Wednesday, May 28, 2025 | 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm

Location: Broad Cove Reserve, Cumberland Foreside

Curriculum: 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! Meet at the parking lot at 2:00 p.m. for the 15-minute walk down to the beach.

Naturalist: Karen Massey

Get Out! Nature Walks

These Get Out! Nature Walks are volunteer-led regular trips with trained master naturalists. Join us for a well-planned, no-cost, guided adventure. Monthly on the fourth Wednesday; always free; rain, snow, or shine. Jointly offered by both RRCT and the Chebeague and Cumberland Land Trust, the walks take place at preserves in the towns of Chebeague Island, Cumberland, Yarmouth, North Yarmouth, Pownal, New Gloucester, and Durham. Our curriculum is targeted at adults and engaged youth. Because the purpose is nature observation, we ask that dogs do not join us. Email CCLT with any questions.

*Photography and Filming Note: Your attendance at RRCT events may be photographed or filmed and your attendance indicates consent to have any images or footage featuring you at the event to be used for RRCT-related materials and outreach. Should images or footage appear in marketing materials that you don’t wish to be featured in, you must notify RRCT at Info@RRCT.org and RRCT will cease to further use your image or footage for any new materials going forward.

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This Ash Inventory Walk is the second of a four-part series, The Ash Tree Stewardship & Education Program, educational walks designed to raise public awareness and encourage stewardship of ash trees, which the invasive Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) beetle critically threatens. The program aims to protect Maine’s forest ecosystems and support the cultural traditions of the Wabanaki people, who have long relied on Brown Ash for basket making.

During this inventory walk, participants will learn how to identify ash trees, recognize signs of EAB infestation, and locate seed-bearing trees. We'll begin with a brief demonstration of the inventory process, then split into three groups to survey different sections of the forest.

Participants can expect hands-on training in ash tree identification and inventory methods, along with moderate hiking that includes some off-trail terrain. Binoculars are recommended to help spot seed-bearing trees, and waterproof boots are encouraged, as the ground may be wet and uneven.

Each walk in the series will equip participants with practical skills they can apply in their own forests and communities to help protect and preserve ash in Maine. This series is co-hosted by the Wild Seed Project, Royal River Conservation Trust, and Presumpscot Regional Land Trust. These programs are part of the larger statewide efforts of the Ash Protection Collaboration Across Wabanakik (APCAW).

📅 Date & Time: Thursday, June 5th, 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm

📍 Location:  Mill Brook Preserve in Westbrook, a PRLT property.

🎟 Register for the event here.

Wednesday, June 25, 2025 | 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm

Location: Littlejohn Island Preserve, Yarmouth

SPECIAL PARKING: For this event only, drive to the very end of Pemasong Lane in Yarmouth. The service gate will be open. Go through the gate and park on the right in the grass. RRCT staff will be there to direct you.

Curriculum: 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.

Naturalists: Karen Massey

These Get Out! Nature Walks are volunteer-led regular trips with trained master naturalists. Join us for a well-planned, no-cost, guided adventure. Monthly on the fourth Wednesday; always free; rain, snow, or shine. Jointly offered by both RRCT and the Chebeague and Cumberland Land Trust, the walks take place at preserves in the towns of Chebeague Island, Cumberland, Yarmouth, North Yarmouth, Pownal, New Gloucester, and Durham. Our curriculum is targeted at adults and engaged youth. Because the purpose is nature observation, we ask that dogs do not join us. Email CCLT with any questions.

*Photography and Filming Note: Your attendance at RRCT events may be photographed or filmed and your attendance indicates consent to have any images or footage featuring you at the event to be used for RRCT-related materials and outreach. Should images or footage appear in marketing materials that you don’t wish to be featured in, you must notify RRCT at Info@RRCT.org and RRCT will cease to further use your image or footage for any new materials going forward.

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