Mindful Monday: How to get your happy on...

So this article about how hiking makes you a happier soul is a good one to read.  It gives nice tips on how to get started, and gives you all the health benefits to being an avid hiker etc... 

I agree that getting outside and hiking makes you happier, at least it works for me, ...  if I am with people who also like to hike.  We actually had to convince my son at a younger age that a stick we found was magic and was giving him strength to get up the whole mountain.  It worked...though now he as a few trust issues with us when we are trying to convince him of things.  So if having to bribe your children with goldfish and magic sticks to get them to brave up the side of a mountain is your situation, perhaps pick a less lofty plan. 

Come on out to our woods... The Emmons Preserve has lots of trails from less than a mile to a couple.  The Learning Trail gets you out and learning.  There are even benches out there for those "shoes are to tight," "are too sweaty to keep going," or "are being eaten alive...literally" moments that challenge even the stealthiest of parents.  We have a beautiful river to look for fish in, or sail a birch bark boat in.  We even have a big bridge that you can play Pooh Sticks with.  Don't know what Pooh Sticks are?  Check it out. 

The Smith Preserve is great to look at pond life, and bird watching.  It also boasts a water fall (really just a bit of running water over rocks which is a nice place to stop for a snack.  Don't forget our Tyler Brook  preserve, which is so plastered with Lady slippers in the spring that you have a hard time keeping count.  It can be a great place for a picnic as well.  If you want to make it longer, you can get all the way to headquarters from there.

It need not be a huge hike up Tumble Down (an unfortunate name when trying to convince your children its a fun family outing for the day!)  Just get out, and hey, bring some top ten cards with you and work on identifying things while you are out there, or do a scavenger hunt.  There are a ton on the web.  Know that if you instill the love of nature in them now, and the idea that hiking can be fun, as they get older Tumble Down will be nothing, but a beautiful walk in the woods!

On the last thing though, we live in Maine folks, lets not forget to protect from bugs and ticks, that's just not going to end well for anyone who isn't immune to whining!  But most importantly, have fun and get your happy on!

Looking Back

I thought about what article to post today, but instead, I am going to be mindful in a different way. 

On this dreary morning, as I was driving in to work, a rabbit ran in front of my car on the road to the Trust.  I haven't seen a rabbit in the wild in a long time.  Though some of the kids I work on trails with swear they have seen them, they have always alluded me.  There is something about these hop-a-long creatures that keep me looking for them.   Today when I say that furry brown rabbit sprint across in front of my car, It brought me back to my younger years going to Odiorne Point in NH and seeing thousands of bunnies hopping in and out of the underbrush that exists there. 

Upon my return to Maine, I couldn't wait to bring my kids there to have similar experiences.  Echoing voices in the bunkers, chasing rabbits, seeing baby lobsters by the rocks and having a picnic by the sea.  I brought my then young children there often, but things were vastly different.  Not all in bad ways, just different.  The bunkers were closed to the public, (probably a good thing!)  and the Seacoast Science Center, which was just beginning when I was in high school, is now a beautiful comprehensive science center.  The thing that bothered me though, was not once, ever did I see a rabbit.  I wondered what had happened to them all.  

I always find it funny that our lives change so gradually that sometimes we don't notice the subtle differences from day to day.  We don't notice the disappearing monarchs, or the fact that the snapping turtle that used to lay eggs every spring hasn't done so for a couple of years now... or that rabbits are no longer common place in places where there used to be so many.  Maybe because it happens over time.  Probably the same way that every now and again I catch myself in a mirror and am shocked not to find a teenager, but a middle aged woman with a family... when did that happen?

My memories of the wildlife and landscape that I played in is a strong memory that I can still smell, taste, and feel, if I close my eyes tight enough, were important enough to me to continue in this field and to want the same for the next few generations.

 As I handed out photo albums to the 5th graders at their graduation the other day of all the trips they had taken with Trust in our Children, the landscapes clear behind them, I hope that they will feel the same.  I hope that their thoughts and memories of this place will be strong enough that when they are my age, they won't ever wonder where the bunnies are... they will still see them on their way to work.

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten wildflowers to look for this spring on our properties

So when you go out this spring, don't just walk, look around you at the little pops of color that are starting to arrive. 

These pictures have been taken mostly on our properties, come and enjoy finding each of these beauties as you wander through our trails.

Get outside, explore and enjoy the beautiful land around you!

Download the new Top Ten Spring Wildflowers at KCT

 

Mindful Monday: Warmer Ocean Water in Maine is not Something to be Excited About.

This article published this past November talks about the Gulf of Maine warming more rapidly than almost any other ocean region on earth.  This is starting to have massive effects on the ecosystem, and yes, the economy.  When the large fishing industry is starting to show concern, is it time to listen?

This has been news from the Bangor Daily News to the  Austrian Tribune, clearly people are concerned.

Here are some highlights (or Lowlights) that we all should be aware of:

• Gulf of Maine is heating up faster than 99% of the worlds oceans...

• Ocean is becoming fresher.  Most likely because of the melting of the ice caps in Labrador Sea

• Ocean is becoming more Acidic because of the high levels of atmospheric CO2 levels.

• The Natives are decreasing.  Cod and Shrimp are in short supply.  As we all are familiar with the   food chain, ( if you are not, please feel free to join us on our 4th grade field trip! ) once one thing decreases, others increase or decrease based on it.  The oceans temperatures are almost inhospitable for Cod at this point. 

• There are more bacterial outbreaks. 

• Southern Invaders:  (not including my father and husband) Longfin Squid normally in the southern gulf, or Trigger Fish from North Carolina and South Carolina, to Black Sea Bass an aggressive fish coming from the area between the Gulf of Mexico to Cape Cod.

• The Green Crab Crisis resulting in lower amounts of seagrass meadows and soft shelled clams)  While the Green Crab, an invasive from Europe has been here for 100 years, the recent rising temperatures has caused a population explosion.

