KLT's 2012 Programs and Events

Saturday, January 28, 2012

1:00-3:00 pm

Family Winter Fun at Curtis Homestead Conservation Area, Leeds

The Kennebec Land Trust invites you to join in an afternoon of winter fun at the Curtis Homestead Conservation Area in Leeds, the childhood home of former Maine Governor Kenneth M. Curtis.

Bring your own cross-country skis, snowshoes, and sleds, and spend the afternoon exploring this beautiful 360-acre conservation property! Volunteers will be available to help beginners with skiing or snowshoeing in the 10-acre field or on one of the

adjoining trails. Hot chocolate and snacks will be served around a bonfire in the field.

Directions: From Route 202 in Monmouth go west on the Bog Road. The KLT parking area has a sign and is about 1.5 miles on the right.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

1:00 pm

Snow Date: Sunday February 19

1:00 pm

Hike or Snowshoe the Perkins Woods

Hike or snowshoe the Perkins Woods in Wayne with stewards Stan and Jane Davis. This property has a number of interesting features, including a majestic stand of white pines and hemlocks, some pitch pines, and 2700 feet of shoreline on Androscoggin Lake. Normally, public access is only from the lake side, but we have permission to walk in through Camp Androscoggin. We will follow a loop trail, which will take us around the 14-acre property.

Meet at the entrance of Camp Androscoggin.

Directions: From Route 133 in Wayne. Go NW on Main Street/Route 133 through town of Wayne and bear left just before the Corner Store. Take first left.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

2:00 pm

Snowshoe Jamies Pond

Tom Bartol and Barbara Moss, KLT stewards, will lead a snowshoe or hike at the Jamies Pond Wildlife Management Area. All levels and ages welcome.

Meet at the end of Meadow Hill Road, Manchester. For more information please contact Tom Bartol at bartol@gwi.net.

This outing will be cancelled in the event of inclement weather. If there’s no snow, we will hike Jamies Pond.

This event is part of Great Maine Outdoor Weekend.

Co-sponsored by the Manchester Conservation Commission. 

Thursday, March 15, 2012

7:00 - 8:30 p.m.

Aquatic Biodiversity

Lyceum

Aquatic Biodiversity

Dave Courtemanch, DEP

Ladd Recreation Center, Wayne

Thursday, March 22, 2012

7:00 - 8:30 p.m.

Aquatic Biodiversity

Lyceum

Aquatic Plants and Habitats

Eric Doucette, University of Maine

Ladd Recreation Center, Wayne

Thursday, March 29, 2012

7:00 - 8:30 p.m.

Aquatic Biodiversity

Lyceum

Brook Trout

Merry Gallagher, Maine Dept of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife                                                                          

Ladd Recreation Center, Wayne

KLT 2011

Program and Event

Brochure

KLT's 2011 Programs and Events

Sunday, January 23, 2011

1:00-3:00 pm

Family Winter Fun at Curtis Homestead Conservation Area, Leeds

The Kennebec Land Trust invites you to join in an afternoon of winter fun at the Curtis Homestead Conservation Area in Leeds, the childhood home of former Maine Governor Kenneth M. Curtis.

Bring your own cross-country skis, snowshoes, and sleds, and spend the afternoon exploring this beautiful 360-acre conservation property! Volunteers will be available to help beginners with skiing or snowshoeing in the 10-acre field or on one of the

adjoining trails. Hot chocolate and snacks will be served around a bonfire in the field.

Directions: From Route 202 in Monmouth go west on the Bog Road. The KLT parking area has a sign and is about 1.5 miles on the right.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

10:00 am

Hike or Snowshoe the Perkins Woods

Hike or snowshoe the Perkins Woods in Wayne with stewards Stan and Jane Davis. This property has a number of interesting features, including a majestic stand of white pines and hemlocks, some pitch pines, and 2700 feet of shoreline on Androscoggin Lake. Normally, public access is only from the lake side, but we have permission to walk in through Camp Androscoggin. We will follow a loop trail, which will take us around the 14-acre property.

Meet at the entrance of Camp Androscoggin.

