Jessica Harvey and Nichole Bryant have been instrumental in promoting outdoor learning at Elm Street School through their Get Everyone Outside (G.E.O.) committee. They've delivered professional development to staff, created outdoor learning bags for classrooms, established garden beds and an outdoor classroom, and implemented RSU 16's first-ever "Drop Everything and GEO Day." Their model of consistent outdoor engagement includes participation in Winter Kids activities and outdoor story walks, making Elm Street School a leader in outdoor education within their district.
The G.E.O. (Get Everyone Outside) Initiative was founded by a group of four RSU16 educators during a Teacher Institute Weekend at The Ecology School in Saco, Maine in January of 2023. Brought together by a common interest of outdoor learning, the original creators established the mission of the initiative: to support educators, wherever they are, in getting their students outside to learn. In the months following the creation of the group, the founders began more concentrated work at their respective elementary and middle schools in RSU16 after recognizing the needs at each school varied. Jessica Harvey, a 2nd grade teacher at Elm Street School and a founding member of The G.E.O. Initiative, began working with Jill Mathieu (RSU16 Curriculum Coordinator) and Nichole Bryant (Pre-K) to form a branch of The G.E.O. Initiative at ESS. Victoria Kelley (3rd grade), Sophia Stone (2nd grade), and Becky Albert (K) joined Harvey and Bryant as the official team who would lead the work moving forward at ESS. Since the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year, the group has helped host outdoor learning stations during school-wide events and celebrations, facilitated the school’s participation in Winter Kids, written more grants, and has started working on longer term goals that dream big about getting outside to learn while still holding the original mission: to support educators in getting their students outside for learning. While the group has been years in the making, they’re just getting started.