Place- and community-based education--an approach to teaching and learning that starts with the local--addresses two critical gaps in the experience of many children now growing up in the United States: contact with the natural world and contact with community. It offers a way to extend young people's attention beyond the classroom to the world as…

Reviews programs in the state of Maine that are designed to inventory the natural heritage of critical areas, rare species, and exemplary natural features. Discusses how the information acquired by these programs is being used for public information efforts and educational programs in the schools. (ML)

Through school-based programs and community interviews, the Northern Forest Center has documented the history of place names in rural eastern Maine. The resulting book aims to move residents beyond local forestry-related conflicts by focusing on shared values, to preserve local sense of place, and to make children want to stay in or return to the…