Directions: From Route 133 in Wayne. Go NW on Main Street/Route 133 through town of Wayne and bear left just before the Corner Store. Take first left.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

2:00 pm

Snowshoe Jamies Pond

Tom Bartol and Barbara Moss, KLT stewards, will lead a snowshoe or hike at the Jamies Pond Wildlife Management Area. All levels and ages welcome.

Meet at the end of Meadow Hill Road, Manchester. For more information please contact Tom Bartol at bartol@gwi.net.

Co-sponsored by the Manchester Conservation Commission. 

Thursday, March 17, 2011

7:00 PM

New England Nature Writers on the Land

Lyceum

Wilderess Lost, Wilderness Regained

with Robert Kimber, author of A Canoeist’s Sketchbook; Upcountry; and Living Wild and Domestic: The Education of a Hunter-Gardener

Robert Kimber will read from his essays on subjects as various as dogs, black flies, brook trout, and wilderness, dwelling not so much on what we have lost in the natural world as on saving, celebrating, and enjoying what we still have.

A Canoeist Sketchbook and Upcountry

Ladd Recreation Center, Wayne

Thursday, March 24, 2011

7:00 p.m.

New England Nature Writers on the Land

Lyceum

Technology and Sense of Place

with Jane Brox, author of Here and Nowhere Else; Clearing Land; Five Thousand Days Like This One;  and Brilliant: The Evolution of Artificial Light

Jane Brox will read from her most recent work, Brilliant: The Evolution of Artificial Light, and talk about the way changes in technology change people's sense of place.  

Clearing Land, 5,000 Days Like This One, Brilliant: The Evolution of Artificial Light

Ladd Recreation Center, Wayne

Monday, April 11, 2011

7:00 p.m.

New England Nature Writers on the Land

Lyceum

A Party in the Woods: Loss and Celebration Under a Changing Sky

with John Elder, author of Reading the Mountains of Home and The Frog Run;

Environmental Activist; and Emeritus Professor of English and Environmental Studies at Middlebury College

John Elder will focus on sugarmaking as a chance both to register the damage to our woods from climate change and to seek a more community-based and inviting approach to environmental activism.

Olin Center, Colby College

Saturday, April 23

8:00-10:00 a.m.

Lyceum

Earth Week: Birding, Hiking, and Nature Writing at Gannett Woods & Wyman Forest

Join stewards Jeff Janell and Dave Courtemanch and birder Doug Suitor for a hike that will feature spring birds, pristine Shedd Pond, and the Wyman-Gannett trails. Nathalie Woolworth, KLT Conservation Assistant, will lead an optional nature writing activity.

Saturday, April 30

11:00 a.m.

Outing Club

KLT OUTING CLUB HIKE: Vaughan Woods

Join the KLT Outing Club for a hike at Vaughan Woods in Hallowell followed by an optional lunch at the Liberal Cup in Hallowell. 

Free to KLT members, $5.00 to non-members (lunch not included).

Please register by calling KLT's office at 377-2848.

Click here for more information about the Outing Club.

Tuesday, May 3

8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

please pre-register

Forestry Vernal Pool Ecology and Management Workshop

Join Professor Aram Calhoun, University of Maine; and Gordon Moore, Maine Forest Service District Forester, for an introductory workshop focused on providing landowners and land managers with a general knowledge of the vernal pool habitat and the basic tools to manage these sites in a working forest environment.  Meet at Maine Forest Service Bolton Hill Facility, Augusta. Will tour a nearby vernal pool site.

Sponsored by the Kennebec Woodland Partnership, Kennebec Land Trust, and Maine Forest Service
This is a free workshop. Please pre-register by contacting Amanda Mahaffey at KennebecWoodlandPartnership@gmail.comor call 449-3070.

Foresters: 3.5 Category 1 SAF CFEs.

Directions: From the interstate, take Exit 113 off I-95. Head east on Rt.3 and go straight through 4 lights. Travel about four miles and then look for the MFS sign on the right (Conservation Dr.) after going up the hill and passing Bolton Hill Road. Hint: Do not take the Bolton Hill Road.
For more information on vernal pools, please visit: www.umaine.edu/vernalpools

Click here to view the flyer for this event

Friday, May 6

8:30 a.m.-Noon

Lyceum

Please pre-register for this program.

