Join us for a grassroots gathering to learn about and celebrate growing food in the Northeast. This weekend-long event will be a wonderful opportunity to live and learn at River Bend Farm, share information about gardening and farming, and build a community around growing food. All are welcome - beginner and master gardeners alike. Let’s share this time of learning and growing together.

Attendees will enjoy four meals from our from-scratch kitchen and stay in our beautiful and comfortable dorms built with sustainability as a priority. During your free time, enjoy and explore our beautiful campus along the Saco River. Weekend Cost is $30 made possible by Hannaford Supermarkets.

The event is currently full. Click here to join the waitlist!

Questions? Contact Alex Grindle, Director of Learning Experiences

Join us this January for a restorative weekend of professional development at River Bend Farm, home of The Ecology School. Attendees will head out into the winter landscape to experience outdoor learning led by The Ecology School’s seasoned educators, and have time to design outdoor learning as a year-round reality for their students. Attendees will also enjoy delicious meals, stay in our comfortable, sustainably built dorms, and have time to enjoy the beautiful River Bend Farm landscape in the winter. Snow date weekend: February 2-4th.  

January 26 -28, 2024

The weekend is free for teachers and attendees will receive a $250 stipend and be reimbursed up to $115 for travel. **Applications will be reviewed and accepted on a rolling basis beginning November 1st, and until the Weekend is full. We will be in touch by November 27th to let you know whether you have been accepted to attend.**

Questions? Contact Meg Edstrom Jones, Director of Educational Partnerships

The Ecology School is excited to host Latitude for their 2023 Regenerative Real Estate Gathering! This gathering will be a revitalizing and energizing anchor for culture creators and change makers in the regenerative real estate space. It will enable you to get to know one another, build in the field, and collaborate. At River Bend Farm, stay in the new dormitory built according to the Living Building Challenge standards. With forests and rolling hills surrounding the Dining Commons, you'll enjoy three farm-to-table meals every day. Listen to inspiring speakers, and participate in daily activities such as movement, yoga, dance, swimming, bonfires and open play. In addition, enjoy guided conversations, panels and keynote speakers.

Click here to learn more about the event

Limited Availability -Tickets Sales Will Be Open Until The Space is Booked!

THE ANCA ANNUAL SUMMIT provides the unique experience of connecting with other nature and environmental learning center administrators in person. There is no better way to discuss and share your questions, challenges, and lessons learned than directly with your peers at this empowering event.

Click here for more information.

The Ecology School is excited to host The Gulf of Maine Research Institute for their 2023 Connected Learning Ecosystems gathering! Learning Ecosystems Northeast, a NASA-funded partnership, is excited to bring networks of educators (teachers, librarians, and other informal and out of school educators) together for two days of connection, reflection, and planning at The Ecology School campus. These educator networks, called Connected Learning Ecosystems (CEL’s), are open to all! 

Please note this event is sold out. To be added to a waitlist, click here.

The Ecology School is excited to host The Gulf of Maine Research Institute for their 2023 Educator Camp!

Join us for GMRI Educator Camp at The Ecology School and participate in data-rich, climate-focused, locally relevant learning that you can bring to your students through GMRI’s education programs. Over the course of three days, we will learn about local impacts of climate change, collect and analyze ecosystem data, and share observations and questions as we experience and reflect on GMRI’s LabVenture, Findings from the Field, Community Science programs. Participants will choose from a variety of offerings including intertidal investigations, LabVenture at the GMRI lab, developing questions from scientific observations, and more. Taking advantage of the Ecology School's beautiful campus, participants will have opportunities to reflect, plan, relax, and get inspiration from classroom-ready resources, peers, and their surroundings.

The Climate Educators Retreat is an interactive, professional development opportunity designed to support high school classroom educators in incorporating climate educations in their curriculum. This retreat will build your skills in place-based education, action projects, and ways to engage your community in meaningful conversations. You will learn practical ways to educate, empower, and inspire students and community members to take action on, adapt to, or mitigate climate change, leaving everyone with a sense of agency and hope.

Throughout the four-night, five-day retreat, teachers will build their climate knowledge with experts, network with colleagues, have supported time to develop implementable projects & curricula, and learn from youth themselves about effective tools to engage them. Your registration includes delicious farm-to-table meals, as well as a stay in The Ecology School’s new dormitory. Built to the Living Building Challenge Standards, it is surrounded by trails and a river to explore during downtime. The Ecology School provides the perfect opportunity to live what you learn on this climate-resilient campus!

Click here to learn more about the event

The Ecology School is excited to host The Maine Farm and Sea to School Institute again this summer! The Institute is a year-long professional opportunity for Maine schools/districts to develop a Farm and Sea to School (FSTS) program. Schools receive a year of technical support from Maine’s experts and participate in a 3-day Academy Program July 24th-26th, 2023 here at River Bend Farm. Applications are due by March 15th.

Click here to watch a video of last year's Institute!

Through application of The Ecology School’s pedagogy and teaching techniques developed through 20+ years of award-winning outdoor science lessons, teachers are challenged to explore water’s connection to human systems and its impacts on the environment. Immersed in field-based ecology lessons, teachers have opportunities to network and collaborate with colleagues from schools around the country to reimagine their teaching to include outdoor learning, place-based experiences, and community partners.

The Teacher Institute for Watershed Science and Conservation sponsored by Poland Spring will be offered to two cohorts:

Two 3-day sessions:

July 17 - 20 and July 27 - 30, 2023

Teachers who are accepted into the Institute will attend free of charge, thanks to our sponsor Poland Spring. In addition, travel including airfare will be reimbursed, and attendees will stay on-site in our dormitory during the program. An initial $250 stipend will be awarded upon completion of the 4-day Institute, and a second $250 stipend may be earned upon implementation of a community-based project after the Institute, and participation in ongoing project evaluation. Additional scholarships to supplement childcare costs, lost summer income, etc. are available based on need.

