Roadside Clean-up

Deer Isle and Stonington have planned a roadside cleanup starting Earth Day, Thursday, April 22, through Sunday, April 25. Bags will be available at the Deer Isle Town Office, Stonington Town Office, and Island Heritage Trust. Information will be posted at www.townofdeerisle.org/environment. We encourage people to adopt a section of the road that we can put on a map to streamline the cleanup. Partners including municipal governments, Island Heritage Trust, DIS Chamber of Commerce, and Blue Hill Chamber of Commerce.
For more information, call Jim Fisher, Deer Isle Town Manager: (207) 348-2324
OR email: Jmccarty@islandheritagetrust.org

Volunteer Preserve Steward

Volunteer Preserve Steward

Please click the above link:

Dear Volunteers,

WE MISS YOU! We miss seeing your faces at Heritage House, we miss maintaining the trails with you on Trail Tuesdays, and we miss in-person committee meetings. But you inspire us every day. Your support and dedication keep our mission alive.

If you are interested in serving as a Volunteer Preserve Steward, please let us know. Although we aren’t gathering on the trails (as it is difficult to maintain physical distance in groups on the trails) you can still help. We look forward to getting back to Trail soon, but in the meantime, there are lots of ways to give back to your local trails. The Volunteer Preserve Steward can be a full-time or seasonal commitment. Causeway Beach is in need of a few committed folks to offer some TLC. Thank you again for your support and dedication!

If you are interested in getting involved please email Jmccarty@islandheritageturst.org

Friends From The Field Webinar

Citizen Science: A Means to Promote Equity and Inclusion in Environmental STEM

Thursday, January 7th, 4:00 – 5:00 pm (est)

Amara Ifeji will speak to her lived experiences as a BIPOC individual, the marginalization she faced, and how her self-sought passion for water justice led her to foster a connection to serving as a conduit for other BIPOC and female-identifying students like herself.  Amara is a 19-year-old freshman at Northeastern University and the Grassroots Development Coordinator with the Maine Environmental Education Association.
Registration

Friends From The Field Webinar

ALL ABOUT BROWN TRAIL MOTHS!
Thursday, December 17th, @ 4:00 – 5:00 pm (est)

Browntail moth is a nonnative moth that is currently expanding its range in Maine. Come learn about the biology, history, and current situation of browntail moth in Maine. Tom Schmeelk is a forest entomologist with the Maine Forest Service and the program lead on BTM.

This is the 25th in our webinar series co-hosted by BHHT and Island Heritage Trust, featuring local naturalists, professionals from environmentally focused organizations, and outdoor learning experts to share their knowledge, virtually, during a time when we can’t all be out in the field together.

The webinars take place LIVE on Thursdays from 4-5 pm! We will record the webinar so that if you wish to view but can’t participate at that time, the presentation will be available to you on our websites and social media.

REGISTER

Learning With Nature Webinar

ZOOM SESSION FOR FAMILIES REMOTE LEARNING
FRIDAY AT 10:00 – 11:00 AM EST
Need ideas for learning at home this year? Want to know more about what you can do on our local trails? Do you need downloadable activities for your kids to do in your backyard?
BHHT and IHT are offering a webinar on the first Friday of every month this school year to share outdoor learning ideas and resources for parents and families schooling at home. Martha Bell and Landere Naisbitt will co-host the sessions and invite other knowledgeable community members to share learning opportunities as well. This month, environmental educator, Julianne Taylor will be joining us! We will share activities, games, stories, answer questions about trails, hiking, weather, and any outdoor learning / nature-related learning inquiry that you have to the best of our ability. We hope to connect families with fun and meaningful resources during COVID 19.
For more information email mbell@islandheritagetrust.org. We welcome your questions ahead of time so that we can prepare well-thought-out answers so send them into the emails above! If you have resources that you think others would benefit from, please bring them along to the sessions. There will be a chance for sharing among participants as well.
Register for these zoom calls below:
REGISTER

