The Wrack

All volunteers are honestly appreciated, but some merit special attention for their unusual dedication. Each year, Laudholm Trust and Wells Reserve staff nominate certain volunteers for recognition. Here is our history of selections.

Three years ago I observed a magical happening while on a drive along Ocean Avenue in Kennebunkport. Suddenly I was surrounded by what appeared to be a veritable storm of brightly colored pieces of paper fluttering past me. Upon stopping I saw that these were monarchs gathering in the Rosa rugosa at the waters edge. There was a strong onshore breeze and they were flying about, hesitant to launch over the open water.

The following was published in the Biddeford-Saco?Journal Tribune Sunday edition, 10/4/2015.

Just about every two weeks, for the past three years, Ive gassed up my car. On the printed receipt from the pump, I write down the mileage from the trip odometer before I reset it. Every few months, I take all the receipts out of the Altoids tin I keep them in and enter them into a spreadsheet  gallons, price per gallon, location of fill-up, miles driven  and use it to calculate my average miles per gallon, and where the reliably cheapest gas is. Embarrassingly, Ive even graphed the ebbs and flows of my refueling fun.

What can I say? I like math; I like numbers.

The wrack is an "ecological treasure trove" as well as a thorny beach management issue. At the reserve's Laudholm Beach, take the time to look at the wrack community and appreciate its unique contribution to a complex environment.

2-3" of rain today. Flood warnings. Coastal flood warnings. A super moon high tide. "Multiple hazards in effect," declared the National Weather Service.

Really, quite a nice afternoon for a walk.

I've always loved our old bowl-and-chain gutters on the Coastal Ecology Center.

Removing a small dam from Goff Mill Brook in Arundel reconnects seven miles of stream habitat to the estuary, benefiting brook trout, other migratory and freshwater fish, and the watersheds ecology.

The following was published in the Biddeford-Saco?Journal Tribune Sunday edition, 9/20/2015, and Making It At Home newspaper.

To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail. To a man at a coastal research center during Maine Coast Week, all the worlds a coast.

Katrina Papanastassiou brought good news for her lunchtime talk about this summer's piping plover and least tern nesting season in Maine.

With almost 4,000 attendees over two days, the crafts festival set new attendance and gross receipts records in its 28th year. Proceeds from the event will continue to support and develop science, education, conservation, and preservation.

If you're reading this article, you probably own a computer, tablet, or smartphone. It is also likely that you have at least one unused or broken device languishing in a closet somewhere. What exactly is the responsible thing to DO with these things?

We at the Reserve have struggled with this dilemma for quite a while. Old technology was piling up in the farmhouse woodshed like cordwood. Although we didn't know what to do with it, we knew we didnt want it ending up in the landfill.