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Environmental Education Grants
Schools and libraries in Loon Echo Land Trust’s service area (Bridgton, Casco, Denmark, Harrison, Naples, Sebago, Raymond) may apply for small grants for programs to help children learn more about the natural world. The application period opens on November 15 of every year. 
- Grant Application: Download Here
- Grants Deadline: January 15, 2012
- Grant Award Range: $50-300
- Award Notification Date: February 15, 2012
- Grant Reporting Required: Submission of a short report form and a “kids’ chronicle” from a student or participant. Selected chronicles are displayed at the bottom of this webpage.
- Restrictions: Please note that only one program will be funded at each school or library due to the limited amount of funding available. If report forms are not submitted for a funded program, it may disqualify schools or libraries from applying the following year.
- For more information: Contact Us
How are these grants offered? Funds for the educational grants are made available through Loon Echo’s Educational Endowment, and since 1998 hundreds of children have benefited from programs that teach about the natural world. The endowment was developed as a memorial to two teachers, Helen Allen and Polly Bartlett. Helen Allen granted Loon Echo a conservation easement to forever protect her beautiful hilltop farm on Quaker Ridge in Casco. After her death at the age of 94, Helen Allen’s bequest to Loon Echo allowed the Trust to create a fund to support yearly programs in local schools and libraries.
In addition to the general grants awarded through an application process, Loon Echo provides funding for the following programs:
Mayberry Hill Forest Field Day- This field day is held at Loon Echo’s 160-acre Mayberry Hill Preserve in Casco. The Lake Region High School’s Sophomore Team participates in the program, which is sponsored by Loon Echo, the Maine Forest Service and Maine Project Learning Tree. The field day focuses on forestry, tree types, wildlife, and much more as a way to gain experience and an understanding of local forests, their complex nature and importance to our culture.
Winter Audubon Hike - Polly Bartlett was one of the original founding members of Loon Echo. Each year she treated her third grade students at Sebago Elementary School to a winter walk with Maine Audubon. When she died in 2000 at the age of 48, Loon Echo created a fund in her memory to ensure that third graders at Sebago Elementary would always take their winter walk.
Kids’ Chronicles: Each school or library selects a student or patron to write about their learning experience after attending an environmental education program funded by Loon Echo.
- “The great horned owl has a sound that you normally hear that goes whoo whoo and is a very large owl that eats lots of mice a day. A barn owl has great camouflage, has a lovely sound, eats 4-6 mice a day and is medium size. A screech owl is very small, makes a very loud sound, and eats 1-2 mice a day.” Madison Cohoon, 3rd grade, Sebago, Spaulding Memorial Library Program
- “Today I went to the Raymond Village Library to see the turtles. I learned great things about turtles, their environments, and their bodies. One lucky girl got to dress up in a turtle costume! I learned that they have to be 50 degrees to digest their food. They have 5 scutes. (Scutes are little plates on their back.) They live in swamps, on land, and in the ocean. I even got to see 2 cool box turtles! And there was a fun turtle activity!! Thank you for the good learning time!” Tommy Dupont, age 8, Raymond, Maine, 4/21/2010
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