Friends From The Field Webinar

EMPOWERING AVIAN AMBASSADORS THROUGH BEHAVIOR
THURSDAY AT 4:00 – 5:00 PM EST
Behavior Matters: How we can empower non-releasable raptors in avian education and deepen our appreciation, sensitivity, and experience with nature. Learn to see what a bird may be trying to communicate, and how
Caretaker of Birdsacre, Grayson Richmond, spends his days (and some nights) working with educational vultures, hawks, and owls at the Stanwood Wildlife Sanctuary in Ellsworth.This is the 22nd in our webinar Series co-hosted by BHHT and Island Heritage Trust, featuring local naturalists, professionals from environmentally focused organizations, and outdoor learning experts to share their knowledge, virtually, during a time when we can’t all be out in the field together.The webinars take place LIVE on Thursdays from 4-5 pm! We will record the webinar so that if you wish to view it but can’t participate at that time, the presentation will be available to you on our websites and social media.
Click the link below to REGISTER for this webinar:
REGISTER

Friends From the Field

A Lifelong Relationship with Sweetgrass

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2020 AT 4 PM EDT – 5 PM EDT

Join us to listen to, Carol Dana, from the Penobscot Nation, tell stories about her lifelong relationship with sweetgrass. She works at the Cultural and Historic Preservation Department for the Penobscot Nation on Indian Island and is their Penobscot Language Master.
This is the 22nd in our webinar Series co-hosted by BHHT and Island Heritage Trust, featuring local naturalists, professionals from environmentally focused organizations, and outdoor learning experts to share their knowledge, virtually, during a time when we can’t all be out in the field together.
The webinars take place LIVE every Thursday from 4-5 pm! We will record the webinar so that if you wish to view it but can’t participate at that time, the presentation will be available to you on our websites and social media.
Click the link below to REGISTER for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/…/reg…/WN_mjVAgn39TDScyNeGU53xPQ

Autumn Road Side Clean Up 2020

Friday, October 23rd – Sunday, October 25th

Trashbags available at Deer Isle Town Hall, The Galley, and Burnt Cove Market

For more information email: jmccarty@islandheritagetrust.org

Or to sign up for a section of road email: deerislemanager@gmail.com

IHT announces new Executive Director – Julia Zell

We are excited to announce that IHT’s Board of Trustees has appointed Julia Zell as its new Executive Director.  Julia was appointed IHT’s Development Director in April 2019 and has also been serving as Interim Executive Director since the departure of Paul Miller in July 2020.  Julia is a 2014 graduate of the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and has been an Island resident since 2017.

We conducted a nationwide search for a new Executive Director and received applications from many impressive candidates.  In the end, however, we recognized that we already knew the right person for the position.  Julia has brought enormous passion and energy to her work at IHT.  She has quickly built strong relationships with donors, volunteers, staff, Board, and our Island neighbors.  We are very excited to have her to help guide the organization through the many challenges ahead.

Julia stated: “I am honored to have the opportunity to help lead IHT through these unprecedented times. We have been reminded of how connected we are, how challenges affect us all. Being able to take a walk outside and find some quiet comfort in this rugged and beautiful landscape, having the opportunity to learn and grow in this place, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for this privilege. Thank you to IHT’s staff and Board for all their support and hard work!”

Please join me in extending her our congratulations.
Sincerely,

Bill Wiegmann
Board Chair

Friends From the Field

Mushrooms in Maine: Good, Bad, and Beautiful

Co-Hosted by Blue Hill Heritage Trust and Island Heritage Trust

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 AT 4 PM – 5 PM

David Porter, retired from the Univ of Georgia, moved to Brooklin 14 years ago. He enjoys sharing his fascination with the natural history of mushroom fungi, and before the pandemic has led forays and offered classes with BHHT, IHT, CoA, and Eagle Hill.
In recent years mushroom fungi have garnered increased recognition of their beneficial role in forest ecology. Mushrooms may be decomposers while others cooperate with trees for mutual benefit and communication. Interest in gathering wild foods has popularized foraging for edible mushrooms as well as the importance of recognizing those that may be poisonous. Natural history and edibility aside, mushrooms are organisms of remarkable beauty that are often underappreciated. We will share personal observations and scientific information in this illustrated talk to stimulate your curiosity and lower your gaze during your walk in the woods.
This is the 19th in our webinar series co-hosted by BHHT and Island Heritage Trust, featuring local naturalists, professionals from environmentally focused organizations, and outdoor learning experts to share their knowledge, virtually, during a time when we can’t all be out in the field together.
The webinars take place LIVE every Thursday from 4-5 pm! We will record the webinar so that if you wish to view it but can’t participate at that time, the presentation will be available to you on our websites and social media.
Click the link below to REGISTER for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_MsCdt_zdTMipDrkzwS1ZXg