Rippleffect Adventure Academy

After-School Program

Overview

The Adventure Academy After-School program offers adventures around Portland’s surrounding woods, parks, and our new Rippleffect Outdoor Community Center! Free play, exploration, outdoor skills, and leadership curriculum will all be woven into the program to provide a place for young people to connect, explore, and form new friendships.

This program is open to 3rd-5th graders at Rowe, Longfellow, Ocean Ave, and Reiche Elementary Schools.

Spring Session (4/1-5/31)

Days Offered for Each School:

Longfellow and Ocean Ave: Wednesday, Thursday

Reiche: Wednesday

Rowe: Thursdays


Spring Session DAtes:

  • Dates: The program will run from Aprill 1st to May 31st

    • We will be operating Wednesday & Thursday each day that Portland Public School District is in session

  • Location: Students will embark on daily adventures to woods, waters, and parks in the Greater Portland area.

Tuition:

  • $40 for Wednesday (extended day)

  • $35 for Thursday

    • Tuition can be paid in full or split in two installments.

  • Limited scholarship funding is available! Please submit a scholarship application, located here, within 48 hours of submitting your child's enrollment request.

What to bring each day:

Please ensure that your child comes to Rippleffect each day with an afternoon snack, water bottle, and clothes to be comfortable outside for around 2 hours.


PROGRAM READINESS skills:

All of our After-School participants must be prepared and able to:

  • Participants must be willing and able to spend up to two hours outside at our local adventure locations, including during rain and snow (severe weather conditions will result in moving programming indoors). 

  • Participants must be able to participate independently, or with reasonable accommodations/modifications that do not conflict with the program structure. 

  • Participants must be able to respect the public land and facilities that we use during our programming. This includes following the 7 Leave No Trace Principles.  

  • Participants must be able to stay with the group while in public settings, and while transitioning onto and out of our bus transportation. 

  • Participants must be able to take and follow directions and instructions from guides. 

  • Participants must interact and participate in a manner that is physically and emotionally safe for themselves and others. 

  • Participants must be able to advocate for personal care pertaining to bathroom needs.

  • Participants must respect others (listening and following directions; using appropriate language; keeping hands and feet to self). 

  • Participants must maintain self-control (anger management).

Along with our full-time team members, who you can meet here, we’d like to introduce you to our team of After-School Guides!

Meet our After-School Team

Madi Worthington - After-School Program Coordinator

Madi is the force behind our After School Program. She joined Rippleffect in the spring of 2021 as a seasonal guide and fell in love with the Ripple mission and style. In September of 2021 Madi joined the full-time team to continue guiding and working with Rippleffect’s Adventure Academy After-School program. 

Madi grew up in San Francisco and spent time every summer in Maine visiting family. She nurtured an appreciation and admiration for the outdoors through backpacking and adventuring in the Sierra Nevada’s. After earning a BA in Theater from UCLA, Madi worked as a theater artist and educator for four years in the Bay Area. Madi moved to Portland, Maine in 2019 to work in theater education before switching gears to follow her passion for the outdoors. She started working for a nature preschool, became a Registered Maine Guide, Wilderness First Responder, and discovered Rippleffect!

Madi lives in Portland with her partner Adam where they spend their free time hiking, camping, juggling in the park, and playing with their cat Infinity

Noel Potter - Lead Guide

Noel started working for Rippleffect in the fall of 2021 as a guide and has been involved in everything from sea kayaking to ice climbing to After-School Program since!

Noel grew up in Pennsylvania, but time visiting family, attending summer camp in Maine, and studying at Bates College have fostered a love for Maine and northern New England. Time spent studying geology and working in the ski industry have grown his love for and skill in the outdoors, while time working at his beloved summer camp taught him the joys of working with young people. Now he can combine those passions at Rippleffect!

When Noel isn’t outdoors, he enjoys baseball, Irish music and dance, and sci-fi books and movies.

Gennaro Valant - Lead Guide

Gennaro joined the Rippleffect community as a guide in the summer of 2022 after moving to Maine from Durango, CO. Gennaro has been leading outdoor adventures in the US and abroad since 2016.

Inspired by summer experiences with organizations like Rippleffect while growing up in Pittsburgh, PA, he knew from a young age that he wanted to work with students outside. Gennaro earned a degree in Outdoor Education and Community Development from the University of Vermont, and became focused on creating pathways for youth to develop meaningful connection with the natural world. Rippleffect has been the perfect home to continue this mission and engage with the greater Portland community.

Outside of Ripple, Gennaro deeply enjoys building and riding bicycles, woodworking, and seeing live music!

Maggie Dadmun - Guide

Maggie was born and raised in the Portland area and feels beyond grateful to have had the ocean as her backyard growing up. She has a deep love of the salt water and rocky coast, but discovered her true love for the natural world in the mountains. Maggie completed a thru-hike of the Long Trail in July of 2021.

Maggie joined the Rippleffect community as a guide in Spring of 2022 after she graduated from New England College with a Bachelor of Arts in Outdoor Education. She has guided a variety of trips for Ripple including multi-day backpacking, canoe and sea kayaking trips. The thing she values most about being a Ripple guide is being part of a community that supports young people learning and believing they are capable of doing hard things and being able share those experiences with them. Maggie is passionate about using outdoor spaces to wonder, discover and learn.

Stephen “Zam” Zamierowski - Guide

Zam started with Rippleffect as a guide in the summer of 2022 and joined the After-School Adventure Academy team in 2023. 

Zam grew up as a free-range kid in New Hampshire and found a love for outdoor leadership in high school and college.  At UNH, he was an Upward Bound counselor and guide, and the director of UNH Freshman Camp.  Zam continued his coaching and mentoring activity during his business career working with young professionals and entrepreneurs, achieving certification as a Deloitte FX Facilitator in several subjects including team building, group problem-solving, business networking and interpersonal communication.

In his retirement from his corporate career, Zam has returned to New England’s woods and waters to further his outdoor education and stewardship work at Rippleffect, Ketcha Outdoors and the Scarborough Land Trust.