New England Nature Writers and Vernal Pool Ecology for Teachers

With Theresa Kerchner, KLT executive director; Ron Joseph, wildlife biologist; and Mary Sturtevant, steward. Participants will have the opportunity to learn from Wayne Elementary School teachers as they lead vernal pool discovery activities at KLT’s Besse Historic Conservation Area vernal pool. Meet at Wayne Elementary School; return there for the workshop.

Fee: $5.00. Call KLT at 377-2848 to register.      

Sunday, May 22

7:30-9:00 a.m.

Bird Walk at Reynolds Forest, Sidney

With birding experts David Ladd and Phil Downes. Join fellow birders for a spring  hike along the Reynolds Forest floodplain and Marsh Brook trail. This will be close to peak migration, with many of the early birds beginning to set up territories and the later birds still passing through. Late May is a wonderful time of year for viewing birds and hearing spring calls.

Saturday, June 4

9:00-11:00 a.m.

National Trails Day: Hike Historic Mt. Pisgah

Celebrate National Trails Day with a guided hike of the new Mt . Pisgah trail and historic

fire lookout. Join Jim Connors, steward, for a hike up the mile long trail to the fire tower at the top of the mountain. Learn about the conservation history of the area, the development of the trail, and the registration of the tower as a national historic lookout.  

Arrangements are being made to provide access to the tower for those unable to make the hike.

Rain date, Sunday, June 5, 1:00

Saturday, June 25

10:00 a.m.

Please pre-register for this program.

Webber Pond Loon Paddle

With Lisa Kane, MDIFW, and John and Molly Melrose and Ian MacKinnon, stewards. Participate in a short educational program about loons, then canoe or kayak on Webber Pond to KLT properties on both sides of the lake. We will stop for a picnic on the shore. Meet at the Webber Pond boat landing.  

Please pack a picnic lunch. Bring your own kayak/canoe.

Co-sponsored by the Webber Pond Association

Sunday, July 10

9:00-11:00 a.m.

Parker Pond Headland Family Hike

Join Glenn Hodgkins and Maggie Chadwick, stewards, for a family hike at the 142-acre Parker Pond Headland featuring the new trail  on the 42-acre addition to the original Headland parcel. Bring snacks, cameras, binoculars! Co-sponsored by the Parker Pond Association.

Sunday, August 7

8:00-10:30 a.m.

Please pre-register for this program.

Horseshoe Island Canoe/Kayak Trip

Join Nathalie Woolworth, expert kayaker, and trail builders Erik and Jon Lund for a tour of KLT’s islands on Cobbossee Lake. We will hike the new Horseshoe Island trail and provide access information for all of KLT’s island properties. Meet at the outlet dam on Cobbossee Stream; park along Collins Rd.

Sunday, August 21

2:00-6:00 p.m.

KLT Annual Meeting at the Wayne Yacht Club, field trips including a Gott Pasture or Mount Pisgah hike or a Perkins paddle

2:00-4:00 Field trips for all ages.

4:00-6:00 Potluck BBQ and brief annual meeting at the Wayne Yacht Club. Bring your kayak, canoe, and bathing suit. We will be displaying photographs of KLT properties. Please check our website for information about submitting photographs to the exhibit.

September 17 

9:00 a.m.-Noon 

LYCEUM

Please pre-register for this program.

Creating the All-Season Nature Journal at Historic Camp Bearnstow

Join Linda McKee, English teacher, at historic Camp Bearnstow on Parker Pond in Mount Vernon. Learn a variety of journaling techniques for developing a closer connection with nature and ourselves. Through regular reflections of experiences and observations--writing, sketching, photographing--you will develop a greater appreciation of nature and place, find your own voice, and make time to slow down. 

Camp Bearnstow has accommodations for Friday night before the workshop (optional). Friday night dinner, s’mores, and fireside discussion with Ruth Grauert, Director of Bearnstow.  Cot accommodations in unisex cottages with bathroom and shower. Bring a sleeping bag.

Overnight, dinner, lunch…$60.00

Friday dinner only...$25.00

Saturday lunch only...$15.00

For reservations visit www.bearnstow.org.  

Saturday, October 8

2:00 p.m.

Outing Club

Please pre-register for this event.

