These scavenger hunts, or nature based activity prompts, provide a wide range of opportunity to delve into observing the natural world and engaging with the earth in many different ways including nature journaling, found object sculpture, water body investigation, nose-to-the ground forest floor investigations, phenology studies, color collecting, using all the senses, and more. The prompts encourage place-based explorations, appreciation of seasonal changes, and even stewardship practices in your backyard or out on the trails. They are presented here as PDF documents to be easily printed and attached to a clip board or pasted in a journal. There are also video links included that Landere created for a 2nd grade class but that can be viewed by anyone! Enjoy!
The Open Air Arts Initiative (OAAI), a collaboration of Blue Hill Heritage Trust (BHHT), Cynthia Winings Gallery, and The SEED Barn collaborated with with artist Miriam Talalay is to produce a Scientific Illustration series of video classes. There are four video recordings to view and learn from! Her first video is filmed on the BHHT “Talalay Nature Sanctuary” trail in Surry, a property that Miriam’s Grandparents Paul and Pamela Talalay donated to the Trust in 2007. BHHT is grateful to the Talalay family for all they do to help protect and inspire love for the natural world on the Blue Hill Peninsula.
Example: Chipmunk midden! Regular feasting occurs around this mossy stump. Do you see the network of holes tucked between the roots along this section of the trail? What do you think this family of chipmunks chatter about during their shared meals?
This interactive map focuses on the way non-human species MOVE through the landscape. At the various stops, we explore ways to recognize then translate movement through creative acts. Bring along art supplies for visual art interpretation. Feel free to dance along the trail as you explore and SING OUT to mimic bird song along the way. Posted signs along the trail offer guidance for analog engagement. Click HERE to view map
Each March, when the snow in the small, grassy openings in the woods has thawed, we can hear two strange sounds around dusk.They are the sounds of the male woodcock trying to prove to the female that he’d be a good choice as the father of her chicks. He struts around on the ground making a funny meep, meep sound then rockets into the air, flying in big circles while his wing feathers make a high pitched chip, chip, chip sound.He comes back to the ground and begins strutting and meeping again. It is wondrous to watch and to hear as a sign that spring if coming and our woods are about to burst with life again after a quiet winter.
A fun way to connect with the Land and with the changing seasons is to observe phenology:the study of seasonal plant and animal life cycles.
Buds, at this time of year offer a great starting point to watch a plant’s rhythms unfold. There are so many complex and beautiful differences among plant species. Long and sticky, stout and furry, scarlet red, small and bumpy. Go for a scavenger hunt for buds this season and along the way learn how to identify plants without their leaves or flowers, connect with plant life cycles, and revel in the mystery of every delicate beginning of life.
To listen to a wonderful Maine phenology podcast check out the Nature of Phenology with Hazel Stark and Joe Horn supported by WERU!
Junior Firearms Hunter's Safety Class- Part 3 of 3 (Ages 10-16)
Junior Firearms Hunter's Safety Class- Part 3 of 3 (Ages 10-16)
September 9, 2023 @ 8:30 am - 4:30 pm Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery - Hatchery Building, 306 Hatchery Rd, East Orland, ME 04431, USA
This Junior Safety class is designed for ages 10-16. (All children that have not yet reached their 16th birthday must have a junior hunting license to hunt.)
This in-person course is taught by a trained, certified volunteer instructor who meets state and international standards, provides valuable information to new hunters including insight into the sport of hunting, resources and support, and provides the opportunity to ask questions of instructors and gain further guidance.
PART 3 (the field-day) will take place at Craig Brook Fish Hatchery on on September 09, from 8:30am-4:30pm.
*Requirements to attend the field-day are: • Those 12 years and younger must be accompanied by an adult, 13-17 year old's will need to have a parents signature on the consent line of their voucher. • Bring your completed workbook or completed online certificate. • A Survival Kit. Families may share a kit. the kit must include a pocket knife, fire starting kit, magnetic compass, whistle, water treatment device, a small flashlight, singling device, a large contractor trash bag, food, cordage, first aid supplies, and a space blanket. • Bring your lunch. To keep things moving we will have lunch during the class. • Bring your own water or drinks. • Bring a pen to take the test and you are welcome to bring latex gloves or anything else to make your experience safe.
September 10, 2023 @ 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Carter Nature Preserve, East Entrance - Blue Hill Heritage Trust, 99 Cross Rd, Surry, ME 04684, USA
The Shaw Institute and Blue Hill Heritage Trust invite you to join us Saturday, September 10th from 11am-1pm pm for a Beach Cleanup Day (location TBD). Be a part of Plastic Oceans International event, Trees and Seas festival by helping to clean up a beautiful property which is under conservation with BHHT. Plastics collected at this event will contribute to scientific research done at the Shaw Institute using our new plastics analysis and identification instrument. This data will be shared and combined with other communities around the world participating in Trees and Seas.
Participants should arrive at 11am. We will provide materials and assign paired volunteers specific areas and duties including data collection.