So while the idea of swimming in your new speedo in June in Maine might be appealing to some, we do need to consider the effects on the rest of Maine's inhabitants... We don't know what all of this might mean, and the articles offer some thoughts.  What we do know, is the Gulf of Maine is gaining some serious looksee's from scientists.

When historically the ocean temperature rose 1 degree in 100 years, and from 2011-2012 it rose 1.5 degrees... and the past 4 years has risen 2-3.5 degrees, it may deserve our attention.  So much of Maine's economy and culture depend on the beautiful Gulf of Maine, not to mention all the other Maine natives that share this landscape with us.   So Mindful Monday asks us to keep our eyes open when it comes to our Oceans, they have so much more to do with this world than to swim in and look at. 

Look, learn, love, and change.

Mindful Monday: Can You Mow Your Roof?

This article from the Washington Post shows that rooftop greenery may be an answer to some of our environmental, and mental woes.

While it has been something that has happened for many years in other countries... like Italy where people are often encouraged to have roof top gardens, it is a fairly new idea here in the US.  The environmental benefits may seem fairly obvious to those who tend to be a little green minded, but according to this article it is a mental boost too.

I do remember when I was in New Orleans, at the National Land Rally a couple years ago, looking out across the city from my high rise hotel and seeing many roof top oasis with pools and tiki bars.  That certainly made me smile.  Just to see something other than sweltering concrete and tar, and I kept going back to look again each time I was back in my room.  I didn't do what I normally do, which is to close the curtain and leave it that way. 

As I sit here with my very beautiful view out my window (even on a rainy day,) I try to imagine if I was working in a city and all I could see was roof top after roof top with the summer air coming off the top making everything look like water because of the heat distortion.   I am not sure I would like that.  The idea of looking out over the rooftops and seeing gardens and seas of greenery is much more appealing.  Seems to be a simple answer...(other than how to get the dirt up there.)

With all this research coming out about how we long to see nature, it helps us sleep better, work better, eat better, and even communicate and act better...  how long before we start to take stock in our own research, or is it research for research sake? 

Every week when I look for articles, I find more research about the importance of our connection to nature.  Things like, lower crime rates in cities with larger canopy cover, better students who have access to the out of doors during their school days, less stress for those who look at nature on their breaks.  Clearly, nature is calling us back.

We are lucky enough to live in a place where so many of the places that make us unique have been saved for use by everyone who visits and lives here.  We are fortunate that there are trees right up until you see the ocean right in front of you.  We have clean air, We have parks, and paths, and plans to get kids outside and families enjoying the beautiful land around them, its part of why we all feel so lucky to be here. 

Wouldn't that be something if everyone had that?  If where ever you were, you had access to see something green, even if you were working on the 115th floor?  Would it help with out CO2 levels, or even just our stress levels?  Its an interesting question, and it makes me wonder, if anyone is paying attention to all this research we are doing, and where it will lead. 

Top Ten Tuesday- 10 fun childrens books about nature!

Ok so today is rainy day... so bring nature inside, curl up and read a book!  Here are just a few books for kids about nature where they can smile, learn and have a good time still experiencing a little creative nature.

Here is the Top Ten list for today:  Ten Fun Nature Books

Download and enjoy...

Mindful Monday: Excer"size" Your Brain

Last week for Mindful Monday there was an article about how playing outside makes you smarter.  Of course I am probably very biased but I totally believe it is true.  Anyone who has been on field trips with Trust in our Children can attest that even the toughest behavior issues are milder when we are exploring and learning outside.  Kids retain more of the information that we cover, and I am always amazed when a Kindergarten child remembers what erosion is from fall to spring.  But I don’t believe that it is all just nature and experiencing nature.  I know… perish the thought!

A while back I was looking for information to back up our observations on behavior and learning styles of kids in the outdoors.  What I found was this book: If you haven’t read it, you should give it a try.  It talks about the effects of physical exercise on brain function.  It sites Physical Education and the benefits it has on children’s health and learning in schools.

 In a time where we seem to be cutting many programs that aren’t lecture classes, getting rid of outdoor education, lowering the expectations of Physical Education, and at the same time experiencing a growth in child obesity statistics… perhaps we should slow down.  Somewhere in the zeal to make our kids the smartest in the world we threw the baby out with the bathwater.  I was fascinated with this book and the link that it made between physical activity and brain function. 

Anyone who sits at a desk to work for long periods of time can attest to the benefits of getting up and walking around for a bit to get the “juices flowing.”  It turns out that this is a real thing. (Which is lucky, because now my co-worker and I totally justify our power walk lunches!)  Your jaunts to the watercooler weren’t just to hear the gossip, but are quite possibly making you more productive and growing your brain power once you go back to your seat. 

This book sites a study done at a school in Illinois called Zero Hour PE You really should check it out.  A school that did a study that proved getting your heart rate up and moving around, will actually create a better functioning, smarter child. 

So get up, shake it out, run up and down the stairs on your lunch break before your behind takes another long nap in front of the computer… your brain will thank you for it, and quite possibly your boss. 

Now I am wondering when all the schools will catch on… get outside, get moving and get smarter.

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Top Ten Tuesday- 10 Reasons To Get Outside

We all know that there are health benefits to getting moving and getting in touch with nature.  But there is some pretty amazing research going on out there about the great effects of nature on our health.

Perhaps we would do well to remember sometimes going back to where we come from, and I don't mean our birthplace, but back to the basics of nature is one of the healthiest things we can do for ourselves.

So without further dialogue, here are 10 reasons to get outside, and the places that you can read more about the research being done!  Click here to download the PDF

Playing Outside Makes Kids Smarter!

So in my reading last week I cam across this article 10 Ways Playing Outside Makes Kids Smarter.

As I read it I just nodded my head and thought, this is really pretty common knowledge.  But is it?  In the wake of Exams and AP testing for my oldest, I realized... I don't remember the last time that one of her classes went outside.

