As more families are exploring alternative learning in the time of Covid, Dartmouth’s Elements Learning Collaborative is busier than ever.

The nonprofit supplements alternative education with its outdoors nature program as well as a summer camp, homeschooling discussion groups for parents, and a downloadable curriculum for kids learning at home.

Earlier this month, Elements held two socially distanced film night fundraisers instead of its annual farm-to-table dinner at Round the Bend Farm on Allens Neck Road. The organization has also extended its fundraising activities through the end of October.

“We had to modify our original plans,” noted collaborative co-founder Rachel Medeiros. “It turned out to be wonderful, a real positive outcome.”

Medeiros said the film nights were well-attended, with one kid-friendly film and another showing Just Mercy, a biographical legal drama about race and the US court system.

“We wanted to touch on the conversation of racial injustice and keep people thinking about that,” Medeiros explained. “It’s worthwhile to keep that conversation going.”

Attendees pre-ordered meals cooked by Shaun Van Laarhoven of Round the Bend and made from food donated by Round the Bend, Paradox Acres, and Flying Carrot Farm in Dartmouth as well as Roots Farm in Tiverton.

Although Medeiros noted it was the organization’s first ever movie night, it is “maybe not our last,” she laughed. 

“We were able to follow all the guidelines that were needed,” she said. “It was a tricky situation to figure out but it turned out really great.”

And this year’s fundraising effort is going strong, she added, with $7,700 already collected towards their $10,000 goal. The funds will help grow the program as well as provide scholarships to make it more accessible to everyone.

Dartmouth resident Erin Souza-Rezendes attended the family night movie with her husband Patrick and six-year-old daughter Gracie, who participates in the Elements Nature Program.

“The outdoor movie night and dinner was such a fun way to support the Elements Nature Program while safely celebrating the community the program has built over the years,” she said, adding that she enjoyed seeing how much the kids in the program appreciated nature.

“They spent as much time admiring the stars on a clear night as they did laughing along with the movie,” she noted. “Elements Nature Program is a treasure, and we're so grateful to be part of it.”

For more information about the program or to donate to the scholarship fundraiser, visit elementslearning.org.