Kennebec Estuary Land Trust

We were so lucky to be joined by photographer Lisa Francesca Gallo at our 2024 Clam Day at Reid State Park. She beautifully captured the wonder of Clam Day - the excitement of digging your first clam, and your second and your third! Folks really don’t mess around when it comes to the Largest Clam Competition, an opportunity to vie for a coveted prize - and of course bragging rights for the next year. But never fear, everyone walks away a winner and with a prize - free dinner!

Huge thanks to Reid State Park for hosting us, and to Jon Hentz, our shellfish warden, for his invaluable knowledge and experience.

And thank YOU all for continuing to show up and show out for Clam Day for over a DECADE! It’s our favorite day of the year (truly a KELT holiday).

We’ll see you next year on the clam flat!

Join our Executive Director, Becky, in exploring the beautiful Higgins Mountain Preserve at peak berry season! 🫐🫐

We’ll meet at the Higgins Mountain Preserve trailhead before heading out for a leisurely stroll. We’ll make frequent stops to pick wild blueberries, all while contributing miles to our Explore the Estuary Trail Challenge!

Join the Trail Challenge: https://charity.pledgeit.org/kelttrailchallenge

We had an absolute blast this summer with KELT Kids Summer Camp! We spent two weeks exploring the outdoors and did everything from shelter building and paddle boarding to experimenting with natural tie-dye, sewing fish, exploring Fort Popham, catching frogs, building boats, and MORE! Thank you so much to our fantastic campers for always having positive attitudes and excitement for adventure!

Interested in signing up for a week of adventure, exploration, play, and nature-based art at the Holt Research Forest outdoor classroom on the beautiful Sewall Pond?! Registration for 2025 will be announced in January!

KELT Applies for Accreditation Renewal 🌲
KELT has completed the principal steps required to submit its application for accreditation renewal. The Land Trust Accreditation Commission invites public input and accepts signed, written comments on pending renewal applications. Learn more: https://www.kennebecestuary.org/news/accreditation-renewal-notice-2024

Last Wednesday KELT Staff headed out for our summer staff service day with for a clean up on Little Griffin Island, where there was a large pile up of buoys, plastic, and other trash that had accumulated during the large storm surges this past winter. Many hands make light work and we left the island…dare we say…spotless?! Our team was sure to get in an ocean dip, a post workday ice cream and we were even treated to a visit to Thief Island to scope out an osprey nest! Thank you MITA for facilitating such a special day for our crew, and for all the work you do!

Introducing the first ever Explore the Estuary Trail Challenge and Thorne Head 4k Trail Run!

The idea is simple: from August 12 - October 26th, for each mile you log outside, our sponsors will match $1 as a donation to KELT. Sign up as an individual or as a team, and log your mileage on foot, wheels or by paddle - from ANYWHERE! We’ll be hosting fun challenges and events throughout the series - with many opportunities to win awesome prizes! To celebrate the success of our trail challenge, we’ll also be hosting one of the most fun, cheerful, community-led trail runs this fall season at our very own Thorne Head Preserve. Registration is open now, and space is limited!

Register for the Trail Challenge & Trail Run: https://www.kennebecestuary.org/trail-challenge-run

This Sunday! Join Merrymeeting Food Council to treat yo'self (with friends and family!) to a lovely evening out in Bowdoinham!

Please join us for dinner and a concert this coming Sunday, July 14! MFC will be serving up good food for the hot weather this week: lettuce wraps with a choice of chicken or tofu and mushrooms, slaw, summery drinks and dessert! GF and vegetarian options.

Bring your family and friends, a blanket or chairs, and enjoy the show featuring the The Intergalactic Yurt Band! Dinner starts at 5:30, music runs from 6-8.

1 Main St/Mailly Waterfront Park in Bowdoinham. Dinner is by donation, $12 suggested, cash or Venmo.

If the concert is cancelled due to rain, we will still serve up meals to-go from a tent in the adjacent Bowdoinham Food Pantry parking lot!

Marvelous Marshes Lecture: Help Them, Help You!
This Wednesday, July 10 at 7:00 PM ~ Join us at the Bath Freight Shed to learn about and love marshes with Project Director Ruth Indrick!
Sign up: https://www.kennebecestuary.org/upcoming-events/marsh-lecture-at-freight-shed

Celebrate National Trails Day (June 1st) and Love Maine Trails Month (June 1st-30th) on our beautiful and diverse trails. Whether you’re birding, hiking, biking, walking your dog, exploring with kids, eager for a swim… you can find your perfect adventure on a KELT trail. Happy exploring!!