The obvious response to this is,  high schoolers don't really "play outside" anymore.  Which is very true.  However, in thinking about her classes, I thought...it would be really easy for them to take a class outside, for practical learning or even just a change of scenery. 

Many of our classes that we offer at our high schools should take advantage of the laboratory they have right outside their doors.  Shouldn't an environmental studies class, get out and study, well, the environment?  Can we learn all we need to know from a text book? 

In our zeal to pump up our kids brains and their knowledge base, we have created a system in which they are stuck at their schools and inside and the practical science of learning, has been forgotten. 

The movement that Richard Louv's "Last Child in the Woods" started was a wave of Land Trusts and other organizations creating successful outdoor education opportunities for local children, including us.  The interesting thing, is most of us started with elementary aged kids.

It makes sense, they are the ones who still find wonder in the outdoors.  They love to get dirty and climb trees and quite frankly, don't tend to roll their eyes at you in distain for asking them to walk in the woods...But are we missing a key group?

It is a great start, but I wonder how many schools are doing similar things in their upper level classes?  I was lucky enough to go to a Middle School in NH that was amazing with their outdoor education.  In 5th grade we went to "environemental camp" for a week, in 6th grade we hiked the NH coast and camped on the beach (mind you its only 18 miles long...in Maine you might not finish before HS graduation!)   The 8th grade did a marine biology course where we went before school at low tide and studied tide pools etc, as well as our North Country trip where the entire 8th grade camped for a week up north and all of our classes were held outside.

It clearly had a profound effect on me.  Not only my love for the outdoors, but also my desire to understand the natural world, and my attachment to the place in which I grew up.  I worry now, that all of our desire to create super brains in our upper level kids, are we missing a big part of the learning experience? 

The love of learning to learn, questioning, awe and wonder, problem solving.  Even practical applications of math and science in the natural world, or connecting writing and the arts with what we are surrounded by.   If we depend on classrooms and text books for all of our older kids, are they going to forget how much fun it was to climb a tree, or find an unknown creature in a tide pool.  Are they going to forget to just be, and love this place we all call home.

Maybe if we all look at this list and realize that there is value in all kinds of learning, not just in our classrooms we can all find a way back to our natural curiosity!

Top Ten Tuesday- Top Natives to Plant this Summer!

Here is your newest addition to the top ten lists. 

I don't know about you, but this warm weather has my gardening gloves twitching!  I am ready to get elbow deep in the dirt and start planting something.  Here is a list of Native Plants to Maine, that not only are useful and beautiful, but also are environmentally friendly and helpful for our furry and flight fancy friends.

How many of us have gone for a walk on a trail... oh say The Smith Preserve (a shameless plug for our beautiful properties)  only to find a patch of wild blueberries to provide a little sweetness and sustenance on our journey.  There is no reason that can't be in your front yard!

With a little planning you can have a tasty treat, and beautiful butterflies and birds flocking to your yard while getting back to the basics of Maine's plant ecology.

Here is Top Natives to Plant

Mindful Monday - Any Walk Can be a Nature Walk...

Today is the last day for my intern Willow Gertz, and before she left she found a bunch of articles for me to read about getting kids in nature etc... things I could use for Mindful Mondays.  So in honor of her departure from us and on to her post-collegiate life, I am using one of them.

Many of us fear that we don't know enough about nature to be "nature educators."  I hear it often when I am looking for volunteers to help out with a module.  I think because I was a teacher, I don't worry about all that as much.  I realized that I learned along with my students almost as much as I taught them... and there is nothing wrong with that.  In fact, I believe that it nurtures the life long learning mentality in students that we want them to have. 

For some reason many seem to worry when we are working with the kindergarten, I remind them that they are 5... and though they scare me a lot more than middle schooler's... I am fairly certain the depth to which we cover subjects is not too much for most of us when dealing with the younger ages.

This article:  Turn Any Walk Into a Nature Walk the ideas are great.  If you read this, you are mostly prompting kids to answer their own questions.  Simple observation.

 If we get too caught up in dumping information into their brains we loose sight of simple curiosity and creating the sense of wonder about the natural world in our children.  If it is not their own, they won't own it.

If they walk and observe, their own curiosity will eventually grow large enough that they will seek out their own answers.  In the age of infinite knowledge at our fingertips, we should feel comforted that if we simply encourage them to venture down that path, they will seek and find all the answers to their own questions.

In the mean time, don't be afraid to help out with those young ones.  If worse comes to worse, you can always come up with your own answers.... as a comedian once told, when his daughter asked why the sky was blue, his response to his over inquisitive child was "because if it was green we wouldn't know where to stop mowing our lawns."

Take someone out and turn your walk into a "Nature Walk"  start building that natural sense of wonder and curiosity, they will do the rest, and hey, you might learn something along the way!

Ten Fun Facts about Vernal Pools

So as I look out my window and see the whipping wind, and have the heat on under my desk, it is hard to believe that the peepers are even dreaming of thawing out... I am not sure my hands and feet have yet.  We are anxiously awaiting true spring like weather, but while we are anxiously awaiting, others are already partying like its 65 degrees!

Check out our newest edition of Top Ten Cards. 

Ten Cool Facts about Vernal Pools

So as you walk through our woods, listen to the chirping of the peepers, the quacking of the wood frogs, glad to be unfrozen for the season, and know that there are congresses of salamander's dancing at night in the pools.  They are already celebrating spring, sun or no.

Most importantly, GET OUTSIDE!

Mindful Monday: The Salamaders are Running!

Vernal Pools in Maine. 

This time of year every year all of us who live in Maine breathe a, tentative, but huge sigh of relief. The snow has melted (most of it) and we are hopeful that we have seen the last of it draining away out of our yards.  What makes us breathe this sigh of relief?  The Peepers.

Most of us know that feeling when on the first warm evening, all of the sudden you hear them.  Its like a sign from above that you can put away the parka and get out the wellies.

