The Wrack

Lots of oversized, cheerful, full of energy chipmunks descended upon the Reserve earlier this month during Preschool Story Hour! Thanks to parent Jackie Lipsky, their festive activities in response to Chippy Chipmunk Parties in the Garden were captured for all to see. Thanks so much for the photos, Jackie! We look forward to seeing lots of preschoolers and their parents for our next story hour on Tuesday, June 11 from 10:30-11:30am, when Nicole Fazio's Down East in the Ocean will be featured.

WELLS, Maine, May 21, 2013  York County Master Gardeners and the Wells Reserve at Laudholm are offering local gardeners several opportunities to improve their knowledge and skills around their home gardening through a series of workshops this summer at the new All Seasons Garden at the reserve.

All Seasons Garden workshops begin with Sheet Mulching and Home Composting on May 30 and continue with Drip Irrigation on June 4, Yardscaping on June 19, and Four-Season Gardening on August 29. Each two-hour, hands-on workshop begins at 6pm and costs $7 ($5 for members of Laudholm Trust). A special noontime brown-bag talk on Three Sisters Gardening and Companion Planting will be offered June 12 for a $2 suggested donation. See wellsreserve.org/calendar for details and to register in advance for each evening workshop.

Periodic controlled burns are an excellent tool for strengthening grassland habitat. Once upon a time wild fires occurred regularly, but today it's not sensible to let fires rage across the landscape. Without an occasional burn, though, New England grasslands gradually succeed to shrublands and then to forests.

Encountering thousands of itty bitty jumping bugs on a lunch jaunt.

Year 4 of the popular teacher training program.

Sending a big thank you to the generous team of children and adults who participated in yesterday's Laudholm Beach clean-up! We found cans, bottles, cigarette butts, fishing/lobster gear, a brush, comb, dock float, rope, ribbon, styrofoam, plastic bits, and some beach stabilization debris.

Prior to the clean-up, some of us watched the public film screening of "Bag It" in the auditorium. I hope that everyone (we recommend ages 12 and up) on the planet sees this film! It really does a fantastic job of presenting a global picture of the effects that our plastic waste has on the environment...and inspires its viewers to take action!

Below are photos of the Laudholm Beach stewards doing their part yesterday&

Children and adults alike learned lots about whales this morning with educator Tony Viehmann during the "Making Friends with Whales & Dolphins" school vacation week offering. On hand were tons of artifacts, too, including whale oil, vertebrae, an ear bone, baleen, teeth, skulls, and more! We listened to whale songs, played whale/squid hide and seek, and explored the lengths of marine mammals outdoors. Below ar…

Since 2010, the Wells Reserve has been working with partners to develop an inventory of stream barriers in the small coastal watersheds of York County. These are usually man-made structures that prevent the upstream or downstream movement of fish and other aquatic organisms, due to the fact that stream crossings were not historically designed with fish in mind. The impacts of stream barriers are particularly severe on migratory fish such alewives or salmon, which move from the ocean into rivers to reproduce.

Last week, five local families participated in the Preschool Story Hour featuring Sarah Marwil Lamstein's Big Night for Salamanders. The "Big Night" is the first warm and rainy night in the spring when salamanders and frogs migrate to the vernal pool where they were born, to breed and lay their eggs.

Lamstein's story follows a young boy and his family as they set out on the Big Night to help spotted salamanders cross a nearby road. They stop cars, encourage drivers to slow down, and carefully pick up salamanders and place them close to the vernal pool where they are headed. The story provides a wonderful stewardship message, and encourages all of us to be mindful of wildlife crossing our roadways.

Jennifer Hatch, Marketing Manager for ReVision Energy, provided an informative introduction to solar energy options for homeowners on Wednesday evening in Mather Auditorium. Over 40 people attended this Climate Stewards evening lecture, and one lucky winner, Mr. Jed Thomas, went home with the solar charger door prize (below)!