The Wrack

We host a lot of visitors each year. We hold a lot of events.?This is great because it means that people love coming to this place and enjoying all it has to offer. It also means that we inherit some amount of waste in the form of drink bottles, and we don't mind at all. Our visitors are staying hydrated (which means they will hopefully be back again), and we can take those bottles and turn them into sustainable improvements around the Reserve like solar panels, compost bins, and better signs for trash and recycling locations on campus.

Mornings, driving in, Laudholm welcomes me. I loop in to park, take two bags in one hand and binoculars in the other, step out, push the car door shut, and lock it. Already I'm attuned, scanning, panning the landscape, listening for caws and chips.

Most days I'm rewarded. It's a long walk from the parking lot to the farmhouse door and the reserve is famously rich in bird life. With its grassy expanses, ancient hedgerows, mixed woodlands, and the estuaries just beyond them, it's a rare day when no bird moves or speaks during the pedestrian part of my commute.

Four weeks ago, I added a twist to my routine. Every Wednesday, I'd measure my walk  both length and time  while logging each avian encounter. Then I'd submit my checklist to eBird, where it can be stored and shared.

A wild turkey of the species Meleagris gallopavo has been hired as the new president of Laudholm Trust, the local nonprofit partner of the Wells Reserve at Laudholm, according to Goose Read, chairman of the Trust's Brood of Defectors.

The following was published in the Biddeford-Saco?Journal Tribune Sunday edition, 3/30/2014.

Even though I work for the Wells Reserve at Laudholm, a coastal research and education center, Id never thought too deeply about flood insurance  that is, until a crack addict knocked on the door of my home one Saturday night this winter.

The National Association of Interpretion defines interpretation as "a mission-based communication process that forges emotional and intellectual connections between the interests of the audience and the meanings inherent in the resource." The year-round education programming at the Wells Reserve aims to build these meaningful connections.

Last month, the Reserve hosted 27 interpreters from across the country and around the world for a Certified Interpretive Trainer workshop facilitated by the National Association of Interpretation. Talented and creative professionals working at nature centers, aquariums, battlefields, state parks, and other interpretation centers in Hong Kong, France, Chile, California, Montana, Utah, and other locales joined together for a week of wonderfully intense learning.

Pick up three handy guides to the Maine coast and you'll always know where to access sandy beaches, nature areas, hiking paths, and boat launches as you travel the state's 5,300+ miles of shoreline. Each Maine Coastal Public Access Guide  there are separate editions for southern, midcoast, and downeast Maine  gives driving directions along with details on what to expect for parking, facilities, and amenities. Natural features and cultural highlights for more than 700 sites are described in the series, which was published in 2013 by the Maine Coastal Program, with significant involvement by the reserve.

Once invasive species get into an ecosystem, it's nearly impossible to get them out.

We have developed a disaster response plan for the Wells Reserve and surrounding watersheds that complements and coordinates with local and county efforts and that will serve as a model for other natural resource organizations and agencies.

The ultimate invasive species, the one that has penetrated to every corner of the map, left no waters or winds untouched, and helped all the others spread so quickly, is Homo sapiens.

Kids may have gotten a break from school this past week, but with two big snow storms, there was plenty of outdoor fun to keep them busy! Six campers from as far away as New Hampshire braved the snowy afternoons to spend Tuesday and Wednesday at the Reserve participating in our Winter Trekkers and Snow Survivors camps.

Each day was packed with activity, from wildlife tracking walks led by volunteer naturalists and a cottontail rabbit search led by Sue Bickford, to a day full of outdoor snow survival scavenger hunts and shelter building. Despite being on "vacation," campers were eager and excited to learn, and were a fantastic bunch to spend the wintery week with! Check out some of the photos of our adventures below, and head over to our Flickr page for even more.