This year, having a very insecure, and perhaps a little mentally imbalanced lab, we knew the peepers had announced themselves as our dog, frantically turned in circles barking in the direction of the peepers...they would stop, she would take one step and they would start again which launched her into a frenzy of trying to place what and where that sound was coming from.  They may have been messing with her, but hey, after being frozen for a winter, they had some pent up peeping to do.

This is the time of year to put on our boots and go out into the woods to find these amazing habitats that are more common in Maine than most other places. 

This article today, from Forests for Maine's Future tells all about vernal pools... and reminds us to be mindful of their importance and how delicate they really are.

 Teaming with life, these short lived pools in the woods remind us that spring is a rejuvenating time for all of us.  Time to shake off the 14 feet of snow and break out the gardening gloves.  Its time, get outside and be amazed at the way nature takes on spring.

Stay tuned for tomorrows Top Ten Facts about Vernal Pools, and head out to the Emmons Preserve, this surely is the time of year to see them there!

Top Ten Tuesday- 10 Reasons to Garden with Natives

So I am not talking about seeking out your neighbor who was born in Maine and lived here their whole lives... (although most of us who are gardener's need all the help we can get so if they'll weed... bring 'em on!) 

We are talking about Native PLANTS!

Sometimes when the seed catalogues come in we can get caught up in all the beautiful plants, and huge pumpkins, that we loose all common sense about what we have the ability to grow here in Maine... or maybe I should speak for myself!

Here are 10 reasons we should cozy up to our natives and use them in our gardens this year... Stay tuned there may be a list of what those natives are in your near future...

Download:  10 Reasons to Garden with Natives

Thank you  Gail Roller for sharing your passion and this knowledge with us!

Mindful Monday- Is it All or Nothing? The Digital Age and Being Outdoors

So I save articles to read and then go back through them when I have time.   This was one that my intern had sent to me to read. 

It was on Huffington Post.  "Getting Our Kids Active in the Backyard Again."  Ahh interesting I thought to myself.  While the author is talking about backyard games, I think the idea is transferable to being out in nature as well.

Having kids, I have a little of both tendencies in my house.  I have both kids who will go outside and stand in the yard, look around, then look pitiful and come back in and tell me they are bored, and I have one that you could give a string to and say go outside, and he would come back in having had some wild adventure with the string.  I will not venture to say either is good or bad, just a different automatic comfort level with the outdoors. 

To be honest, my comfort level varies with both.  I worry about the inside kids and the fact that they don't like to be outside, but at the same time, it can be disconcerting at times to see string boy hanging out of the tops of tall trees perilously.  I have to remind the helicopter in me, that I did the same thing.  (My mom who spent countless hours figuring out how to get pine sap out of long hair will confirm.)

I am wondering though, how do we feel about mixing technology with the outdoors?

As the education director for a conservation trust, this comes up frequently, and people feel very strongly the way they feel.  Some are purists, and they believe that there should be zero technology out in nature, that nature itself should be enough.  Others say they are realists, and that in the day of "Digital Natives"  if you want to get their attention, you have to mix the two...

In the time of "There's an App for that,"  an entire industry has been created around digital nature.  You can find apps on vernal pools, bird calls, tree leaf ID, even frog calls.  There is a way to find out more information about our earth than ever before, right in the little box that is permanently attached to most teenagers hips. 

That said, there is something about exploring and figuring nature out for yourself.  No app can compare to hearing a whippoorwill for the first time at night, or finding fish eggs and having no idea what they are and having to figure it out.

So what's the answer?  I surely don't know.  Do we lure them into the woods with a promise of QR codes and then hope they find inspiration?  or do we let nature speak for itself and hope that kids wander out into it someday?   Or just maybe, there is an in-between... thoughts?

Top Ten Tuesday- They're Baaaack... Birds to find on our properties or yours.

The birds are back! 

Waking up to more than robins and crows calling is refreshing!  I believe I even heard the peepers yesterday at dusk, or at least my dog did, who was so disconcerted by hearing that long lost sound, that she jumped and barked every time she walked by a patch of them peeping.  That surely is the sign of a long, long winter.

Here is the top ten list for today:  Top Ten Birds to Find on Our Properties.

Get out now and see all those pretty little singers coming back, building nests, preparing for eggs, and finding mates.  The spring is full of new sounds and new colors, it couldn't be a better time to get out and take a walk.  Bring this card with you and see if you can find any of these birds.

While you are out, feel free to check out our Learning Trail at the Emmons Preserve.  There is a sign there where you can scan a QR code and hear the calls of 10 birds... 

 

 

Have Fun and GET OUTSIDE!



To Bag or Not to Bag? That is the big question....

So the plastic bags.  The ones that are everywhere.  Every store you go into, and on the side of most roads.  There is a storm brewing out there about these bags.

There is a movement to rid stores of them, so you either bring your own bags, or figure out how to balance 40 items on your head as you walk out to the car.  Other areas are proposing to just tax the bags.  Hit people in the pocket book.   Of course there are two sides to every story, there always is.  So how do we feel about this?

It started out as a wild idea from California on the west coast. (Here is the article about the state wide ban in California.)  I am not sure anyone thought the next place to adopt this idea would be smack dab across the country in Portland Maine!   But here we go, Portland is doing this now as well, here is the article, and you can read some of the concerns and feedback as well.

So is it a waste of money?  Is it a feel good legislation? or is it a useful way to reduce trash?  You be the judge.  I just like to bring up the topics to see what peoples thoughts are on the subjects...conversations are always the path to awareness.

On a personal note,  it is a huge source of tension in my household.  I am forever buying new reusable bags, (because I forget the 800 of them that I have already bought at the house) and I can't bring myself to get the plastic.  I unload it, and my husband looks at me and rolls his eyes, thinking that even if we were charged $.10 per-bag, we would have made out better than me having to buy new ones all the time!

