In 2018, 465 volunteers donated 4,190 hours of their time to help keep the coast Maine.
Some cleaned beaches, some regularly monitored and cared for preserves. Some helped raise money for conservation, some brought boatloads of families out to islands for Open House events.
Maine Coast Heritage Trust volunteers helped in so many ways, and we are exceedingly grateful.
Our hope is that through volunteering, people connect to the coast and MCHT, and become ambassadors for land conservation.
In Castine, MCHT volunteer Julia Cooper is teaching her daughter, Fiona, about how good it feels to spend time outside and give back to your community as a land trust volunteer.
Julia Cooper with MCHT’s youngest volunteer, Fiona.
“I was born in Blue Hill but have mostly lived in Castine/Penobscot area. Growing up, my dad was an outdoorsman, and I spent a lot of time with him in the woods. I wanted to try to instill that in my daughter Fiona, too. We live close to Maine Coast Heritage Trust’s Lampson Preserve, we enjoy hiking and volunteering, so I contacted the local steward, Caleb Jackson, to see if we could pitch in as volunteer stewards.
On that first walk through the preserve with Caleb, he taught Fiona to hold her arms out to see how much to cut back from the trail. That was over a year ago, but Fiona never forgot it. Whenever we visit Lampson she walks along the trails with her arms out. She loves breaking back branches and, believe it or not, she’s even helped build bog bridging, but usually while I’m at work she’s playing in the woods.
I wish I could see life the way she does. She’s in awe of the places around her, it’s like an amazing fantasy world, and it’s very freeing for her. I don’t have to worry about her. She’s happy, she’s engaged—and there aren’t any TV screens in sight. It means so much to us to have places like this close by. I like knowing we’re a part of helping other people experience them, as well. It means a lot to be a part of that.”
“This place, and the people who also call this place home, made me who I am and instilled in me a desire to care for this land and the lives and livelihoods it supports. For me, that’s what conservation is all about.”
Aldermere Farm and Erickson Fields require much-needed investment to make them safer, more efficient, and more inclusive community preserves. How do we extend access to the special experiences they offer?
We have the opportunity to enhance recreational and commercial opportunities in the Machias area and the ecological health of the Middle River by improving fish passage and restoring 300 acres of salt marsh.