Saturday, October 15

10:00 a.m.-Noon

This program is part of Kennebec Woodland Days

Please pre-register for this program.

Macdonald Woods Mushroom Walk

Learn mushroom identification and ecology from expert Michaeline Mulvey. Ask questions and learn the basics of mushroom identification, proper harvesting skills, and a bit of mushroom natural history before wandering the forest searching for mushrooms. Regroup to ask more questions, identify what was found, and discuss resources. Bring a basket with paper bags, a knife for collecting, and any field guides you typically use. Bring mushrooms from home for identification.

Rain or shine. Meet Howard Lake, steward, at the Macdonald Conservation Area parking sign, Kents Hill Road, North Wayne.

Monday, October 17

6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Please pre-register for this program.

This workshop is part of

Kennebec Woodland Days

Death and Taxes for Woodland Owners

Tree Growth tax law and estate planning explained for woodland owners. Landowners will learn about some of the options for dealing with property taxes and transferring land to the next generation. Presentations by Morten Moesswilde, Maine Forest Service, and Howard Lake, Winthrop attorney. Part of the Kennebec Woodland Days, sponsored by Kennebec Woodland Partnership.

Cost: Free

Location:Maranacook Community School

Contact Information: Maranacook Community School Adult Education, 207-685-4923 x 1065

Co-sponsors

Kennebec Woodland Partnership

Maine Forest Service
Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine
Kennebec Land Trust
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

Sunday, October 23

12:00 - 1:15 pm

Conservation Property Dedication

Monday, October 24

6:00 - 8:00 pm

Please pre-register for this program.

This workshop is part of

Kennebec Woodland Days

Wildlife in the Woods

Join John Pratte of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to learn about wildlife habitat protection and management tools for your woodland. Part of Kennebec Woodland Days, sponsored by Kennebec Woodland Partnership.

Cost: Free

Location: Maranacook Community School

Contact Information

Name: Maranacook Community School Adult Education, 685-4923 x 1065

Co-sponsors

Kennebec Woodland Partnership

Maine Forest Service
Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine
Kennebec Land Trust
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

Saturday, October 29

11:00 am- 2:00 pm

• Tour Meadow Brook Farm and learn about a dairy. 
• Enjoy hot and cold cider, apples and cookies; bring a picnic lunch!
• Children and families are welcome to visit the cows, horses, sheep, and chickens.

November

Date, time, and location to be announced.

Please pre-register for this program.

Balsam Fir Tipping and Wreath-Making Workshops

Thursday, March 18th

7:00 pm

Lyceum

Linking People and Ancient Landscapes

Alice Kelley, PhD, University of Maine

Thursday, March 25th

7:00 pm

Snow Date April 1st

Maine's Dynamic Landscapes: from Deglaciation to the Future

George Jacobson, PhD, University of Maine

Thursday, April  22nd, Earth Day

4:30-7:30 pm

Soil Is Not Dirt

David Rocque, ME State Soil Scientist, ME Dept. of Agriculture; Certified Soil Scientist, Licensed Site Evaluator, Wetland Scientist

What is the difference between a pile of dirt and a soil? Why do some soils have rocks in them while other soils don’t? How do the various soil layers form. What is a hydric (wetland soil) and how can you tell one from other soils?  Join us for the answers to these and everything you ever wanted to know about soil but were afraid to ask. Bring a brown bag dinner.

Co-sponsored by Hallowell Conservation Commission.

4:30-5:30     Indoor presentation at the Hallowell City Hall

5:30-7:30     Field session at Jamies Pond Wildlife Management Area. Take Outlet Road to Jamies Pond Road, Hallowell.     

Please click here for Soil is Not Dirt posting                 

Wednesday, May  5th

4:00-6:00 pm

Basic Tree Identification

Morten Moesswilde, Midcoast District Forester, has been with the MFS for 10 years, prior to which he worked in mid-coast Maine as a private consulting forester.

Meet at KLT Webber-Rogers Farmstead Conservation Area sign, Plains Road, Litchfield.

Co-sponsored by the Litchfield Conservation Commission

Saturday, May 15th

9:00-11:00 am

Raindate Sunday, May 16th

Vaughan Woods Work Day- EVENT POSTPONED. Please check back for more information.