My husband, never remembers the bags either, but goes for the plastic instead.  I am not judging... I am not, if you walk into my house, I have the typical sock like thing full of plastic bags, and try to make myself feel better about it because we use them in our trash cans.

I just hate the plastic bags to be honest, all environmental thoughts aside, I get frustrated with the fact that all my stuff falls together in them and squishes.  I don't care how you pack those things, you are going to squish your bread, and then you end up with that sandwich that is only 2" wide because you cant ever re-stretch your bread out, believe me I have tried to no avail. 

My favorite complaint however, is when the plastic bags are so flimsy that they can only pack one orange in each one.  You buy 6 oranges and come out with 12 bag because they double bag each one.  I may or may not be exaggerating here, but honestly it can happen close to that.   

For now I can be thankful that Market Basket will give me a box for my stuff if I forget the bags at home... again...

The reality is, there is a question here.  Is it worth trying to get rid of them, or is it a futile battle in which the plastic bag will prevail?  We are faced every day with how we live on this earth and the fact that we have an impact.  We always will.  Where and how we choose to limit those impacts, is certainly where all the questions and legislations are going to brew. 

What are your thoughts?

Top Ten Tuesday: We Did it...Shouldn't Your Kids?

You have seen them, all those FB posts, and blog feeds about how we are lucky that we survived our youth because we drank from the hose, and rode bikes without helmets...  Its true, we did survive.  And it is true, this generation has a lot more rules to follow for sure than we did.

Its hard to imagine many families letting (or ordering) their kids outside for the day, without any tabs, relying on only a ringing bell and a assumption that they would get back in time for dinner.  And though I would not recommend riding a bike without a helmet these days, it is easy to reminisce and think of our childhood as simpler and more fun. 

So while you are actively remembering the epic capture the flag games, and walking to school in the snow and rain, 4 miles, up hill both ways... lets think about the fun things that we did as kids and encourage ours to do the same!

This top ten list, are things that we all did as kids, and maybe just maybe, if we do them with ours we will remember that feeling of wonder and love of the outdoors.

So in honor of all of us surviving the wilderness as children, here is the list for this week:

Ten Things We Did as Kids...Shouldn't Yours?

Mindful Monday: Doom and Gloom, is it working?

I came across an old Blog post today that brought up a topic that is frequently addressed both here in our office, and also with my interns from UNE.  The idea of doom and gloom environmental education.  It was  great commentary on the state of environmental education, and even though it was dated 2 years back, it seems rather timeless. 

Have a read it is short!  Environmental Optimism in an Age of Doom and Gloom

The concerns of the earth and the environment are nothing new.  The earths wavering health has been on the news for as long as I can remember... really since the first earth day... which truly is as long as I can remember (and that is giving this addled brain a whole lot of credit) 

Acid Rain was the big concern in my middle school science class, the greenhouse effect played across the tops of my papers in high school, the depletion of the ozone layer killed the idea of laying out on the quad when I was in college.  It has always been there, but now, there is something new, the overwhelming access to all information, all the time.

We are bombarded with environmental debate, we are reminded that we are headed for crisis daily.  I wonder if young people are just throwing their hands up and saying. OH WELL, we are all going to die anyway and obviously its all so bad we can't fix it, there is no point in trying.

Please don't get me wrong.  It is bad, there are some pretty scary things going on, and so much of it is mind bogglingly big.  But is it past the point of no return?  Do we want this next generation to just say: "the heck with it there is nothing we can do," because that is what they have been told their whole life?

It is a hard balance to strike.  I am in the business of educating kids to love the earth, to want to preserve it and care for it as far into the future as they possibly can.   For the most part that should be an easy sell since it is our home right?  I wonder though, if we are telling our kids that we are so behind in the payments, that they are just going to walk away?

I think in a zealous attempt to scare people into caring we may actually cause the opposite effect.

Let me pan to my grandmother.  In her lifetime, she saw the mainstream of cars, industrialization, cell phones, microwave ovens, computers that went from the size of a building to being hand held...the miracle of flight, and even more impressive, humans landing on the moon.  In no way were any of these things in her vision of the future.  I am sure that she thought that none of it was even possible... much like solving our environmental issues.

I would like to think that if we teach kids to be problem solvers, to be creators, and fill them with hope that they can become inventors, and scientists,  we can solve some of these impossible problems.  Somehow teaching them that being intelligent and having a sense of wonder and love for this place we all live on, could someday save the world as we know it, far more than becoming the next 5 minute wonder from a reality show.  Perhaps we need to encourage our kids to have hope,  and not weigh them down with the reasons that its hopeless.  

Who knows...  maybe we are on the verge of a wonderful era of enlightenment, invention, and problem solving... 

Now that is something to want to be a part of...

Top Ten Tuesday- 10 KCT Properties to Visit

We are excited to announce, Top Ten Tuesday! 

Each week we will add to the collection.  Feel free to print it out, and eventually you can have your own collection like this!

Or if you come to see us at KCT or anywhere we are presenting, we will have them with us as well. 
New ideas on how to get out, things to look for, books to read etc...

We hope that our Top Ten Lists will inspire you to get outside, get some fresh air, learn a little something and just get connected to this beautiful place that we are lucky to live in.


This week find out ten KCT properties to visit.   From the islands, to the forests with the help of our wonderful community, KCT has preserved so many of the jewels of Kennebunkport.  Caring for those places that make Kennebunkport unique and special, and making a place for all to enjoy them.

Take a look at the list to get an idea of where to go this weekend. 

Remember, Low Tide is at 1:12pm on Saturday and 2:14pm on Sunday...perfect timing to make an afternoon jaunt out to the islands!

Have fun, and get outside!

To print or download click here:      Ten KCT Properties to Visit

Mindful Monday- Nature's Healing Powers?

There are so many articles about the environment, education, and the great outdoors.  On Mondays KCT Trust Ed, will bring you some nuggets to pontificate on. 

