HINCKLEY — For Patience Goulette, a graduating senior at the Maine Academy of Natural Sciences, the opportunity for a hands-on education that focused on agriculture was the best transition to high school after being home-schooled.

Now 17 and preparing to graduate in a few weeks, the high school senior was among dozens of attendees at the school’s campus Sunday for a summer celebration.

At the beginning of her high school career at the school, Goulette worked with classmates to design an apiary, a place where bees are kept, typically in hives or colonies for their honey.

As she prepares to graduate at the end of the month, Goulette said she is working to wrap up the final element of the project, designing a pollinator garden for the couple of thousand bees living in the two hives within the structure.

The project is her capstone project, for which she was assigned to “create something to leave with the school and to improve the community.”

“(The garden) wasn’t as pretty as I would like it to be,” Goulette said. “I figured I would liven it up and make it more accessible to students. And it’s super beneficial to bees.”

Goulette’s work was part of celebrations Sunday at the Hinckley campus. Alongside student demonstrations were food trucks, live music and lawn games.

Hannes Moll, a 2017 graduate of the academy, was also at the celebration Sunday, demonstrating blacksmithing skills he learned during his time at the high school, where he graduated as an apprentice in the trade. Now a journeyman, Moll volunteers at the school and works with other students.

Since 2011, the Maine Academy of Natural Sciences has operated as an independent charter school serving students from 37 school districts in Maine, spanning Portland to Athens. The curriculum calls for a more hands-on and personal approach to high school education, with a focus on agriculture and sustainability.

The academy is the first of 10 charter schools in Maine and serves students in grades nine through 12 at the Hinckley campus. It was the first high school in the state to focus on agriculture, forestry and sustainability.

The school is also home to Threshold, a high school diploma program at the academy that is designed for students looking to finish their diploma requirements while working independently for part of the school week.

Enrollment has more than doubled since the school’s founding. In 2011, faculty welcomed 40 students to the campus. In 2022, enrollment is at 190.

The campus is composed of traditional and aquaponic greenhouses, a 1-acre farm, an apiary and a four-season yurt. Officials have secured funding for a multipurpose barn slated for construction this fall.

Matthew Newberg, the head of school, said he attributes the school’s success to the sense of community and relationship-focused approach taken by faculty and staff members when working with students.

“A lot of it has to do with the sense of community that we build with our students and our staff,” Newberg said. “Our teachers, staff and faculty all really believe in the mission of the school and are very connected to that mission. They do a wonderful job building relationships with their students.”

Taking such an approach, Newberg said, helps students feel connected to their school and community — enough so to go to school over the weekend.

“Doing this event on a Sunday, some would think, ‘Who would show up to school on a Sunday?’ Our kids are really excited to come and chip in and show the place off,” Newberg said.

Classes at the school remain in session through July, with graduation ceremonies for traditional and Threshold students scheduled for the end of next month.

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