Students at Great Salt Bay Community School now have the chance to learn how to build fires, tie knots, and pick up other wilderness and survival skills through a new elective offered by Assistant Principal Ira Michaud.
The elective is offered twice a week on Monday and Thursday, and is open to seventh- and eighth-graders.
“The goal is to teach kids how to connect with the outdoors,” Michaud said. “Some of it is through basic woodsmen skills, but the bigger goal, for me at least, is to teach heightened awareness and thankfulness for nature.”
Michaud arrived at GSB with a background in wilderness teaching. In addition to reaching the rank of Eagle Scout, Michaud also worked at Boy Scout camps and worked as a mentor at the Maine Primitive Skills School in Augusta, which teaches a variety of wilderness survival skills and outdoor awareness.
Michaud also previously taught outdoor survival skills at a day camp in South Gardiner. The camp started with six kids, but grew until Michaud had to offer three weeks of programming for 60 children.
When Michaud applied for the assistant principal position at Great Salt Bay, he mentioned his experience with teaching wilderness survival, which was something Principal Kim Schaff had hoped to integrate into the school’s curriculum.
“The idea of offering an outdoor learning program was something we had wanted to do for a while,” Schaff said. “It’s a unique learning opportunity for the students.”
At the beginning of the year, Michaud sent a letter to parents of seventh- and eighth-graders informing them about what the elective would include, as well as a waiver to sign if they wished to allow their students to participate. Michaud started offering the elective during study halls at the end of September. The first day, students didn’t really know what to expect.
“When we went outside, I asked them to gather in a circle and everyone sat on a log,” Michaud said. “I was the only one who actually sat myself on the ground and connected to nature.”
Michaud said there is a core group of students who show up every study hall unless they have schoolwork to complete. There are also students who have come to the class once or twice, but didn’t come back.
“The important thing is, they were willing to try it out,” Michaud said.
Michaud uses his twice-weekly time to teach basic survival and awareness skills, such as building a fire in less than 10 minutes, quiet movement through the woods, and knot-tying.
“In the winter we’re going to work on tracking animals, because it’s easier to do with snow on the ground,” Michaud said. “In the spring we’ll move on to plant identification.”
Michaud said he would also like to eventually offer an overnight trip to teach outdoor cooking techniques.
The elective is not graded, which allows students to learn from their experiences, Michaud said. The first day the students tried to start a fire in less than 10 minutes using only three matches. None of the students were able to keep the fire lit.
“One of my favorite parts of teaching these skills is to see them fail at something the first time and then succeed later on,” Michaud said. “They’re learning and understanding that failure is a learning opportunity so they can succeed.”
Michaud said he eventually hopes to expand the program and teach a day camp for children of all ages. In the meantime, both he and Schaff said the response to the elective has been very positive.
“The elective is really balance between what some might call a ‘granola’ idea and these utilitarian ideas of building fires and learning about different hunting methods,” Michaud said. “I really just want the kids to slow down and appreciate their surroundings.”