When one works on a beach every day, one often takes for granted the startling beauty of the sun's pattern as it streams through the waves and falls to the sand below. I've been working in Kennebunk for seven weeks now (only one to go) and my life has been happily overwhelmed with nature of all types each day.
That's what happens when you're the nature teacher (or the Queen of Nature as some students call me). Seeking out the squid eggs and a whole dead seal carcass washed ashore, picking up the mostly decomposed seal flipper with a blue gloved hand and scooping up copious green crabs only to secretly kill them later, were all part of my job description this summer. Other duties included cleaning up scrapes made by clinging barnacles, helping students find sea glass while secretly squirreling away the extra special pieces for myself, slathering on more and more sunscreen in the hopes that skin cancer and copious wrinkles fail to find me and feeling the tidal mud squish between my toes while children around me exclaim, "CRAB! It's huge!!!" (aka, the size of a quarter).
We are about to conclude my second season at this beach job and recently, I learned I will not be returning next year, but for good reason. I was offered my dream job and will soon be working full time at a place I feel I've been working towards my whole life. Maybe you remember the "Disposable Society" post? Recycling and responsible waste management is my favorite...
But back to the beach: The smell of the ocean is different in Kennebunk than it is in Portland. I realized this just now as I had a flashback of sitting on a dock on Portland's harbor last night, breathing in the late night, fresh sea air. Portland has a slight fishy smell and is only overwhelming on certain days. The rest of the time, it's one of the best smells I can remember ever experiencing, right up there with sun warmed pine needles and grandma's pie crust. The beach in Kennebunk just smells fresh, happy, clean and life-giving.
My classrooms consist of "the beach," "the cove," and the garden. The waves either hit the beach gently and softly, gurgling as high up as they can reach or with height and force, towering above the children waiting to body surf and adults wading in slowly. The cove is covered in bird, mammal and fish bones, sea glass, real glass, shells of all sizes and trash. Luckily, the kids and I enjoy cleaning up the beach as we find nature treasures. I'm constantly asked "Why would someone throw all this trash on the beach?" It's a good reminder to us all that the trash doesn't come from beach-goers much of the time but instead originates farther afield. Don't litter kids. It often finds its way to the water. And the garden is an over-micromanaged space next to a small chapel but is a delightful, plant-filled contrast to the sandy and rocky beaches.
The treasures my students and I have found have been partially mentioned above, those being the highlights of the summer. But then there are the little victories: a child has never found a piece of sea glass until one of our beach walks, cooling of with "rain" from the hose on a hot day and painting a picture frame, complete with glued on "gold" (yellow periwinkle shells), for a parent's anniversary. This job as Nature Teacher has brought me more joy in nature that I thought possible. It's kept me away from the computer and in the fresh air, both hot and chilly! With one more week to go, I wonder what we will find on the beach next...
That's what happens when you're the nature teacher (or the Queen of Nature as some students call me). Seeking out the squid eggs and a whole dead seal carcass washed ashore, picking up the mostly decomposed seal flipper with a blue gloved hand and scooping up copious green crabs only to secretly kill them later, were all part of my job description this summer. Other duties included cleaning up scrapes made by clinging barnacles, helping students find sea glass while secretly squirreling away the extra special pieces for myself, slathering on more and more sunscreen in the hopes that skin cancer and copious wrinkles fail to find me and feeling the tidal mud squish between my toes while children around me exclaim, "CRAB! It's huge!!!" (aka, the size of a quarter).
We are about to conclude my second season at this beach job and recently, I learned I will not be returning next year, but for good reason. I was offered my dream job and will soon be working full time at a place I feel I've been working towards my whole life. Maybe you remember the "Disposable Society" post? Recycling and responsible waste management is my favorite...
But back to the beach: The smell of the ocean is different in Kennebunk than it is in Portland. I realized this just now as I had a flashback of sitting on a dock on Portland's harbor last night, breathing in the late night, fresh sea air. Portland has a slight fishy smell and is only overwhelming on certain days. The rest of the time, it's one of the best smells I can remember ever experiencing, right up there with sun warmed pine needles and grandma's pie crust. The beach in Kennebunk just smells fresh, happy, clean and life-giving.
My classrooms consist of "the beach," "the cove," and the garden. The waves either hit the beach gently and softly, gurgling as high up as they can reach or with height and force, towering above the children waiting to body surf and adults wading in slowly. The cove is covered in bird, mammal and fish bones, sea glass, real glass, shells of all sizes and trash. Luckily, the kids and I enjoy cleaning up the beach as we find nature treasures. I'm constantly asked "Why would someone throw all this trash on the beach?" It's a good reminder to us all that the trash doesn't come from beach-goers much of the time but instead originates farther afield. Don't litter kids. It often finds its way to the water. And the garden is an over-micromanaged space next to a small chapel but is a delightful, plant-filled contrast to the sandy and rocky beaches.
The treasures my students and I have found have been partially mentioned above, those being the highlights of the summer. But then there are the little victories: a child has never found a piece of sea glass until one of our beach walks, cooling of with "rain" from the hose on a hot day and painting a picture frame, complete with glued on "gold" (yellow periwinkle shells), for a parent's anniversary. This job as Nature Teacher has brought me more joy in nature that I thought possible. It's kept me away from the computer and in the fresh air, both hot and chilly! With one more week to go, I wonder what we will find on the beach next...