Maine Youth Make Change: Piloting participatory, unrestricted gift giving in rural Maine middle schools with MEEA Fellow Amir Colbert Stone

Amir Colbert Stone has a superpower, and its connecting people, schools, and organizations to the resources they need to thrive. When you meet Amir, he lights up any room (or outdoor classroom!) and has a natural way of connecting people who click, sharing opportunities, and uplifting the communities he is a part of.

Amir cares deeply about rural Maine youth thriving in the 70% of school districts that are located in rural areas in the state. “Schools are some of the last institutions that rural communities have left, and their vitality is instrumental for community continuity,” says Amir. “At the same time, educational paradigms have shifted towards preparing students for lives and careers outside of their home communities.

So during his Changemakers fellowship with MEEA, he brought together the Rural Aspirations Project, Maine Forest Collaborate, MEEA Changemakers, Maine EPSCoR, and two rural schools to empower students through place-based outdoor learning. This pilot project encouraged cross-organizational partnerships to engage in participatory and unrestricted gift giving in rural Maine middle schools to support place-based curriculum projects.

“Due to Maine’s vast size and limited resources, nonprofit organizations’ impact can be financial and geographically limited,” says Amir. Using his roles as a NSF-funded Research Assistant, and MEEA Changemakers Fellow, Amir Colbert Stone pairs his anthropological training to work as a convener between the Rural Aspirations Project and MEEA to uplift environmental education.

For his fellowships community action project, Amir partnered with the Maine Forest Collaborative school Piscataquis Community Secondary School on their maple awareness project. Each school was provided funding through his community action project for their nature-based projects. Amir worked with PCSS teacher Emily Anderson and her eighth grade science class on their maple awareness project where students tapped trees and processed syrup to highlight maple trees as a natural resource in their community. They also hosted a Maple Awareness Pancake afternoon on April 23rd.

These school connections also served the goal of building longterm relationships with rural schools and connect them with MEEA’s mini grants for outdoor learning funding opportunities. He encouraged students to go through the prototyping and proposal process, gain proposal writing skills and experience, while also securing funding to support a relevant community project at their schools.

Amir is a graduate student in Anthropology and Environmental Policy at UMaine Orono with an interest in convening community partners in order to expand place-based opportunities for youth. He graduates this spring 2026! Congrats Amir!

A big thanks to Sara King at the Rural Aspirations Project for your partnership in supporting Amir and these schools!