Programs

Greater Lovell Land Trust programs are open  and offered free to the public.  We do not request reservations or donations unless specified, but please consider becoming a supporting member.

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Join Us For These Spring Events!!

 

Growing Oyster Mushrooms

Saturday, April 24, 2010   Time: 12 noon-3:00 p.m.

Meet at the Old Stage Farm off Route 5A (Old Stage Road) in Lovell

A demonstration will be conducted throughout the afternoon on how to grow your own oyster mushrooms.  Oyster mushrooms grow very well locally and are a great addition to the family forest garden and dining offerings.  Tom Henderson, a grower for 13 years will demonstrate how to inoculate maple logs and care for the crop.  The demonstration is an open house format for all ages.  Participants can arrive at anytime throughout the afternoon.  Dress appropriately as it is an outdoor activity. 

 

This demonstration is being scheduled to coordinate with the Transplant Workshop offered at Old Stage Farm by Susan Sidwell.  The GLLT is currently working with local food producers to advance the preservation of farms, famers and farmland.  We will be adding an Agricultural page to the website soon to announce local farm programs and agricultural news to the public.

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Transplant Workshop—Offered By Old Stage Farm

Saturday, April 24, 2010   Begins promptly at 12 noon ending at 3:00 p.m.

Meet at the Old Stage Farm off Route 5A (Old Stage Road) in Lovell

 

The Old Stage Farm in Lovell, Maine is offering a Transplant Workshop on April 24, 2010 providing gardeners with custom seedling choices of common varieties, as well as the unique and hard to find.  Are you a home gardener looking for unusual plant varieties such as heirloom tomatoes, bleeding hearts, lavenders or basils?  Do you grow one or two of each plant but can only find multipacks with no homes for the extra seedlings?  The Transplant Workshop being offered by Susan Sidwell may be the answer to tailoring your spring seedling purchases to your growing needs.  Old Stage Farm specializes in robust and unusual vegetable and flower varieties, herbs and perennials.  Many are hard to find varieties.   Come select and transplant the varieties and number of seedlings you wish to grow this season and let Old Stage Farm raise them in their greenhouse until the weather warms and the soil is ready.

 

Susan Sidwell will help you individualize your choices, separate, transplant and label your seedlings.  The program begins promptly at 12:00 noon with useful instruction from Sidwell on the individual plant requirements, growth needs and transplanting process. You may mix your flats in order to personalize your choices, taking into account your growing conditions and the advice offered.   Your individual plants can be grown out in the greenhouse at Old Stage Farm and available for you to pickup in early May for hardening off and planting or taken home to raise in your own home or cold frame.   

The workshop is free.  There is a cost for for each of the plants selected by a participant.          

 

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Join Us for These Summer 2010 Events

 

Drawing in Western Maine: A Special Opportunity Sponsored by the GLLT

July 7th  7:30 p.m. and

July 8th   9:00 a.m.

 

Maine is a beautiful state, and the Greater Lovell Land Trust works hard to protect and preserve our corner of it.  Maine has been an inspiration to many, and if you’ve ever found yourself thinking thoughts along the lines of “I wish I were an artist, so that I could paint or draw this beautiful vista”, this workshop lead by Margaret Nomentana, might be just the ticket.  The workshop is open to any who would like to try their hand at drawing some of Maine’s beauty, whether it’s the person who says “I can't draw at all”, to the person who has experience, but might enjoy connecting with others in an artistic adventure.  The group will meet Wednesday evening at the GLLT office on July 7th at 7:30 PM, to make some art and prepare for our art walk Thursday morning, July 8th at 9 AM.  This will be a leisurely walk, and we will sketch and draw and capture some of the beauty of our area.  Art supplies will be provided, but people are also welcome to bring their own, if there are particular mediums that they would particularly enjoy working in.

