A New Home in the Estuary
For the first time in our history, KELT is thrilled to welcome you to our office…owned & managed by the land trust!
You’re invited to visit KELT’s new space at 872 Washington Street! Thanks to a generous offer from a longtime supporter, KELT is able to own our own office space for the first time in our 34 year history. Time was of the essence as this purchase needed to close before the end of 2022. So in the final months of the year, KELT’s Board of Directors and staff thoughtfully made the decision to jump at this exciting opportunity!
Our new home is a cheery yellow and green building facing Library Park, a short walk from downtown. It affords KELT the chance to grow our capacity as your neighborhood land trust. We’re eager to welcome you to this charming spot, serving as our community landing-pad to protect and care for the lands and waters you love throughout the Kennebec Estuary!
Keep scrolling to learn how you can support this landmark moment in KELT’s history and be a part of creating your new community hub…
At the corner of Washington and Winter Streets, KELT’s new office is right in the heart of Bath.
You can support this major milestone!
Keep KELT thriving in our new home! You can have an impact now and support this landmark move.
Make a gift to support the new office
Help us to build a building and maintenance fund so we can care for our new home. Because of the short timeframe of the building’s bargain sale in the final short months of 2022, KELT mindfully used funds from our reserve fund to make this investment in the organization a reality.
Share your skills on our Building Maintenance Committee
We’re in need of volunteers with talents for building care and maintenance to join our Maintenance Committee. We’re quickly learning the ropes of building ownership and welcome the skills and insight of folks willing share their knowledge of carpentry, plumbing, electric, snow removal, and more! Contact Executive Director, Becky Kolak, to learn more.
“I’m so excited to welcome everyone to this new space! To host volunteers, collaborate with our community partners, and greet visitors...all to share the many ways KELT supports our local communities. ”
Becky enjoying the office’s view of the park in December 2022
KELT staff, Board members, and supporters celebrate at the closing of the KELT office in December 2022.
What’s the full story?
In fall 2022, a longtime supporter of KELT retired and was looking to sell the building that housed his law practice for decades. We are grateful he thought of KELT and offered to sell the building at a generous bargain sale before the end of the year. As time was of the essence, KELT’s Board of Directors carefully considered this once in a lifetime opportunity. After closely conferring with staff and completing a building inspection and thorough due diligence, the Directors voted to move forward with the purchase by utilizing reserve funds to meet the sale deadline.
After three decades of renting space and with a growing professional staff conserving and caring for over 4000-acres of land, KELT was ready to own a space of our own. The closing occurred this past December, and KELT began planning our move!
This February thanks to the outstanding efforts of staff and volunteers, KELT moved the many boxes of files and binders, trail tools, community science equipment, education materials, office supplies, and much more to the new building. While we hired professional movers for the truly hefty furniture and equipment, the transition to our new home was really made possible thanks to dedicated volunteers. We are grateful to a hardy crew that helped us pack, stack, and maneuver our materials to their new home.
Ruth showing off the new storage and organization in the community science space.
“It will be wonderful to share this new space in the upcoming sampling season with KELT’s community science volunteers...a whole room with a table, sink, and storage to titrate water samples and explore the wonders of phytoplankton!”
What’s next for KELT?
We will be unpacking and organizing this winter but look forward to hosting an open house to celebrate this landmark in KELT’s history. In the meantime, our staff and Board of Directors welcome you to stop by to sneak a peek, pick up a trail brochure or two, and learn about what KELT is up to in the estuary!
Need to send us something by snail mail? Our mailing address remains the same: PO Box 1128, Bath ME 04530.