Both cohorts of the Summer 2023 Teacher Institute are full. Thank you for your interest!
If you would like to stay in touch regarding future opportunities like this, please fill out this form. We look forward to connecting!

The Ecology School’s state-of-the-art River Bend Farm Campus will act as a home base for campers as they explore and deepen their understanding of Maine ecosystems. Rising 5th-9th grade campers will enjoy The Ecology School’s exciting and game-filled teaching style while learning about what makes Maine’s ecosystems so special. Living and learning together, the Academy’s campers will live in buildings designed for tomorrow while they are immersed in learning about the state of our ecosystems today. 

Four 1-Week Sessions:
7/2 - 7/7 - Coastal Science & Marine Trades
7/9 - 7/14 - Forestry Stewardship & Career Pathways
8/6 - 8/11 (FULL) - Coastal Science & Marine Trades
8/13 - 8/18 - Coastal Science & Marine Trades

Camps are full for the year, thank you!

June Work Weekend isn’t just a great opportunity to spend a beautiful spring weekend at River Bend Farm. It’s time to roll up our sleeves and work together on various projects around campus. Projects may include: painting the farmhouse, sprucing up the gardens, helping with some farm projects, building an enclosure to the dumpsters, creating a stone dust path between the farmhouse and the Dining Commons, brush and evasive plant removal and fence repair. Bring your family and friends, and tools!

Meals and lodging are provided in exchange for all your help, and donations are welcome.

Registration is open now!

The Ecology School is excited to be partnering with DoorNumberOne.org to host a four-day event at River Bend Farm to focus on building the future of K-12 schools through regenerative practice. Join us for an immersive retreat at our nature-based, living building campus environment to work together in building a community of practice around high-impact, whole-school, regenerative climate action. You will collaborate with colleagues to explore how to move beyond “sustainable” practices and apply the lens of regeneration to your school culture, your learning programs for students, staff, parents and others in your school community, and reflect regenerative practices in all aspects of your building and operations. The Ecology School team will share their experience of creating a Living Community Master Campus Plan, and completing two beautiful new buildings, a dining hall and dormitory, both to the standard of the Living Building Challenge, the highest standard of green building design in the world. Participants will be living and learning in a regenerative setting - where better to gain inspiration and practical ideas! Moving beyond sustainability, we will be exploring the question: How can every school become a model of innovation and inspiration for what the future needs?

 Early Bird Pricing through May 15th:
$1,000 for first registrant, $850 for each additional.

Click here to learn more about the presenters

Click here to learn more about the event

The Ecology School is excited to host the Maine Art Education Association's Spring Conference Retreat at River Bend Farm! This two-day, one-night workshop will include four studio workshops in our yurts, opportunities for hands-on experiences plus additional optional program elements.

​Join in your choice of 4 studio workshops for hands-on experiences plus additional optional program elements that could include a Living Building Challenge Tour, a Field Ecology workshop, or a Food is Ecology Lab. Possibly join the Astronomical Society of Northern New England for an evening under the stars Saturday night after attending the MAEA Art Educator of the Year Awards Ceremony! Celebrate Earth Day 2023 and create art expressed through earth-conscious ways!  Experiment with Demetri Martin's quote as you submit your studio workshop proposals or volunteer to assist workshop leading educators and/or teaching artist

*Must be a MAEA member to attend.
​If you are not a current member, join HERE first!
​Reciprocal membership for out-of-state art education associations.

Questions? Contact Meg Edstrom Jones, Director of Educational Partnerships

Join us on the Saco River at River Bend Farm in Maine for a wonderful Yoga Retreat weekend. $630 for a double room, six farm fresh meals, four yoga classes with two teachers working together to offer a personalized experience and two workshops. Also enjoy kayaks, hiking trails, evening fires, great company and time to explore nearby ocean beaches, Heath Preserve or the burgeoning restaurant scene in Biddeford.

Please join us for our Fall Work and Fun Weekend! Lots of varied jobs to do, indoors and out, gardening, trail work, painting, light carpentry, etc. to help The Ecology School prepare for fall/winter and get some odd jobs done around the campus. There will be time for fun activities, music, hikes, birding and great meals by our own Chef Rich! You will be able to stay in our dormitory with 2-3 other folks who are joining us for the weekend!

This is a gathering for those who desire to be in the conversation as the field of regenerative real estate is built.

Join us for 3 nights / 4 days on the bucolic grounds of River Bend Farm in Saco, Maine. Come get to know those who are involved and be ready to evolve your life and work.

To learn more:

The Ecology School's Regenerative Real Estate Page

Latitude's Regenerative Real Estate Page

Register through Eventbrite

This summer, the first annual Maine Farm & Sea to School Institute’s 3-day Academy will be held at River Bend Farm!

Hosted by the Maine Farm to School Network, the Maine Farm & Sea to School Institute is a year-long professional opportunity for Maine schools/districts to develop a Farm & Sea to School (FSTS) program.

To learn more about this Institute and to apply, visit the Maine Farm to School Network’s webpage (click here!)

River Bend Farm Family Camp, sponsored by L.L.Bean, is designed for intergenerational families of all shapes and sizes to unplug and adventure in the outdoors together. Located in Southern Maine, just miles away from the coast on a scenic bend in the Saco River, River Bend Farm is a model of sustainable, comfortable living. Our Farm is home to 105 acres of diverse ecosystems for your family to explore—farm fields, hardwood forests, streams, and rivers.

Guided by expert Educators, River Bend Farm Family Camp is an overnight experience designed to blend curated programming and free time for your family to reconnect with nature, and each other.

Learn more: https://theecologyschool.org/family-camps