 

PLEASE NOTE:  THIS EXPERIENCE IS LIMITED TO THE FIRST TEN PEOPLE WHO SIGN UP BEFORE JULY 2ND.  THERE IS ALSO A FEE OF $10 TO HELP COVER THE COSTS OF MATERIALS.  TO SIGN UP CALL THE GLLT OFFICE:  207-925-1056

 

Margaret Nomentana is a painter and art instructor, living in Stoneham Maine.  If you have questions about this workshop, you may reach her by calling 925-6575, or e-mailing her at “outerspace@earthlink.net.”

 

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The Greater Lovell Land Trust Presents:

Natural History at the Charlotte Hobbs Memorial Library, 2010

Wednesday Evenings in July and August 7:30 PM

 

 

July 14.  Vernal Pools.  Bridie McGreavy. Conservation and Education Director for LEA.

The sound of spring in Maine is the sound of frogs chorusing on the edge of a wetland on a warm April night.  Vernal pools, small wetland where frogs and salamanders breed, are often the site of these nightly spring serenades.  In this program, Bridie will introduce participants to vernal pools and the life therein through a slide presentation and live specimens.  Because vernal pools provide important breeding habitat for several animals, the state enacted legislation to protect Significant Vernal Pools, those pools that meet certain biological criteria.  Vernal pools usually dry up at some point during the year, are widely distributed in forests and fields, and their exact locations are largely unmapped.  Thus, Bridie will also discuss vernal pool conservation challenges and practices to best protect these vital habitats.

 

July 21.  A Tale of Two Foxes.  David Brown.  Professional Naturalist and Tracker.

Although outwardly similar in size and shape, our two native foxes are quite different in many other respects.  These differences are apparent in the tracks, trails and other sign these two fascinating predators leave behind.  Through photographs of this sign and other evidence as well as their natural history, David will reveal their secret lives, largely hidden from us in foliage and the night.

 

July 28.  Why Biting Insects Suck.  Donald Bennett.  Entomologist and naturalist.

Have you ever wondered why humans are plagued with biting insects like mosquitoes, black flies, deer flies, horse flies, and no-see-ums?  What do they do with your blood?  Why do we itch after they bite?  Which Biting insects are the most dangerous to humans?  Is it possible that humans need biting insects?  Come and discover if there is any purpose to all the misery from biting insects.

 

August 4.  Invasive Plants.  Jackie Cressy.  Educator and conservationist.

Jackie will help us determine exactly what is an invasive, exotic plant and investigate why we should care about this issue.  In addition, she will identify the major “bad guys” in our area and teach us how to recognize them.  Finally, she will address how we can attack this problem through eradication and the use of native substitutes.

 

August 11.  The Bald Eagle:  Our Come-Back Bird!  Bonny Boatman.  GLLT  docent.

Our national bird is one of nature’s most fascinating creatures as well as our country’s beloved emblem.  Though they were close to extinction, bald eagles currently reside in almost every state.  Come to a lively learning experience which will include both pictures and film of the Bald Eagle.  How big are bald eagles?  How long do they live?  Where do they live?  How do they live?  Bonny will answer all these questions and many more.

 

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Natural History Mini-Courses

August 9th and 10th

 

The GLLT is offering a free natural history mini course this summer designed for anyone over the age of 18.  Many folks have participated in our walks and may enjoy a more intensive experience, or perhaps you just want to find more ways to enjoy your forest walks.  In such a short experience we can only scratch the surface, but we can certainly have fun in the process.  This is not intended as an athletic experience, and it is hoped that many participants will share their knowledge in the process. Most our work will be a field experience, complimented by suggested readings. The curriculum will include the following:  map, compass, and GPS; safety in the woods; animal tracking; birding; woodland creatures; reading historic features; and basic botany.  The goal of the course is quite simple: to safely enjoy the forest by getting to know it better.  Although you will be able to identify most of the common trees, plants, and wildlife after the experience, the real focus is to understand how the forest works as a whole.  The course will last for two days:  August 9 and 10.  We can accommodate up to 8 individuals.  Please call or E mail the office for a “reservation” (207-925-1056) tomgllt@earthlink.net. or kharding55@gmail.com.  As with all GLLT experiences, the course is free!