Chewonki (8th Grade)

At the beginning of each school year, all eighth graders participate in a much-anticipated week-long adventure at the Chewonki Foundation’s facility in Wiscasset, Maine. This outdoor education program combines environmental education, skill building, team building, and fun for a memorable experience that is a benchmark of PCD's Middle School program. Students typically engage in three educational units in the Outdoor Classrooms program. The sustainability unit includes a study of renewable energy, food production at the Chewonki Farm, and a workshop activity devoted to the environmental issues currently facing cites and towns across the United States. The team building unit includes group challenges, a ropes course known as the barn climb, the crossing of a gulch, a rock climb, and a map and compass activity, as well as a canoeing activity if time permits. The final unit on outdoor living skills requires the students to set up their own campsite and prepare meals over a campfire.  Students come home both tired and energized—proud of notable accomplishments and excited by new discoveries.