I don't need to tell those of you who went to Nurturing Nature on Saturday the healing powers of nature.  As the snow weary, cold tired crew filed in, smiles and laughter began as soon as they stepped into one of the green houses.  The same comment came out of almost every person's mouth: 

"It smells like life in here"

It is a true testament to how we crave the outdoor world.  This article "Why Getting Outside is So Good For You"  Tells us in words what our bodies try to tell us in so many ways.  Even if it is the cranky slamming the steering wheel as your car barely revs up when you start it because of the insane cold that seems to be lingering here in Maine... this may or may not be a real story... in my driveway...

Getting outside is so much more than just vitamin D.  Studies have proven that in areas with less green space, (generally your more urban areas) there are much higher cases of conditions linked to anxiety disorder and depression.  Cities with more green space and canopy contain many health benefits beyond just the environmental factors.  One study here from American Forests is rather interesting.  Going to conventions, we see more and more conservation trusts are pairing up with their urban counterparts and coming up with plans to add more green space to the cities.  There are great things being done around the country and the benefits are countless.

So aren't we lucky to live where we live?  No worries about green space, KCT has done a great job, as have all the Maine Land Trusts, of preserving beautiful places for you to be.  So take advantage of it!  Better your health...

Think of how we describe how we feel after a run,  a walk out on the trails, or on the beach,  refreshed, clearheaded, renewed, light, and the list can go on.  All of them are positive.  Rarely do we come back feeling worse than when we went out. 

We all need the fresh air.  Even though winter in Maine seems to have set up camp, it is no excuse to not get out and enjoy some Vitamin N (Nature!)

PS If you are looking for ways to get your Vitamin N this weekend, come tracking with us on the Tyler Brook preserve... Get the details on our Webpage and we hope to see you on the trails!

and just know... Spring will come someday... I saw it in the greenhouse.

Photo taken by: Leia Lowery at Blackrock Farm Kennebunkport ME

 

Do We Need To Loosen Up???

Read The Article (Click Here)

An article I read today reminded me of when I was little.  I can remember sitting at the end of my driveway crushing different color rocks into powder and putting them on my and my neighbors face in the form of "makeup" or "warpaint" depending on which persona I identified with that day.  I get that this article is talking about more the destruction of living things, and not just crushing rocks but the larger picture remains.

Are we too protective of nature and letting it affect how kids play in it? 

 I have a friend whose son built a fort on conservation land (not ours) and received a call shortly there after that they needed to take it down and it was "inappropriate", and "damaging" to the preserved piece of property.  This child didn't even realize his imaginary world was on preserved land as his yard backed right up to it.   It was not in an endangered habitat, it was not on a trail.  No one even goes there because it essentially is in their back yard.  In his mind he had created a secret hide out in the woods.  So now, he associates Land Trusts with No Touch, and creative play in the woods as inappropriate use. 

Too often we go onto a trail and the very first thing we see is a laundry list of all the things we cannot do... on a big sign... in your face, and just to make sure you get the point, you may see the great big ANTI-SIGNS along the way (the red circle with a line through it)

Are we inviting people to enjoy our properties? or are we saying "we saved this so that no one could ever ever enjoy it again... ever... don't touch."

On the other hand, we love the land that we preserved, otherwise we wouldn't have thought to preserve it in the first place.  Perhaps it is special, or has endangered habitats etc...  so shouldn't we have the right to say you can't touch this?

It is an interesting debate, and I can see both sides... but perhaps there is a middle ground.  I like to think that we can find that.   Some lands can be used for mountain biking.  (I can hear the purists gasps from here) Some of land can be used for hiking, or walking dogs...(more gasps.)  But perhaps some land is simply left, as is.  A beautiful landscape that doesn't really have any access.  Maybe instead of the huge NO signs we can strive to educate that not bagging the dog poop (AND taking it with you to throw away) can be a real environmental issue.  Maybe we can all enjoy land together and become attached to it for our own reasons, then strive to want to save it.

As we read more and more about kids not getting enough "vitamin N" (Nature) and the effects on their learning and health, it is important to make that accessible.  Not just in educational forums, like walking through a museum with trees, but in free play.  Let their creativity take over, play where they can make mistakes, make a mess, and even perhaps almost eat a caterpillar that is in one hand because they thought it was the hand that the Oreo was in but it wasn't.... (yes that did happen, but I promise I didn't bite down, and the furry little thing wiggled away, perhaps a little frightened and slobbery, but no worse for wear.)

If we are to expect the next generation to want to be a part of the conservation movement, shouldn't we make nature comfortable and accessible... like the old beat up couch in the basement... not the plastic covered Chippendale silk covered couch in your grandmothers house?  Thoughts?

The Learning Trail, continues to give meaning - a student perspective

A short account of the Learning Trail spoken by Harry Fay only a sophomore at the time of the actual construction, who has now graduated (see: Saying Goodbye to Good Unsuspected Friends.) and is working as an apprentice in Portland for a construction firm.  His words speak for themselves... 

From Tom's Desk: Looking Back 3/3/15

“We had cutups in school and I can remember the teacher taking a ruler and slapping the hands of those boys who did not behave.  Needless to say, this did not happen often.  But I also remember that one time she punished some boys by making them stand in the clothes room.  They immediately opened the window and went home, so she didn’t do that again.”  Charles M. Bradbury in his autobiography.

The Nunan School, Cape Porpoise, 1921 (Now part of the Cape Porpoise Motel)

 

One of Our Own: A great article on the lighthouse keepers at Goat Island

There are so many people that make Kennebunkport a special place.  As we hear the stories of people in our town we become acutely aware that their tales weave the rich fabric of our history and make us even more mindful of what an amazing place we are fortunate to be a part of. 

Everyday we plug along in our everyday lives not realizing all the amazing things that are happening around us.  When we take the time to connect with something or someone that we may just usually see in passing, we gain a deeper understanding and respect for what makes this community what it is.