Prizes will be awarded for fun categories. Family friendly, and please bring water bottles, wear durable work gloves, sunscreen and sturdy shoes. Registration is not required. For further info, contact the BHHT office (207)374-5118 or the Shaw Institute at info@shawinstitute.org
Wabanaki Speaker Series with BHHT: A Penobscot Nation Citizen’s Year on Deer Isle
Wabanaki Speaker Series with BHHT: A Penobscot Nation Citizen’s Year on Deer Isle
September 12, 2023 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
The Blue Hill Peninsula and islands were the stronghold of Ann Pollard-Ranco’s direct Penobscot ancestors who lived there seasonally and/or year round, enjoying the bounty of the ocean and the tremendous beauty that draws people from all over the world today. Many of those ancestors gave up their lives defending their beloved places against the violence of colonization, determined to preserve access for future generations whom they would never meet. But in the end, surviving Penobscots were pushed upriver to a tiny island reservation, and their beloved places were stolen. Penobscots have been separated from the coastal part of their Homeland for over two hundred years, and access to ancestral places, traditional marine foods, and to cultural resources such as sweetgrass, is limited. In this presentation, Ann will share her journey of reconnection and advocacy for indigenous access that began with what felt like the ancestors calling her back to their beloved places. Her year of living on the Peninsula and working to change narratives of indigenous erasure has been facilitated by Blue Hill Heritage Trust, other allies, the generosity of charitable foundations, private donors, and many kind friends she has met along the way. As Passamaquoddy citizen Susan Hinkel poignantly shared in a recent presentation, there is nowhere for Native Americans to come back to on the Peninsula, that they can call their own. By raising awareness of this persistent inequality, activists like Ann and many others hope one day soon that a slice of this paradise with water access will be returned, so that Wabanaki finally have a place to come home to after all these years. Finding her way back and advocating for justice is Ann’s way of honoring those ancestors who tried so hard to preserve access for their descendants, and demonstrating their love and sacrifices have not been forgotten.
Ann Pollard-Ranco studied International Relations with a focus on Eurasian Politics at University of Maine. She is a writer, photographer, artist, and cultural consultant. Ann is in her second year as a Penobscot language apprentice to Carol Dana, and a founding Board member of Bomazeen Land Trust, one of the first Native American led land conservation organizations and a leader in the land back movement. Ann and her English Setter pup Nellie live in Sunshine, and they both love watching ethereal sunrises, sunsets, and moonrises on the water.
Friends from the Field: Butterflies of Maine and the Canadian Maritimes
Friends from the Field: Butterflies of Maine and the Canadian Maritimes
September 14, 2023 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Join Blue Hill Heritage Trust and Island Heritage Trust for a Friends from the Field Webinar! This online presentation will cover the taxonomy, evolution, morphology, and ecological significance of butterflies. It will include images of some of the representative species of the region's six butterfly families, explore butterfly conservation issues (particularly climate change), and briefly consider the 'insect apocalypse'. The presentation will conclude with some recommended butterfly identification guides, apps, and websites. Ron Butler is an ecologist interested in issues related to the conservation of biological diversity. During his early career, he conducted research primarily with seabirds in Maine, Newfoundland, and Antarctica. In the second half of his career, he changed his focus to ecologically important groups of insects. For the past 25 years, Ron has helped coordinate statewide citizen-science initiatives on Maine's dragonflies, butterflies, and bumble bees. Register at: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_iqFLSnTjS7Wyi7uGLR8-gA Email megan@bluehillheritagetrust.org if you have any questions!
Monarch Migration in the Bagaduce Watershed (Migration in the Bagaduce Watershed Series)
Monarch Migration in the Bagaduce Watershed (Migration in the Bagaduce Watershed Series)
September 16, 2023 @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Migration in the Bagaduce Watershed Program Series Join BHHT and Carrie Graham from College of the Atlantic’s Dorr Museum of Natural History for a foray into a milkweed patch to learn about the incredible migration and life story of the monarch butterfly. Learn how your backyard can support these butterflies that are now on the endangered species list. We will meet at a private residence and BHHT easement property in Blue Hill for this event. Directions will be provided after registration, prior to the event. This event is free and open to the public, but space is limited and registration is required. *REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED at: https://forms.gle/ve6danjEBD3AYsR16 This events will be outside. Please dress for the weather with appropriate footwear.
All ages are welcome to join us for a series of volunteer days throughout the spring - fall seasons. Every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month from 1-4pm.
***TBD***
Volunteers should bring work gloves, safety glasses, closed-toed shoes or boots, and plenty of water.
Beavers are amazingly adapted animals who provide countless ecosystem services, but also cause major challenges for landowners and resource managers. Join BHHT Forester and Land Manager Sandy Walczyk, and Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Private Lands Biologist Joe Roy out in the field to learn about the amazing ecology and behavior of beavers and beaver wetlands, and about BHHT’s challenges and successes in beaver management.
Please bring sturdy shoes and dress appropriately for the weather. The event will continue unless there are severe storms or rain. We will be walking into the wetland sites, but sites can also be driven to.
Poetry in Nature Workshop with Stuart Kestenbaum, Maine's Poet Laureate
Poetry in Nature Workshop with Stuart Kestenbaum, Maine's Poet Laureate
September 30, 2023 @ 9:00 am - 12:00 pm Blue Hill Public Library, 5 Parker Point Rd, Blue Hill, ME 04614, USA
Join Blue Hill Heritage Trust and Stuart Kestenbaum (Maine’s poet laureate from 2016-2021) for an opportunity to explore the connections between nature and the written word.
This paid workshop starts at the Blue Hill Public Library's Howard Rm and will include a "field-trip" to our neighboring BHHT John Murphy accessible trail.
Registration and pre-payment of the workshop fee is required to attend.