For more information on how you can get involved this Love Maine Trails Month visit https://mainetrailscoalition.org/love-maine-trails-month

Get your bids in TONIGHT by 11:59 PM!
www.kennebecestuary.org/auction

Now is your chance to gain an extraordinary experience at a great price *and* support your local land trust.

Whether it’s a luxury stay, curated collection, or new outdoor gear to enjoy with your friends and family, don’t miss out!

It's the perfect time of year to discover birding or learn more about our feathered friends on KELT preserves! Join us this Saturday for a beginner birder introduction, starting at the KELT office and then moving to Thorne Head Preserve.
https://www.kennebecestuary.org/upcoming-events/2024/5/11/beginner-birder-an-introduction-to-birding-apps-birding-extravaganza-2024

Or join us for a guided birding walk on Westport Island at Segerstrom Preserve later in the month.
https://www.kennebecestuary.org/upcoming-events/2024/3/31/birding-walk-on-westport-island

All ages and experience welcome - we love bringing new birders outside.

The Birding Extravaganza is an annual spring collaboration between a few neighboring land trusts - check out our website to see other offerings around you!

KELT Staff had a great time bringing our trail stewardship tools and skills to another local organization doing great work for our community and families - thanks Midcoast Youth Center for hosting us as we cleared the brush from the mountain bike pump track. We're inspired by your mission, and hope a spruced-up track will inspire lots of mountain biking and future nature lovers!

We're excited to give our time and tools because we have so many volunteers who help us with KELT projects. Next up for staff service day in the summer: getting on a MITA boat!

Now is the time to get your bids in!
https://www.kennebecestuary.org/auction

When we designed this auction, we really wanted to highlight the best of local Maine experiences in the estuary we love so much. Whether you are excited to get out onto the beach, the ocean, the clam flats, a getaway, a hike, a birding walk, or around town - there's something for you. All proceeds will go towards protecting and preserving these experiences for generations to come!

(And bids start at 50% off retail value of every item - an amazing way to access something you've always wanted to experience.)

It’s our favorite day! Happy Earth Day to our favorite planet 🌏

We’re always looking for more volunteers out on our preserves— join us for Wednesday Workdays this season and give back to your favorite local outdoor spaces. Click the link in our bio to learn more and sign up!

Join us at 10 am Thursday morning for a Vernal Pool Walk in Lily Pond Community Forest! We’ll learn all about the amphibians and invertebrates that migrate to these important pools each spring. More info and registration details can be found at the link in our bio!

Yesterday was the opening day for our LOCAL Garden in south Bath! The garden is an educational space where anyone can come learn how to plan, plant, tend, and harvest beautiful produce. All of the food grown in LOCAL Garden is donated to food insecure families in Bath. This special spot is tended by a dedicated Tuesday volunteer crew - join us!

All are welcome, no garden skills necessary. Volunteer groups come approximately 10 am - noon every Tuesday in the garden season. Sign up to be on the garden volunteer email list at the link in our bio or here: www.kennebecestuary.org/volunteer-at-the-local-garden

Happy garden season!

Reminder— our favorite Thorne Head Preserve is closed Tuesday through Thursday this week so the stewardship crew + contractors can complete important hazard tree work!

Did you know KELT has thirteen public preserves with trails? Why not use Thorne Head’s temporary closure as an excuse to visit a new one?! Center Point Preserve in Bowdoinham offers a gentle, 1.5 mile walk to a beautiful view of Merrymeeting Bay. Bonyun Preserve on Westport Island leads you on a beautiful Oceanside loop hike to an interesting historical area. Morse Pond in Georgetown takes you through a moss-covered wonderland to a large, undeveloped pond with lots of impressive beaver activity. The list goes on— visit our website to see the complete list! And thank you for respecting our temporary closure. 🌲 🌊 🦫

We are SO EXCITED to announce the opening of our Explore the Estuary Online Auction! 🎉🥳🎊

From unique events in the estuary to exciting getaways to educational events for the whole family, there’s something for every interest and budget! And the best part? All proceeds support your favorite land trust— KELT!

Bidding is now open and will close at 11:59 pm on May 12th!

Check out all of the items and bid at the link in our bio, or at https://www.kennebecestuary.org/auction

Happy bidding!

You know what they say— “April showers + a lecture on Landscaping for Climate Resilience brings May resilient landscapes!”

Join Nancy Sferra, former Director of Land Management for the Nature Conservancy of Maine, who will teach you how to make your landscaping more resilient to changes in climate. From planting native species to increasing the plant diversity in your lawn and garden, we’ll discuss native plants suitable for our coastal climate that are expected to persist under milder conditions.