The article:  So Much More Than a Lighthouse Keeper (Seacoastonline written by Shelley Wigglesworth,) shows the love and dedication that our lighthouse keepers have to our island and our town.  We are so proud to have them taking care of our precious Goat Island.

If you have the chance, come out and visit, you will be sure to be lulled into awe with stories and tales of life on the island! 

Photo of Goat Island by: Leia Lowery

From Tom's Desk: Thought of the Week 2/27/15

“The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.”
Abraham Lincoln

Day’s end Overlooking the Breakwater:  Photo by Robert Dennis

A Little Perspective Never Hurts

This was an interesting article from the Biomimicry Institute in Montana.
It makes an interesting point, and makes you think for a bit.  So think about this today as we drive around in our cars, fly in the sky and do all the things that humans do and have just figured out in the past few seconds...


From the Biomimicry Institute:



 

It's midnight at the International Date Line. That means...

 

It's officially Life's B(earth)day!

Life's B(earth)day is derived from what is often called Earth's Calendar Year. When we compress the age of the Earth (4.5 billion years) into a single calendar year, we can better understand our place in the vast time scale of evolution. For instance, Life first appears (as single-celled organisms) on February 25. Remarkably, nucleated cells don't appear for another five months, on July 15. And you have to wait until December 13 to see mammals emerge!

How much of the year do you think humans have been around for? 

 



From Tom's Desk- Thought of the Week 2/20/15

“In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.”
Albert Camus

Sunrise over Goat Island Lighthouse: Photo by Dan Viehmann

Crazy Beautiful Nature

Sometimes when we are looking out our windows at work, and all we can see is... well... This:

We can start to get a little stir crazy.  Maybe start to feel like there might never be a view out the window again that doesn't involve a white mass.  Then when we look at our smart phones, we want to tell them they are just dumb because they are showing snow flakes for every day of the week these days...   My daughter actually said, "Seriously, how much more snow can Mother Nature make?"

My guess?  A lot more, so I am just not answering.

But let us not forget the wonders of the outside.  It is still a good time to go out and explore, the snow filters the sounds, and makes it quieter, more possible to hear all the wonders that are out there.  It is enough to remind us how amazing our world is if we just venture out of doors to greet it... without your snow shovel... leave that behind, because heaven knows, we have all bonded enough with them this winter.

Instead of seeing that huge mound of snow, look for that one red bird in that white tree... and be reminded that there is color out there.  So break out those snowshoes, skis, and probably a face mask for the cold, and come on out to the trails, and do some tracking, listening, and get a deep breath of fresh air.

If you aren't willing to see anymore of the white stuff... take an adventure online to remind yourself how amazing nature can be and check out these amazing pictures HERE of the 15 craziest things in nature.

 If you are reluctant to click there, let me give you a teaser....

Its better than the view out my window!

From Tom's Desk: Thought of the Week 2/13/15

“If ever there is a tomorrow when we’re not together. . .there is something you must always remember.  You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.  But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart. . . I’ll always be with you.”  A.A. Milne in “Winnie-the-Pooh”

The South Congregational Church on a Winter’s Day:  Photo by Robert Dennis

Even More Reasons to Play Outside in the COLD!!!!

So while we are feeling totally trapped under mounds of snow and gray skies, there still is a reason to get outside and get off the computer.  (Yes I understand the irony as I sit here typing.)  This article: 

Four Crucial Ways Playing Outdoors in Winter Benefits Children  

Gives us some reasons why it is good to get outside even when we feel like we are buried in more ways than one.  There are all sorts of reasons we should be letting our kids play outside, and somehow all of us let fears get in the way.  Whether it's fear of strangers, or fear of frost bite, maybe we can all take the common sense approach and head out of doors for the day.  After reading this article we will "Trust in Education" that advice.  (Yes we just used our name as a verb... tricky) While the article is written about getting kids outside... we are all kids at heart... heed this advice and use it for yourself as well!

1)  Remember that the rub down that we give our kids with anti-bacterial doesn't necessarily do the trick.  Getting them out for fresh air (which isn't recycled like in closed windowed houses and schools) is critical.  Its amazing how filling our lungs with that fresh cool air can make you feel totally new.  Now granted, lately here in Maine taking a big breath of air may include and inch of snow, so choose your breathe wisely, and remember, the great outdoors is large... the bacteria might lose you!

2) Exercise is a big must in the winter.  Many of us believe that we are headed for hibernation and start eating like wild beasts and being less and less active.  All this does is make us more tired, less active and our pants too tight.  Kids especially who are using their brains to learn every day at school, need the exercise to keep those synapses firing and keep their brains active by keeping their bodies active.  Remember, trudging through the 4 feet of snow in the front yard, is a lot of work...and perhaps just what the brain ordered.

3) Playing outside creates problem solving and use of imagination.  It is hard for us to look at the snow and see an underground castle, or the Himalayas, or even some fun snowmen, or disturbing snowmen like Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes.  Kids don't have that problem... they see a blank canvas, let them be artists!  Just think with the mounds of snow that we have built up, just figuring out how to get through the yard without getting buried could be a pretty intense physics problem... we could be raising geniuses folks... geniuses!

4)  Getting our Vitamin D.... we can only get that through sunshine or a little jelly pill...which is more appealing? 

So while Trust in Education can put a silly spin on a serious article, please read it and get outside, enjoy this beautiful place that we have to live in, and reconnect with the outside...  There is always hot cocoa on the other side of the front door!

If you are looking for trails and places to play, Visit our website: www.kporttrust.org/kctholdings
to see our properties where you can run and play and love Kennebunkport!

