The students laugh. “It was hard in the beginning,” one admits, “but now we’re used to it. We love it.”   On this afternoon they are learning about succession, how lichen on granite can give way to moss, then leafy plants, then grasses, then …

A Grove of Mouse-ear Hawkweed Read More »

Globicephala Algebra -or- Precalculus Is A Whale of a Good Time! -or- Cetacean Creation Yields Curve Verve Maine Coast Semester at Chewonki students recently noticed Science Fellow Kyle Wonser helping some visiting Outdoor Classroom students assemble a pilot whale skeleton. “Why can’t we do that?” they asked. Math teacher Katie Curtis heard them. “I thought …

Globicephala Algebra Read More »

Each semester, there are typically a small handful of Latin students at Maine Coast Semester. What they lack in numbers, they make up for in die-hard fanaticism. This week, Latin teacher Steven Farrand’s Semester 61 students decided to concoct a Roman feast for the semester community, and their enthusiasm was palpable in the kitchen as …

ACCEPTISSI SITIS AD CENAM ROMANAM! Read More »

“Are you checking my math?” asks Maine Coast Semester teacher Liz Burroughs, turning from a whiteboard, where she’s solving a calculus problem, to face her students. Yes, they say, they are. Sun is pouring through the Ellis Room windows, creating a halo around the students in the back row. Satisfied, the soft-spoken, strong-minded Burroughs turns …

Are You Checking My Math? Read More »

The snow-dusted forests of Chewonki Neck are especially quiet this week, but the classrooms of the Elementary School at Chewonki are bright and busy, like an elven workshop, with students crafting beautiful items to present at the Holiday Craft Fair and online auction on December 11. “If you hear about children making crafts, you might …

Of Elves and Economics Read More »

We hope you have a wonderful holiday. This week, some Chewonki folk shared their thoughts about what they are thankful for:

As the days grow short and the cold settles in, the witch hazel tree presents sprays of pale gold blossoms to brighten the path outside the Center for Environmental Education. Witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is a Maine native. Ruffed grouse enjoy its seeds and deer nibble its twigs and leaves. Witch hazel bark, leaves, and …

Which Hazel? Read More »