APPENDIX B-6: SCHOOL OUTREACH
A goal of the Open Space and Recreation Task Force has been to build upon the
cooperative relationship that exists between school department and municipal
departments. Shared resources and expertise will serve the Brunswick community by
reducing costs, broadening awareness of local issues, and investing a new generation of
citizens in the town's future.
Marquee events such as "Common Good Day," which have involved vast number of high
school and college students have been augmented by a number of classroom and
individual student activities. Longfellow School's "Reach Out" program is based on an
annual school wide goal to connect Learning Results based student learning activities to
community needs. The Town Natural Resource Planner and Town Arborist have
provided students with insight on the community's fauna and flora as part of curricula
studies.
The Service Learning Class led by Dick Leavitt of the Brunswick High School took a
special interest in the work of the Task Force. Aided by a 3-year grant of the Maine
Department of Education, it promoted the connection of Maine's Learning Results with
service learning projects in the community. The class served as an active facilitator to
connect the open space effort with various other classes throughout the school system.
Throughout the Task Force's work, students have been active participants assisting on
scenic inventories, restoring a cemetery, hosting partnership workshops, and producing
video and photo documentary materials. As the connections between municipal and
educational services strengthen, the inherent citizen involvement, that is essential to the
long-range sustainability of the Open Space & Recreation plan, will be enhanced.
