Maine Education Commissioner Pender Makin joined high school students as they dug clams and took part in hands-on coastal ecology learning opportunities at Herring Gut Coastal Science Center in Port Clyde.

The Herring Gut program, part of the Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative, provides students with a multi-day, immersive experience learning about coastal habitats and species. Students measured pH levels, studied coastal habitats while engaging in activities like digging clams, studied climate change in Maine, kayaked, learned about aquaculture, measured mussels being raised in Herring Gut’s historic lobster pound, and met with experts and those working in local marine-related industries.

Students across the state are spending their summers engaged in hands-on, project-based coastal ecology and forestry education programs through the Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative.