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 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.

Join us at Spear Farm Estuary Preserve in Yarmouth to search for signs of life after a long period of dormancy and hibernation. Before the trees leaf out and the understory grows up, we may also spot lingering signs of the past year such as bird's nests. This time of year there are changes almost daily as the days lengthen and warm.  Be prepared for muddy trails with good boots and maybe poles, and it is not too soon to be mindful of ticks.

Our task will be to start to create a short trail section between Town Landing Road and the Spears Hill Trail.  We'll ponder deep questions like "on which side of the tree should the trail go?" and "will this wet area dry up later in the spring?" and then we'll start clearing branches and blowdowns.  Loppers and gloves will be the tools of the day—we will bring some of each—but bring your own if you'd like.  We recommend waterproof footwear as the ground will be wet.

Join us at Well & Good Brewing Company to enjoy some awesome ales among convivial company! All CCLT members and volunteers get 20% pours.

A portion of sales from beer purchased at Well & Good Brewing Company throughout March goes toward our conservation work. Simply put your token in the CCLT bin on your way out. Thank you for your support!

Want to improve habitat for trees, birds, and other wildlife on your land? Join us at this Landowner Open House hosted by the Cumberland Lands and Conservation Commission. CCLT and forest and wildlife professionals will be on hand to provide useful info about land conservation options and how you can sustainably manage your land.

Have you been seeing animal tracks in the snow and been curious about what critter made them? Join us and a Maine Master Naturalist to explore this property adjacent to Knight’s Pond to learn how to identify signs of wildlife in our local forests. The snow should give us good opportunities to investigate animal tracks, trails, burrows, and other indicators of wild creatures.

Because this property is infrequently used by humans, the forest animals have free run of the place. If there is snow, we are likely to see many animal tracks, such as fisher, porcupine, snowshoe hare, fox, and coyote. If there is no snow, we'll go looking for a porcupine high in a tree and whatever else winter shows us.

Walk with us through the forested landscape of RRCT’s Memak 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.

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.

We’ll look closely at the skulls and scat of Maine mammals to hypothesize what each animal can perceive, what it might eat, and whether it is predator or prey. Participants will have real, dried skulls and scat to examine and will learn how to interpret these animal signs in the wild.

Join us at Sanford’s Pond to get the skate shack and pond ready for the upcoming skating season. Bring rakes, loppers, tarps, and gloves if you can.

You could be cooking and cleaning, but maybe you'd rather go see whether the stream is freezing, guess whose tracks are on the shore, and look for a porcupine in a tree. We'll walk up and down steep slopes, helping you prepare for relaxing tomorrow.