Meet at Litchfield Road parking area. Tools needed: small shovels, hand clippers, gloves. For more information contact Hank Tyler, 622-7379 or tylerpub@aol.com 

Saturday, May 22nd

7:00-9:00 am

Bird Walk

Birding Expert David Ladd. Vassalboro Wildlife Habitat, Webber Pond Road. Join David and fellow birders for a morning bird walk. This will be close to peak migration, with many of the early birds beginning to set up territories and the later birds still passing through. Late May is a wonderful time of year for viewing birds and hearing spring calls.

Saturday, June 5th

9:00 am

Trail Work at Jamies Pond Wildlife Management Area                                   

The Hallowell Conservation Commission is organizing a morning of trail work at Jamies Pond Wildlife Management Area. Volunteers will meet at 9 AM at the Boat Landing and divide into groups to do trail grooming and repair.  

Please bring hats, work gloves, insect repellent, water, clippers, and small saws. Refreshments will be served. Rain day is Sunday, June 6. 

Call Deb Sewall, 623-5013, for more information.

Saturday, June 12th

8:00-10:30 am

Learn about Loons and Paddle

Participate in a short educational program about loons, then canoe or kayak on Torsey Pond with Lisa Kane, MDIFW and KLT Board member, and Tim Sniffen, Readfield Conservation Commission. Meet at the Readfield Town Office, Giles Road, Readfield.

Co-sponsored by the Readfield Conservation Commission.  

Saturday, June 19

8:30-11:30 am

Photography Field Trip

Saturday, June 19

8:30 - 11:30 a.m.

Photography Field Trip

Join Jane Davis and Jym St. Pierre for a nature photography outing at Gott Pasture Preserve, Wayne. This 75-acre wooded parcel on Wilson Pond has rich cultural and ecological significance. It encompasses noteworthy connections to Native American travel routes, remnants of a 19th century farm, a vernal pool, and over 1100 feet of undeveloped shoreline. A

mile-long loop trail affords access to a variety of photogenic landscapes.

Both Jane Davis and Jym St. Pierre have been involved with the Capital Area Camera Club for many years. Basic photography principles will be presented, so bring your camera. However, no photography experience is required.

Pre-register by calling 207-377-2848.

DIRECTIONS: From Route 133 in Wayne Village, turn south on the Old Winthrop Road (0.7 mi.); turn right on Morrison Heights Road and go 1.4 miles; stay left on Hardscrabble Road and go 1.3 miles. Park at the KLT sign and parking lot on the left.

Saturday, July 17

7:30 am

Old Hallowell Day Road Race

KLT is a race sponsor, and you do not need to be old or from Hallowell to participate! All are welcome on the five-kilometer course that weaves through historic Hallowell. Race begins near the Kennebec River boat landing on Water Street.
Online registration is available. Registration on the day of the race is from 6 to 7 A.M.Registration fee is $15.
Race photos will be available at martythorntonphotos.com. $1 from the cost of each photo will be donated to the Kennebec Land Trust.

REGISTER NOW

For more information, please contact the Old Hallowell Day Race Committee at ohd5k2010@yahoo.com or Marty Thornton at 207-512-2587.

Maine Audubon Annual Loon Count and Littoral Walk

7:00 am   Maine Audubon Annual Loon Count, Bearnstow, Mount Vernon.

               Volunteers will use Bearnstow’s boats, leaving at 7:00 a.m. sharp, and follow an assigned course on the lake. On

               a map provided by the Maine Audubon Society, we will chart the time, location, and number of loons

               observed. We finish the route at 7:30 a.m. Please feel welcome to stay for our buffet breakfast following the      

               Loon Count. For more information, see the Maine Loon Project.

4:00 pm   Littoral Walk, Bearnstow, Mount Vernon. Conducted by Clyde Walton and Ruth Grauert

In a walk along the trails beside the lake and the brook, there is a vast variety of vegetation—according to one state forester, “more than any other site I have visited.” Since 1922 the property has been protected, first by Colby biology professor Webster Chester, and then by Bearnstow.
We have a registered State of Maine “Big Tree” (an Alleghany service berry), erratic boulders, clay subsoil, ground pines, trailing arbutus, five kinds of native evergreens visible from one vista, a path through ledge, reindeer moss, and lichen used to make lavender dye.

