Click here to read as a PDF: KELT Summer 2013 Newsletter

Inside this Issue:

Accreditation submitted!: page 2

Innovative Gifts: page 3

Bike Trails: page 4

First Farmland Easement: page 5

Summer Events: page 6

Ready to register? Questions? Contact Becky Kolak at 442-8400.

Botany Walk with Willow Schwartz

When: Wednesday, July 10 @10am to 12pm

Where: Bonyun Preserve on Westport Island

Join a landscape gardener and native plant connoisseur on a walk through Bonyun Preserve on Westport Island. Enjoy the lovely coastal views and learn more about Maine’s native (and some non-native) plants. Meet at the preserve kiosk. Wear hiking shoes, long pants, and bug dope. Bring a small note pad and pencil for notes and a camera!

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Geocaching along the Whiskeag Trail

When: Saturday, July 20 @9:30am to 11:30am

Where: Whiskeag Trail at the Bath YMCA

Brush up your skills or learn this delightful activity! Fun for the whole family, search the Whiskeag Trail for creative caches hidden by a local expert geocacher, Joan Janowski. Meet at the trail kiosk in the Bath YMCA parking lot. Wear comfortable hiking shoes and clothing. Bring a GPS handheld unit (not a unit used exclusively for navigation in an automobile). There will be a very limited supply of GPS units to borrow- please indicate at registration if you need to borrow a unit.

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Nature and Marine Sketching with David Wheeler

When: Saturday, August  10 @10am to 12pm

Where: TBD

Art and nature go hand in hand! David, a practitioner of illustration-based marine education, will lead participants to observe and measure the forms and structures of species and biospheres. Intriguing! Adults and families with children over 6 years old welcome.

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Clam Digging with Jon Hentz

When: Tuesday, August  13 @9:30am to 12pm

Where: Reid State Park in Georgetown

A favorite summer exploration, come traverse the softshell clam flats of Reid State Park with Georgetown’s Shellfish Warden and dig a clam or a dozen. This event is great for kids!

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All season: Summertime Hikes at KELT preserves

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Additional Explorations!

Sunday, June 23: 9th Annual Summer Youth Field Day 2013

For younger participants- grade and middle school age- or for older kids who have not tried these activities, the day is organized in a series of hour-long sessions: archery, flycasting, target shooting, tracking and trapping and kayaking!

Please confirm your spot by registering with Alicia Heyburn at aheyburn@kennebecestuary.org.

Route Map available here

When: Wednesdays in May @4:00 to 5:00 pm.

Where: The Children’s Room of the Patten Free Library in Bath

The four part series will offer insect themed stories, speakers, and activities. It is a ‘bug-apalooza’ for kids 4 years old and up. Children will learn about arthropod anatomy, nurture their inner entomologist (a scientist who studies insects) to develop bug ID skills, explore the interdependence of bugs and humans, and discover the intricacies of local moth and butterfly behavior.

May 1: What makes an insect…an insect?

Get the facts behind arthropod anatomy and learn more about the five common orders of insects. Use your new knowledge to fabricate a bug of your own!

May 8: Buzzin’ Bug ID

Nurture your inner entomologist (a scientist who studies insects) to develop your bug ID skills and start your own collection kit.

May 15: Oh honey! The business of busy bees.

Discover how humans rely on our insect friends for our favorite foods… honey to blueberries to hamburgers! Mix up a delicious treat for your morning toast.

May 22: Nature’s Magicians– Moths and Butterflies

Learn the life stories of local moths and butterflies that behave in intriguing ways from naturalist, Ronnie Kamphausen.

Parents are welcomed and encouraged to take part in the activities. The Patten Free Library is located at 33 Summer Street in Bath. For more information, please contact Becky Kolak at 442-8400.

These programs are generously supported by the Davenport Trust Fund.

KELT, the Merrymeeting Audubon,  Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust (BTLT), and Harpswell Heritage Land Trust (HHLT) have collaborated to offer SIX opportunities to visit beautiful natural places and watch for a variety of birds from forests to farms to the shoreline.

Click here for a full list of events with descriptions.

Past events:

When: April 20 at 7:30am

Where: KELT’s Sewall Woods Preserve in Bath

Join us for a walk led by Merrymeeting Audubon’s Ted Allen. The group will hike along Whiskeag Creek, a tidal influenced stream that flows into the Kennebec River. Birders will seek migrating waterfowl including Canada geese, black ducks, mallards, blue- and green-winged teal, and common mergansers.  Participants can meet at 7:15am at the CVS in Bath to carpool. For more information contact Ted Allen at 729-8661.

