Get Out! Nature Walk: Winter Adaptations
How does nature prepare for the colder months?
How does nature prepare for the colder months?
Join us, the Chebeague Recreation Center, and the Chebeague Community Church at Littlefield Woods for festive holiday caroling in a beautiful natural setting, followed by hot cocoa and tree lighting.
Walk with us through the forested landscape of RRCT’s Mèmak Preserve in North Yarmouth. Nature is bundled up for the winter with trees standing watch. We will identify these trees by looking at bark and twigs. We will look for signs of critters as they make their way during the coldest time of year. We will welcome the return of the light and find peace in the quiet of the hemlocks and other tree sentinels.
Even if there are few fungi in evidence on this walk due to the drought, we will find plenty to see and talk about, including the signs of autumn and preparations of nature for this transition. Please join us!
We'll hike into CCLT's newly acquired Watson Woods, where we'll scout out, trim, and blaze (with surveyor's tape) a preliminary trail route down from the field to the brook. This is a great opportunity to get a glimpse at this stunning property while getting the ball rolling on trail creation.
We'll meet at the Rock Ridge parking lot on Rock Ridge Run (off Harris Road) and hike to our work site where we'll assemble and install seven 12' bog bridges, and clear and blaze a new trail route. Come enjoy the fall weather while doing some satisfying work with fellow community members!
Join us for an evening of community camaraderie in support of the trails that connect us! We’ll have pizzas and salads, drinks by donation, a sweet mountain bike raffle, guided trail tours, kids’ crafts from a mobile art bus, lawn games, and more.
Explore the nascent trails at our newest property!
We'll be cutting and dabbing invasive plants around the parking area and building a new bog bridge on the trail. We will provide tools, but please bring your own loppers and/or cordless drill if you can.
We'll be cutting and dabbing invasive plants around the parking area and building a new bog bridge on the trail. We will provide tools, but please bring your own loppers and/or cordless drill if you can.
PLEASE NOTE: RAIN DATE IS SUNDAY, SEPT. 7, SAME TIME. Join CCLT, Falmouth Land Trust, and the Falmouth Cumberland Community Chamber of Commerce for a screening of the Maine Outdoor Film Festival at Tidewater Farm. Bring your own chair or blanket, and enjoy some outdoor and conservation-themed short films under the stars!
Join us in the expansive fields of this beautiful preserve that is home to milkweed and other native wildflowers that will be in full bloom at summer’s end.
Join us at LongWoods Preserve for a slow-paced and kid-friendly walk to observe nature’s treasures in collaboration with Prince Memorial Library. Wildflowers, ferns, mushrooms, and other natural wonders await.
Join us and your neighbors for our annual meeting and celebration of conservation successes on the island! Chris Lewey, an ecologist and ornithologist, will speak about his recent book The Science of Watching, the Art of Seeing, and the Power of Nature Absorption. Drinks and hors d'oeuvres will be served.
Are you fascinated by owls, but never have the opportunity to see them up close? Here's your chance! Marcia and Mark Wilson, a naturalist and photographer who care for owls with permanent disabilities and use them as educational ambassadors, will be bringing six different owl species to the island. Their Eyes on Owls program will also include a hooting lesson, an entertaining slideshow, and fun facts about our local owls’ unique adaptations. This a perfect family activity with plenty of time for photos and questions.
Four years ago, the Great Chebeague Golf Club started working toward a certification as a cooperative sanctuary golf course, making it part of the Audubon International movement that promotes ecologically sound land management and the conservation of natural resources on golf courses. Learn about the various ways the club is striving to meet its goals during a tour with Linda Grant, who is helping to shepherd the club’s environmental plan.
Join us at Knight's Pond Preserve for a slow-paced and kid-friendly walk to observe nature’s treasures in collaboration with Prince Memorial Library. How many frogs can we spot today?
We’ll tackle invasive bittersweet that's strangling some large trees on the edge of this new-to-CCLT property and then go on a short hike to the waterfall area.
Join us and Maine Audubon’s Laura Zitske at Indian Point on Chebeague Island to learn about the shorebirds and the shoreland restoration project on this preserve. We may even have a chance to see the endangered Piping Plovers who have been nesting in this area for the third year in a row!
Island resident and birder Krista Hayward has been observing and photographing the cute, captivating, and charismatic endangered Piping Plovers that have been nesting on Chebeague Island the past three years. Get a close-up view of plover life through her remarkable photos on display at the Inn this summer. Meet the artist and learn more about Chebeague’s Piping Plovers and efforts to protect them at this opening reception.
We’ll walk through the pine-oak forest to the shore of this stunning 23-acre preserve on Casco Bay. We’ll investigate the tidal mudflats and sandy beaches along the coastline while keeping an eye out for common eiders, black guillemots, ospreys, and bald eagles.
We'll get started on and maybe even finish the bog bridging over a long wet section. Tools and gloves will be provided. We may need an extra cordless drill or two. We usually work for 2 to 3 hours; please feel free to come when and for as long (or short!) as you can.
We'll install a trailhead kiosk and cut in the trail from the new parking lot back to the Waterfall Trail. Tools and gloves will be provided, but bring your own loppers if you like. We usually work for 2 to 3 hours; please feel free to come when and for as long (or short!) as you can.
This annual family-friendly event celebrates the ancient phenomenon of horseshoe crabs coming ashore to lay eggs. Participants will have opportunities to handle horseshoe crabs and learn about these unique creatures from marine educators and horseshoe crab experts.
Join us at Broad Cove Reserve to learn fascinating facts about horseshoe crabs who have emerged from the ocean to lay their eggs on sandy beaches like this one for 445 million years. You will likely be able to see these harmless arthropods up close!
Our goal is to open new trail sections linking the existing trails to the CCLT trailhead.
Join Maine Master Naturalist and wildlife artist Michael Boardman to observe and learn about the wide variety of birds that land in our forests as they migrate north in the spring. We’ll also keep our eyes and ears peeled for water birds, focusing on edge habitat. Bring binoculars and water-resistant footwear if possible.
Please join us for a bench building session. We'll be working with the Rec Center to assemble wooden benches and then we'll take them to various locations around the island. All tools and materials will be provided.
Spring might be taking longer to arrive this year, but you’ve probably noticed the unmistakable chorus of spring peepers signaling that days and nights are finally warming. Vernal pools are coming alive with the return of wood frogs, spotted salamanders, and fairy shrimp. We will get a close-up look at egg masses and other evidence of amphibians in three temporary and isolated wetlands. The walk will be about two miles in total over relatively flat terrain.
CCLT is creating a new trailhead and new trails linking it to the existing trail system. We'll do some clearing of branches and brush, placement of bog bridges, and build a new 22' bog bridge.
We will continue working on a short trail section between Town Landing Road and the Spears Hill Trail. We'll meet at the parking lot and hike in to our work location. Our task will be to install signage and blazes and build a few wooden bog bridges to place over wet sections.
Join us on a night in late March or early April for this exciting annual event to witness, and if necessary, help frogs and salamanders get across Range Road from Rines Forest as they awaken from winter and migrate to CCLT's Frog Pond and Salamander Swamp to mate and lay eggs.
Join us and other area conservation organizations for a film screening of A Peace of Forest, the first feature-length film celebrating Maine wildlife. This intimate portrait of common and uncommon wildlife in a 70-acre parcel of forest in Whitefield, Maine, is a sneak peek into a hidden world of wonder that occurs daily in the Maine woods, but we are rarely fortunate enough to witness. View the film trailer here.