The Loon Count is a volunteer event, and there is no admission for the Littoral Walk, but please phone to register for both activities, 207-293-2280. The Littoral Walk will begin at 4:00 pm; meet in the clearing and we will proceed from there. If we expect you, we will wait for your arrival.
www.bearnstow.org/littoral.htm.

KLT Annual Meeting and Field Trip

Welcome and Refreshments at 142 Plains Road - 12:30-1pm

Recognition of Land Donors 1:00-1:15

Between Person and Place Celebration 1:15-1:30

Dedication of Small- Burnham Conservation Area Sign and Hikes, Pine Tree Road 1:45-3  

Saturday, September 11th

9:00 am - noon

Landscaping for Wildlife with Native Plants

Presented by: KENNEBEC LAND TRUST & LONGFELLOWS GREENHOUSES

9:00-9:45 am       Using Native Plants to Protect Water Quality

                          Presenter: Laura Wilson, University of Maine Cooperative Extension

                          Plantings can protect waterbodies! Learn how your landscape can help reduce stormwater    

                          runoff and remove pollutants. We will explore buffers (at the waterfront and beyond), rain gardens,

                          and more!

10:00-10:45am   Why Landscape with Native Plants?

                          Presenter: Lois Stack, University of Maine Cooperative Extension

                          Explore the beauty, adaptability and usefulness of some of Maine’s nearly 1500 native plants. Learn

                          which native Maine plants thrive in landscape conditions and serve multiple functions in the landscape.

11:00-11:45am     Feeding the Birds: Native Plants for Food, Cover & Nesting

                          & Setting up a Backyard Feeding Station

                          Presenter: Lisa Kane, Maine Department Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

                          Using clippings from native plants displaying their fall fruits and mast, songbird mounts, a variety of bird

                          feeders and seed choices, we’ll take a look at the many ways to enhance your backyard for birds and other

                          wildlife year ‘round.

9:00-noon            Demonstrations by Longfellows Staff    

                          * Proper Planting Methods for your new Native Shrubs & Trees 

                          * Attractive Groupings of Native Plants to benefit birds & wildlife

                          * Select the best locations for your plantings

Saturday, September 18th

9:00-11:30 am

KLT Lyceum Field Program: What Can We Learn from the Mud?

Andrea Nurse Paleoecology Research Associate, Climate Change Institute, UMaine. Location TBA

Seeds, leaves, charcoal, pollen and insects archived in successive layers of sediment show how the landscape changed since the last ice sheet retreated 14,000 years ago.  We will explore the impact of changing climate on the landscape by examining wetland sediment cores.

Meeting at 9 am at Wayne Elementary school, Pond Road. Carpool to Muddy Pond, Wayne.

Saturday, September 25th

Landowner Appreciation Cleanup DayLand

owner Appreciation Cleanup Day

The Maine Landowner Relations Program is organizing a Landowner Appreciation Cleanup Day on September 25^th with volunteers from local clubs, organizations and other groups to collect trash on designated private and public land. We are asking you for help in coordinating this event. Please contact Robert Duplessie at robert.duplessie@maine.gov or visit www.maine.gov/lor for more information.

Saturday, October 2nd

11:00 am-1:00 pm

Fall KLT Outing

The community is invited to a fall open farm day at KLT’s scenic Sturtevant (Home-Nest) Farm on Baldwin Hill in Fayette on Saturday, October 2^nd from 11 am- 1 pm.

Following brief comments from easement donors Arn and Leda Sturtevant and KLT Executive Director, Theresa Kerchner and President, Cheryl Harrington, the farm will be open for exploration. The Sturtevants and KLT stewards Jane and Ray Giglio will lead tours of the farm.

Join us for cider, cookies, apples and visit with the farm animals as we celebrate the release of KLT’s new book: Between Person and Place: Conservation Histories from the Kennebec Land Trust. KLT's recent conservation projects in Fayette will be announced.

Copies of KLT’s new book will be available for $12.00; proceeds benefit KLT’s land conservation work in Kennebec County.

