For those of us who grew up in Kennebunkport in an earlier time, the town was our playground.On warm summer's days our mother's would kick us out of the house in the morning with the admonition, "Don't come back until supper time!" And so we would fill the hours in search of adventure. When friends were around we played baseball in Seth Pinkham's field or headed to the end of the Langsford Road for a game of basketball at Phil Matthews'. We went fishing at the pier, explored the tide pools by the Back
Cove or went in search of sand dollars on the flats. We built a tree house in an old oak up on Fisher's Lane and from the safety of that perch we imagined ourselves in the turret of an ancient castle. On the islands of Cape Porpoise we searched for those treasures that had been washed in by the sea and remembered the stories of the first settlers that had made these places there home. We wandered down nearby paths to see where they would take us, looking to our left and right so as not to fall victim to a surprise attack by some lurking enemy as we had seen on the Wyatt Earp Show. Some days we would find our way over to our grandmother's house where after cookies and milk we would sit on the front porch and read. With just a little money earned from chores we could have a Coke or lunch at the Wayfarer with its owners, Anna and Bill. We asked questions, sought answers, learned to improvise and lived off our imaginations. We knew where we were from. It was a perfect time to be a kid, in those days before trespassing, insurance liability and work.But times did change.
When my children were young we didn't send them out for such unsupervised play. In fact, we walked them to the end of the driveway to pick up the bus which would take them to school. We drove them to softball, and dancing, and piano lessons and to a friend's house. We took them on family outings, and tried to recreate some of the same adventures I had known. But it wasn't quite the same. The world had changed and with it the context of the town in which they lived.
Richard Louv, author of the popular book "Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder," sites similar examples of play from his youth, and states that because children are spending less time outdoors it is affecting their physical, emotional and spiritual health. The Kennebunkport Conservation Trust has therefore been working with Kennebunkport Consolidated School and others in an initiative that reconnects our students with the landscape, instilling in them an appreciation for the wonders of nature which surround them and a sense of the rich history with which this community is endowed.
The holdings of the Trust offer ample and exciting opportunities to work on these and other goals. Offshore islands, local historical sites and wildlife habitat act as outdoor laboratories to be studied on a short-term or a long-term basis and have been adopted by appropriate grade levels. Other properties can be incorporated for the study of specific subjects.
The Trust uses volunteers in a variety of ways. Information always needs to be gathered, sorted and preserved. Each property will have a data base that will include a list of its flora and fauna, its basic geology, its history and a supporting group of photographs. A list of activities has already been created of specific and enjoyable learning experiences and activities which can take place on each property which will be tied in with the required learning standards. This information creates a resource for the teachers and their assistants. It is also the Trust's desire that each property will have at least one primary representative who will be able to assist the teachers and staff with the students, imparting their knowledge about the property on either fieldtrips or in the classroom.
Ultimately, the Trust's hope is to foster in all of our children an appreciation and respect for their community, and for those who have been and are a part of it. We want to use Trust properties to enhance their education and to make them aware that learning is not only limited to an age or a classroom but is lifelong and all around us. And we want to involve others in the discovery of the information which is to be shared in order to validate that very point. If you would like to join in please contact the Trust headquarters. Your participation would be welcome.
For more information on the specific Trust in Our Children Programs, see links to the right.
Friday, February 3, 2012 at 01:57PM 