When: May 7 at 7:30pm

Where: HHLT’s Curtis Farm Preserve

Experience the American Woodcock’s mating dance with Forester Rob Bryan. Arrive before sunset to hear about woodcock ecology, nesting habitat, and how to enhance habitat for these interesting birds. Around sunset participants will watch and hear the male birds take their spiraling, twittering courtship flights. Bring something portable to sit on. Limited to 20 participants. Register in advance by contacting Julia McLeod at 837-9613 or outreach@hhltmaine.org. The rain date is May 9.

When: Sunday, May 12 at 8:00am

Where: Bradley Pond Farm in Topsham

BTLT welcomes birders to walk with Merrymeeting Audubon’s Ted Allen. This flat and easy mile and a half walk passes through a conservation easement surrounding a privately owned working farm. Birders will focus on migrating land birds: warblers, flycatchers, blackbirds (including Bobolinks), vireos, sparrows and an occasional raptor.  Participants can meet at 7:30am at the Hannaford in Brunswick to carpool. For more information contact Ted Allen at 729-8661.

When: Thursday, May 16 at 7:30 am

Where: Crystal Spring Farm in Brunswick

Join BTLT for a walk through Crystal Spring Farm in Brunswick. Jan Pierson will lead participants through a variety of habitats including fields, forests, and ponds.  We hope to see sparrows, bluebirds, boblinks, and several species of warblers.  For more information contact Ted Allen at 729-8661.

When: Saturday, May 25, 7:30 am

Where: Thorne Head Preserve in Bath

KELT welcomes Ted Allen from Merrymeeting Audubon is leading birders through Thorne Head Preserve in Bath. Overlooking Whiskeag Creek as it converges with the Kennebec River, the preserve is located on the Maine Birding Trail.  The paths provide level walking under a canopy of mature trees.  Thorne Head is rich in migrating warblers and vireos.  Participants can meet at 7:15am at the CVS in Bath to carpool.  For more information, contact Ted Allen at 729-8661.

When: Saturday, June 1, 7:30am

Where: Skolfield Shores Preserve in Harpswell

Join HHLT and John Berry for an outing at the Skolfield Shores Preserve. We will arrive as the mud flats emerge from high tide to watch shorebirds feeding for their northward migration. The Skolfield Shores Preserve offers fine views of the salt marsh, mud flats, and tidal waters of Middle Bay Cove, which is important waterfowl and wading bird habitat. Leader John Berry has birded extensively in the United States and abroad. Please meet at the preserve on Harpswell Neck Road (just south of the Brunswick/Harpswell town line). For more information contact Julia McLeod at 837-9613 or outreach@hhltmaine.org.

Rebekah Younger is a resident of Woolwich, who teaches digital photography through Merrymeeting Adult Education.  Photography is a meditative practice for her, a way of accessing the world on its own terms.  Rebekah has an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College.  Her varied art background includes a long career as a fiber artist selling her work through major craft shows and galleries nationwide, painting and drawing. Her current business is interior decorating, redesign and home staging, as inSite Contemplative Design.  Her photographs reflect her love of color and bold compositions, with a painterly quality. Rebekah will exhibit 3 separate bodies of work over the course of the spring and summer season with new work every 2 months.

The first show, April 3 – June 1, will be “Flora Colors,” drawn from her large collection of floral imagery.

The second show, June 8- August 1, will be, “Maine Waters.” It will include images taken on the many canoe rides with her husband, Guy Marsden,  around the Kennebec Estuary Region and Down East in his handmade canoe.

The third show, August 6 – Sept. 30 will be a collection of new work.

Located at the KELT Gallery in Bath above Reny’s on Front Street.

Rebekah will have openings for each show in conjunction with the Bath Artwalk from 5-8pm on:

• May 17
• June 21
• July 19-21 (Open Studio Weekend)
• Aug. 16
• Sept. 20

Partial proceeds of art sales support KELT!

Farming for Clean Water

When: April 17th @6pm to 9pm

Where: Bath City Hall on Front Street

The workshop is focused on the management practices and aid available to protect and manage water on farms. Topics and speakers include:

• Practice Benefits and Programming Available with USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service:  Jim Johnson/Paul Carmichael
• Storage Designs and the Benefits with USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service:  Candi Gilpatric
• Nutrient Management Law and Regulations with Maine Department Agriculture, Forestry and Conservation: Mark Hedrich
• Farm-A-Syst Assessment Tool with Androscoggin Valley Soil and Water Conservation District:  Susan Gammon

Click here for the registration form and agenda.

The cost is $6 per person for registrations received by April 15th.  After April 15th, the cost is $9 per person.