KLT’s Sturtevant Farm Scenic Area conservation easement features spectacular views of the White Mountains. For more information contact KLT 377-2848.

Thursday and Friday

October 21st and 22nd

Kennebec Woodland Partnership Conference & Workshops

Camp Mechuwana, Winthrop

The Kennebec Woodland Partnership is a forestland conservation initiative launched by the Maine Forest Service and Kennebec Land Trust in 2009.  KWP aims to foster a “culture of conservation” focused on Kennebec County's forestlands. The Partnership works to encourage woodland stewardship and conservation and to sustain the many values, both public and private, of our woods.

A three day conference October 21-23 will offer an overview of the landscape history and economic backdrop of Kennebec County’s forest resources.  Presentations will cover key resources for landowners, small woodlot management strategies, working forest conservation easements, estate planning, and working with licensed foresters and professional timber harvesters. The Friday program will offer field trips to local working woodlots, forest preserves, and businesses built on Kennebec County’s rich working woodlands. The final day will open with a talk by noted landscape historian Tom Wessels, author of Reading the Forested Landscape. Conference brochure and workshop, field trip, and demonstration schedule available at: http://www.maine.gov/doc/mfs/fpm/projects/kwp/conference.html

Pre-registration is not necessary. Please bring a bag lunch.

Additional information;
Amanda Mahaffey
KWP Program Consultant
KennebecWoodlandPartnership@gmail.com

Saturday, October 23rd

10:45 am

Botany, Forest History and Plein-Air Painting

Penny Markley, Maine artist and Jeff Janell, KLT Steward.

As part of the Kennebec Woodland Partnership (KWP) Fall Conference, the Kennebec Land Trust (KLT) is hosting a plein-air painting workshop with Maine artist Penny Markley. The workshop will be held on October 23, 2010 from 11:00-2:00 at KLT’s Gannett Woods property in Manchester. Participants will meet at the Manchester Meeting House, Scribner Hill Road at 11:00 am to carpool a short distance to Gannett Woods.  Jeff Janell, KLT Gannett Woods steward will lead the group on the trail.

From Gannet Woods, painters will look out over scenic Shed Pond and the adjoining Allen Whitney Memorial Forest. In the case of cold weather or rain, painters will take photographs of the surrounding landscape, and paint from inside the Manchester Grange off of Rt. 202. Following several hours of painting, artists will have the opportunity to receive feedback on their work.

The workshop’s facilitator, Penny Markley, has been painting Maine landscapes for over 30 years. Her work has been accepted in juried shows in Maine and is in numerous private collections in Maine and out-of-state. She paints in watercolor, oil, and acrylics. To learn more about Penny’s work, visit http://www.markleystudios.com/.

Saturday, October 23rd

9:00-10:30 am

Lyceum

Reading the Forested Landscape

Tom Wessels, Antioch University.

Winthrop Performing Arts Center, Winthrop High School

Tom Wessels is an ecologist and founding director of the master’s degree program in Conservation Biology at Antioch University New England. He is former chair of the Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation that fosters environmental leadership through graduate fellowships and organizational grants. He serves as an ecological consultant to the Rain Forest Alliance’s SmartWood Green Certification Program. In that capacity Tom helped draft green certification assessment guidelines for forest operations in the northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. Tom has conducted landscape level workshops throughout the United States for over 30 years. His books include: Reading the Forested Landscape, The Granite Landscape, Untamed Vermont, and The Myth of Progress: Toward a Sustainable Future.

There is a $5 registration fee to attend the Tom Wessels program,  part of the Kennebec Woodland Partnership conference, at the Winthrop Performing Arts Center, Winthrop High School.

Wednesday October 27th

7:00 pm

Book Signing Event and Discussion

Join us at the Hubbard Free Library in Hallowell for a discussion and slideshow about our new conservation history book and what KLT has been doing over the past year. A KLT property donor, property steward and a KLT member of the board of directors will be leading the discussion.

Tuesday November 9th

6:30 pm

Book Signing Event and Discussion

Join us at the Lithgow Public Library in Augusta for a discussion and slideshow about our new conservation history book and what KLT has been doing over the past year. A KLT property donor, property steward and a KLT member of the board of directors will be leading the discussion.