Upcoming Events
2023 Annual Meeting
Featuring guest speaker, Gary Fish, Maine State Horticulturist talking about impacts of invasives in Maine; Conservationist of the Year Award; Door Prizes; and refreshments! Location is Searsmont Town Meeting Room. Cost $6. Please RSVP to msteinman@maineconservationdistricts.com.
Local Working Group
The Waldo/Knox Counties Local Working Group Meeting will be held at the Camden Town Hall. There will be a special informational pre-session from 1-2pm for beginners. Please RSVP to msteinman@maineconservationdistricts.com.
Common Ground Fair: WCSWCD Booth
We will have a booth set up all three days in the Environmental Concerns tent. Stop by and say hello!!
Midcoast Regional Envirothon
North America’s largest high school environmental education competition. High school students from around the Midcoast area will be competing for a spot at the State championship. SWCDs will team up to host the event in Camden. Not open to the public. Check with your high school to see if they are sending a team to the event and let them know they have your support!
Tour Belfast City Park Arboretum
Join Belfast Bay Watershed Coalition and Waldo SWCD for a tour of the newly completed arboretum. Learn about Maine trees and the educational activities and resources now available at the arboretum.
Gardening in MidCoast in the Face of Climate Change
Technical Director Aleta McKeage will present on this topic to the Garden Club Federation of Maine (GCFM). Check back for details.
Rural Living Day
Technical Director Aleta McKeage will offer 2 sessions on “Gardening for Habitat” at Rural Living Day beginning at 9am. Rural Living Day will be held at Mount View High School in Thorndike. This event helps support the Waldo County Extension Associations Scholarship.
Unity Pond Public Meeting
Waldo County SWCD & Friends of Lake Winnecook will hold a public meeting on October 27th at 6:30pm to discuss the water quality plan for Lake Winnecook. You can also attend through Zoom. Click here for more information: https://www.lakewinnecook.org/.
A New Research Project at Viles Arboretum: Forest Adaptation for Climate Change
Join us for a slide show and talk at Viles Arboretum on adapting to changes in the Maine woods and the assisted migration of tree species. A number of trees native to our forests are being decimated by invasive pests, disease and decline due to a warming climate. It is possible that in order to provide habitat for wildlife and have a healthy forest cover in the future, we will need to consider carefully adding new species to Maine’s forests and other landscapes. In order to study the viability of more southern species here, Viles Arboretum will complete needed research through experimental plantings. In addition to a talk, we will also walk out to the planned research site where plantings of potential new tree species will be installed over the next few years.
Conservation Properties Bus Tour
Stay tuned for details. Ride our charter bus to tour different properties in Knox and Waldo County, where landowners have certified their property through our Conservation Landscape Certification Program. Lunch at a local farm to table restaurant included.
Managing Forests Young and Old
Join us for a woodland stewardship workshop and hike to explore both low impact-managed forests at MOFGA and unmanaged old growth forest along the Hills to Sea trail. On this hike we will explore the value of late successional forests for carbon storage and healthy ecosystems and also see some spectacular trees, and contrast this with the young forest just across the stream.
Manage Invasives at the Viles Arboretum Research Site (A volunteer event)
Contact us to participate in this volunteer event. Participants will learn about removing invasive plants and help to prepare our research planting site at Viles Arboretum.
Alewife Restoration Project at Masse Dam
Event/Article Title: Explore the Masse Dam Removal and Stream Restoration
Date and Time: Saturday June 4th 10am -11am
Location: On Main St. in East Vassalboro
This year, native alewives are returning to China Lake for the first time since at least 1783. Over the past five years, the China Lake Alewife Restoration Initiative has removed or built fishways at six dams on Outlet Stream in Vassalboro, reconnecting China Lake to the Sebasticook River and the ocean. Eventually the restored alewife run is expected to total close to a million returning adult alewives. The Masse Dam site was the first of these projects, a dam removal completed in 2017. Along with removal of the Lombard Dam in 2018 and the Morneau Dam in 2021, the project created close to 2 ½ miles of free-flowing stream where previously had been severely-degraded impoundments, overheated, low in oxygen and full of invasive fish and aquatic plants. Through grants from the Maine Natural Resources Conservation Program and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and with the help of the Waldo County Soil and Water Conservation District, Maine Rivers has been working toward a comprehensive ecological restoration of this stretch of stream, including re-establishment of a natural stream channel and revegetation of the riparian buffer. Join us on a tour of this historic site, to see the progress that has been made, and the work remaining to be done. Meet on Main St. in East Vassalboro just north of the town center.
Story Reading, Poetry and Planting at City Park Arboretum
Arbor Day in City Park!
Join us for a reading and discussion of The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono, poetry writing, and planting.
Arbor Week Event: Plant Trees in City Park Arboretum
Celebrate Arbor Week in Maine! Help us install new trees in City Park Arboretum in Belfast, and learn how to plant a tree. Our planting day is to be announced, as we plant when the trees are delivered by the nursery. If you’d like to help, please let us know and we will inform you of the planting day, with work from 8am -11am.
Planting for the Future at MOFGA (Volunteer event)
Join Conservation biologist Aleta McKeage to learn about the role assisted tree species migration may play in maintaining resilient forests in Maine and help MOFGA and Waldo SWCD establish a small climate-adapted tree research site. During this hands-on volunteer workday, we'll briefly discuss the stresses native trees are currently experiencing, explore the risks and benefits of thoughtfully introducing new species, and learn which species may be a good fit for Maine's projected climate conditions. We'll also demonstrate proper planting techniques before setting out several dozen new trees in the MOFGA forest. Cosponsored by Waldo County Soil and Water Conservation District.