Attend in person at Patten Free Library, or register for the Zoom at the link in our bio!

Join us Tuesday, April 9th at the Maine Maritime Museum for our Annual Meeting & Membership Celebration!

We’re looking forward to seeing familiar and new faces as we discuss KELT’s accomplishments from the past year and goals for the organization’s future. We’re also excited to kick off our online Auction which showcases experiences throughout the estuary! Our Keynote Speaker Nancy Olmstead will present an engaging lecture on the status of invasive species, followed by short presentations from KELT staff about various ways we are managing invasives on KELT preserves and properties!

RSVP at the link in our bio!

Due to this week’s storm… this panel discussion on storms is being postponed 🫠

We’ll let you know when we have a new date!

Join KELT and the at Wednesday evening for an engaging panel discussion entitled “What Does the Working Waterfront Look Like After the Storm?” Panelists will discuss ways that the maritime industry can be responsive to coastal storms and climate change.

Registration is required and free! and can be found at the link in our bio!

Friends, together- we did it! We are so excited to announce the success of the Whiskeag Field Project. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your support, your encouragement, your donations, and your commitment to preserving open space.

Please join us for April 5th after the official closing to toast the Field!

We’ll have cake and refreshments at the KELT Office (872 Washington Street, Bath) and would love for you to celebrate with is, any time between 4 and 6 pm.

Read more at the link in bio!

Join us on Thursday to learn all about butterflies of Maine! We’ll hear about these beautiful and important creatures from Dr. Ron Butler, Professor Emeritus at UMaine Farmington and co-author of a recent book about Maine’s butterflies. Zoom registration is free at : https://www.kennebecestuary.org/upcoming-events/2023/2/9/damselflies-and-dragonflies-ron-butler-4dcdm

Our Friday morning staff meeting was a bit chillier than normal, but the views sure made up for it! We spent our walk through Thorne Head Preserve finalizing our spring event details— make sure you’re signed up for KELT Emails so you can register as soon as they’re announced (hint: Sunday morning 😄)

Link to signup is at our link in bio!

🚨 Today is the Final Day of the Community Campaign to Conserve Whiskeag Road Field! 🚨

Over the course of this project, we’ve been inspired by the community support for Whiskeag Field on a daily basis. Throughout the process of raising the funds needed to purchase the property, we’ve met new neighbors who have recently moved to the area, heard from longtime KELT supporters who have enjoyed watching the seasons change in the field for decades, and engaged with some of our youngest nature fans.

There are many reasons to support the conservation of this 10 acre field & forest in Bath.Whatever your reasons, we hope you’ll offer your support by making a donation to this Campaign today, the final day.

All donations through the end of the campaign will be matched dollar for dollar. If you’ve been waiting, now is the time!

Click the Link to donate online! 🌎
https://www.kennebecestuary.org/whiskeag-road-field

Our beloved Thorne Head Preserve needs a little tuneup before spring! All trails and the parking area will be closed from 8 am to 4 pm on Thursday 3/14— please stay out of the preserve to allow staff and contractors to complete this important hazard mitigation work!

Want to get out on the trails on Thursday? We have 12 other preserves you can visit in the area! From Sewall Woods Preserve just down the road to Bonyun Preserve on Westport Island, we maintain miles of beautiful trails open to the public dawn to dusk— find info about our public preserves on our website!

Are you interested in renewable energy, but you don’t know where to start? Are you overwhelmed with the options and flyers that you get in the mail? Come learn about different options for supporting renewable energy – whether it is installing it on your home, through a community solar subscription, or purchasing from a utility-provided renewable energy option. You will leave this session empowered to decide which option is best for you and how to take the next step and support clean, renewable energy.

This program part of a continuing series of Bath Climate Conversations focused on learning, discussing, and connecting around ways to sustain and support our vibrant town as climate change occurs. Hosted by Bath Climate Action Commission in partnership with and and presented in person and on Zoom. Registration is required for Zoom only— register at the link in bio!

The final week of our community campaign to conserve Whiskeag Field is upon us!

Want to see the property first hand?
Join Land & Stewardship Director Andrew Morgan for a tour of the field and forest. Get an inside look at why the property is so special!
Today— Tuesday, March 12 starting at 4:00 pm!
Email [email protected] to sign up!

You can always learn more about the project and securely donate online at the link in bio!

Can you name these three invasive species pictured here?

KELT is committed to conserving the land and wildlife habitat in our region, and part of that is managing invasive species on our public preserves and properties. Join us this Friday for our Thorne Head Hemlock Project! Registration can be found at the link in bio!