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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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 piping plovers who have been nesting in this area for the past two years!
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.
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.
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.
Learn from Aaron Parker of Edgewood Nurseries about different methods to propagate woody plants so that you can grow and share more plants. Methods covered will include dividing clumps/suckers, layering and stooling, softwood cuttings, and hardwood cuttings.
A portion of sales from dinner purchased at Maine Beer Company on Wednesday, 10/23, from 4:00PM - close goes to support our conservation work! Visit our table at the entrance to learn more about the lands and waters we protect so that our community can thrive. Also: merch and giveaways!
Join us to learn about the magical world of mushrooms!
Join us to celebrate progress in further connecting our communities to nature at our annual meeting! We’ll lead a tour of Watson Woods, the 80-acre property we are currently working to conserve adjacent to Rines Forest. Waterfalls, geologic wonders, and wildlife habitat await you. A geologist will be on hand to talk about some of the unique rock formations on this property. We will also hold a brief business meeting to elect new and renewing board members. Fall refreshments will be served. This event is free, but we request that your register here.
Come visit our table at the town's annual event to welcome new residents to our community. Learn about volunteer opportunities, current conservation projects, and other ways you can get involved with CCLT.
Join us to explore the new trails at LongWoods Preserve, which CCLT protected in 2022 in conjunction with Maine Farmland Trust. We'll take a close look at wetland habitats and take time to admire a variety of art installations.
We'll fix a bridge that is sagging into a stream. We'll meet on the north side of Blanchard Road (approximately 64-74 Blanchard Road). Look for the blue van with a wooden roof rack and park on the side of the road. We'll hike to the bridge site on the Waterfall Trail.
Maine’s coast is a treasure! Let’s keep it that way. Join us, the Town of Chebeague Island, the Chebeague Climate Action Team, and the Chebeague After School Program as we participate in the 36th Annual International Coastal Cleanup day.
Learn from Aaron Parker of Edgewood Nurseries about the benefits of companion planting in an orchard or garden. We’ll also create a roadmap for what to plant in the Cumberland Orchard in 2025 to support the growing fruit and nut trees.
Our task is to continue with clean up and invasive plant cutting in the lower meadow. Please bring loppers, gloves, and water for yourself. CCLT will have tools to borrow as well. We'll meet at the upper parking lot and then carpool down to the lower parking area. If you think you might come, please contact Jonathan Dawson at steward@ccltmaine.org.
We are determined to cut back the bittersweet vines in the clearing at Littlefield Woods and we are almost there! We have other mini-projects there as well, such as scoping out a possible new trail spur. Bring loppers, gloves, and water. CCLT will bring tools and gloves too. If you think you might come, please contact Jonathan Dawson at steward@ccltmaine.org.
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 to celebrate land conservation, stewardship, and climate resilience efforts on Chebeague Island. Maine’s leading ocean scientists—Janet Duffy Anderson of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Suzie Arnold of the Island Institute—will discuss ocean warming and biodiversity, the state of Maine’s fisheries, and hope around climate change.
Join Owen Wormser, a regenerative landscaper and author of the book Lawns Into Meadows, as he details how to grow your own meadow. Meadows are a way you can positively contribute to combatting climate change while also making something beautiful in your very own backyard!