Seating is limited; so get your registration in ASAP. With Questions, contact: Jane Heikkinen at jane.heikkinen@oxfordnetworks.net or 207-753-9400 ext 400. Make check payable to:  Androscoggin Valley SWCD and mail to: 254 Goddard Road, Lewiston, Me 04240. Storm Date will be following week, April 24.

KELT will be at the Freight Shed Community Room Saturday at 8am with eyes on the sky and pavement.

If it is raining or the pavement is wet, stenciling is postponed to Sunday, April 21…same time, same place!

When: Saturday, April 20 Sunday, April 21 @8am-12pm

Where: Meet at the Bath Freight Shed Alliance’s Community Room

Team Registration Packet (Click to download the PDF. Packets also available at the KELT Office)

Registration extended! Print out your packet, fill it out, and bring it April 20 to Becky Kolak.

For more information, contact Becky at bkolak@kennebecestuary.org or 442-8400

The City of Bath, nestled along the Kennebec River, takes pride in providing a healthy environment and vibrant community-life for its residents and visitors. Did you know that each city street is like waterfront property?

Take a stroll down Front Street or Commercial Street. Look to the ground! Before long, you’ll come upon a storm drain. Any water that runs down this drain flows into our local waterways…this means the majestic Kennebec River!

Whatever we put down storm drains winds up in our waterways where we enjoy fishing, boating, and swimming.

Example of a stencil & message

People who would never dream of polluting the Kennebec River or its connecting streams and creeks might pour antifreeze, fertilizer, paint, used motor oil, OR toss pet waste, cigarette butts, and litter down storm drains.

What can we do to keep the Kennebec River, its tributaries, and our city’s sewer system in optimal shape?

Storm Drain Stenciling is a widely used and fun community-building activity for families, neighborhood groups, scout troops, service clubs, and local businesses. By participating you will become more aware of the link between our city’s landscape and waterways as well as leave behind a helpful reminder for others.

• Click HERE for more information on stormwater runoff. Learn how this type of pollution works hand-in-hand with storm drains.
• From Bangor Daily News: High winter snowfall totals pose toxic threats to Maine waterways, say environmentalists by Seth Koenig

Be sure to visit the Bath Farmers Market before or after your team stencils…located conveniently in the Bath Freight Shed!

This project was generously sponsored by the Davenport Trust Fund. 

Thank you to these businesses for sponsoring a Storm Drain Stenciling Kit.

When: Tuesday, April 9th (Social Hour for members @5:30, Business Meeting @6:30)

Where: Maine Maritime Museum in Bath

The event provides an opportunity:

• to explore what the land trust offers to the eight communities it serves
• to learn about the wide array of work to which KELT is committed- from fish ladder restoration to conserving local farmland to enriching educational experiences of local students
• to celebrate the work to conserve the land, water, and wildlife of the majestic Kennebec River Estuary

The evening will begin in the museum’s Long Reach Hall with a social hour for members starting at 5:30pm including hors d’oeuvres and a wine and beer tasting by Mariner Beverages and Now You’re Cooking.

The business meeting begins promptly at 6:30pm followed by presentations from staff on programming and projects.

Please RSVP to this event by contacting Becky Kolak at bkolak@kennebecestuary.org or calling 442-8400. The Maine Maritime Museum is located at 243 Washington Street in Bath.

KELT has changed the date of the Member Gathering and Annual Meeting this year from summer to spring in order to align with nonprofit’s fiscal year. This allows the land trust to more efficiently conduct annual business, i.e. election of Board members and officers, as well as report out in a timely manner on projects and accomplishments from the previous year. KELT will continue to host a summer gathering. We welcome your suggestions for timing, topics, and/or presenters for this event. Please contact Becky Kolak.

Minutes from the 2012 Membership Gathering and Annual Meeting (Click for PDF)

2012 Annual Report (Click for PDF)

Forestry Practices To Protect Water Quality

When: March 29th @8am to 1pm

Where: Bath City Hall on Front Street

The workshop is designed to help you understand, identify, design, and implement water quality protection measures while meeting your other timber harvest objectives.  Information presented will be set up to fit the needs and questions of woodlot owners, loggers, foresters, and others involved in timber harvest operations.

After some class time, there will be a site visit to a nearby timber harvest to see these techniques in action.  For more information about the agenda, contact Ken Canfield at 207-441-3712 or ken.canfield@maine.gov.

Coffee break refreshments will be available, and we encourage you to bring a bag lunch.  Individuals must pre-register for this free workshop by March 22nd.  To register, contact Jane Heikkinen of Androscoggin Valley Soil and Water Conservation District at 207-753-9400 ext 400.

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The third workshop will be on April 17^th at the Bath City Hall entitled: Farming for Clean Water and will be from 8am to 12:30 pm. More information coming soon!