Forestry & Mushroom Cultivation

In the Winter of 2018/2019, seventh and eighth graders in the Jobs for Maine Graduates program began researching how to expand our garden into the nearby woodland. We began by studying the ecosystem of the forest, learning tree identification, camera trapping to identify wildlife, and studying soil types and other factors effecting the ecosystem. Then we invited a local forester, Nolan Steele, to come walk the woods with us. We learned from Nolan how a forester looks at the woods combining ecological knowledge with the practical concerns of timber harvest. We also took a field trip to Robbins Lumber in Searsmont where we learned about the incredible process by which a tree becomes a piece of lumber.

Finally, students combined this knowledge to create a forest management plan for a small area of woodland behind the school. Students recommended selective thinning to improve our red maple sugar bush and the establishment of a mushroom yard in the understory of the hemlock stand in order to convert thinned trees into mushrooms for our cafeteria. In the spring we began thinning and inoculated our first mushroom logs with oyster and shiitake spawn.

Fall 2019 marked our first ever oyster mushroom harvest for the cafeteria!!

Find a copy of our presentation of the forest management plan below