Lincoln Academy students work at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, where they volunteer regularly as part of their service-based learning class. (Photo courtesy Lincoln Academy)
During the 2022-2023 school year, Lincoln Academy students in the service-based learning class that is an integral part of the Innovatively Designed Education for All Learners program volunteered regularly at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.
The seven students, plus staff members, who volunteered joined the botanical gardens’ regular cohort of around 225 volunteers who do a significant share of the work there.
Lincoln Academy’s IDEAL students are the only student group that volunteers regularly at the gardens.
The initial connection was started last school year thanks to a referral from LA Director of Special Projects Don MacMillian. In March, IDEAL staff and CMBG staff celebrated one year of collaboration with a potluck hosted by the gardens.
The students pitched in with whatever needed to be done, Maintenance Technician Lucas Miner said.
“From painting, demolition, moving lights for Gardens Aglow, placing sandbags around the gardens, welding, basic shop upkeep, mending fences, helping move tables and chairs — and they all even helped clean out the cafe … Watching these students develop over the past few months has been neat. I’ve seen a future welder emerging as well as two mechanics,” Miner said. “(It was) very cool to see the sparks ignite; for example, one of the students was watching me weld a sign needed to build an electronic panel. I handed him the welder and said ‘here you go’ and I watched the look of sheer terror on his face change to a love for the trade.”
“What stands out about LA’s volunteerism for me is their commitment to coming weekly and being open and flexible to the wide range of projects we ask them to work on,” said gardens horticulturist Brent McHale. “Some are more exciting than others, but when they get on a project where they’re learning something new, you can see their faces light up.”
According to Janna Civittolo, IDEAL program director, several of the students in her service-based learning class will pursue trades based on their experiences at the gardens.
Civittolo said five of the students will be attending the Bath Regional Career and Technical Center in the morning next year for welding, carpentry, graphic design, and culinary arts.
The students going to Bath next year as juniors all expressed how they will miss their time at the Gardens working with both the horticulture and maintenance teams.
“The best thing about this was watching them grow here at the gardens,” Miner said. “We got to watch this team blossom and learn better leadership skills and time management.”