From Tom's Desk- Looking Back 2/10/15

“Gentlemen, I cannot but acknowledge myself obliged to you for the regard you have shown for me in the general invitation you have given me to settle in the ministry amongst you. . . I have at last concluded to accept of your call, upon condition you will grant the following. . . That the town shall take the £100 which they have voted to me towards my building in the town, and build and suitably finish a house 38 feet in length, and 18 feet in breadth, having four rooms and a garret; and also that they build a kitchen on the back side of the house: which house shall be given to me, my heirs or assigns, &c.”  Rev. Thomas Prentice to the committee chosen to bring the first settled minister to the town of Arundel (now Kennebunkport) 1730

The Olde Garrison House, Winter of 1956 and 2015

Another Snow Day? Seriously! What to do with all this snow if you are home with kids? Make it fun!

The Snowpocolypse is starting to get people down.... don't drown in the snow, have fun with it.  

There is no reason to stay inside...bundle up and learn about snowflakes!  I know its cold, I wore two pairs of pants the other day... 2!  I wasn't even sure that was possible.  But throw on 3/4 of your wardrobe and try just a few things that we did the other day with the First Grade at Kennebunkport Consolidated School... you can even bring nature indoors with you.

On Friday when we met with the First grade, we taught about snow flakes and how snow forms.  Kids find it fascinating that snowflakes much like our fingerprints are never the same...  they all have 6 sides and are formed by ice-crystals forming around a piece of dust.   This means that the there is a potential for 10 feet of snow inside my house if I had clouds in there!  They found that fact rather amazing.  Here are some ideas so that you too can learn, teach and have fun with nature, and those 5 foot piles reaching your window sills!

Grab their interest with these fun tidbits:

In the Guinness World Records the largest snowflake ever measured was 15 inches wide and 8 inches thick!  It was observed in 1887 at Fort Keogh, Montana. It is said that ranch owner Matt Coleman took the measurement and he later described the snowflake as being "larger than milk pans" in the journal Monthly Weather Review journal.

AND

The largest snow woman built in the world, named Olympia, was made in Bethel, Maine.  It was named after Maine senator Olympia Snowe. It was 122 feet, one inch high, she is dressed in a 100 foot scarf, has 27 foot evergreen trees for arms, eyelashes made from old skis, and car tires are her buttons!

Once you have their attention on snow, maybe try a few things... you can bring snow it or even better head outside to have some fun.
TRY:

Catching snowflakes
Place a black sheet of paper into a freezer until cold. Take outdoors and use a magnifying glass to view snowflakes that land on the paper.
 
Saving snowflakes
Materials:

• clean microscope slide or small piece of thin Plexiglas
• clean, empty plastic container
• spray can of clear lacquer
• magnifying glass

Allow all materials to be outside for a while to get to outside temperature, this way snowflakes won’t melt when landing on the slide. Spray thin coat of lacquer on slide and tilt so any extra spray runs off. Allow lacquer to set for a few minutes. Catch several snowflakes on slide and then set back into container and cover with lid. Leave slide outside to harden for three to four hours. View with magnifying glass. 

If this seems to be a little much for you...  Just check out Snowflake Bentley.    Wilson Bentley from Jericho Vermont, took hundreds of pictures of snowflakes in the late 1800's to early 1900's.  You can even search for images of these snowflake pictures and see how amazing they are.

A good read:  Flakes and Flurries  This book will teach you all about how snow forms, and the way snow flakes are formed.  Did you know that there are different forms that snow flakes take?  

Make your own snowflakes:    It can be tricky, but if Trust in our Children can get a whole room of first graders to make one, we have faith that you can too!  They are fun and pretty...  if you choose to use glitter to decorate them... good for you...just have a broom handy!

Here are the instructions that we use at the Trust:

These directions were compiled from the Martha Stewart Website

Have fun, and get outside or just learn a little about nature today on this snow day.  Then you can have some hot cocoa and huddle up in your PJ's before you have to go shovel some more!

From Tom's Desk: Thought of the Week 1/6/15

“My soul can find no staircase to Heaven unless it be through Earth’s loveliness.”
Michelangelo (1475 – 1564)

A Smith Preserve Moon Walk: Photo by Chris Smith

But...It's a Blizzard Outside

Sometimes we just need to overcome inertia…  I find that as adults we are far more deterred by what we see when we look out the window than kids are.  Proof in point.  We had a “Winter Adaptations” field trip for the first graders of Kennebunkport Consolidated School on Friday. 

As adults we looked outside and thought… seriously? We want them to go out in this?  We will either loose them in the 3 feet that got dropped 2 days prior, or they will complain to death because of the nearly white out conditions now.  But guess what?  Not one of them disappeared into the snow drifts for eternity, and they had a ball catching snowflakes on their tongues, hefting their snowshoes through the snow and looking for signs of life in the woods.

Often times out own moods about the weather deter us from sending our kids out to play.  This was not the case with my mom, who rain, snow or shine, thought I was much better to play outside than under her feet… all in loving materal-ness I am sure.  Perhaps we should see everyday, every kind of weather as an opportunity to teach something new. 

After all, what better way to teach about how animals have to adapt to the Maine winters than to go out and experience one!

From Tom's Desk: Looking Back 2/3/15

“When it comes to life in Kennebunkport, Beryl Bilderback has pretty much done it all. The 90-year-old who lives in Cape Porpoise operated The Captain's Restaurant for nearly 30 years, served on the Board of Selectmen in the early 90s, as town moderator in the early 80s, on the town's Sewer Committee, the board of the Atlantic Hall and more. ‘I never thought I'd make it, but here I are,’ Bilderback said jokingly. "I didn't sleep much, I can tell you. I learned to sleep standing up.’" Jennifer Feals “York County Coast Star” April 19, 2012

Beryl Bilderback: April 15, 1922 – January 26, 2014
Eddie & Beryl Bilderback, at Walker’s Point, 1940

From Toms desk: Thought of the Week 1/30/15

"If there was a fog or thick snow, navigators would run for the bell. Even if the night was clear when we went to bed, we often would wake with a start and could feel the fog coming in. Elwon would go to the bell tower and start the bell." Connie Scovill Small in "The Lighthouse Keeper's Wife"
 

The Goat Island bell tower, seen through the sea smoke at sunrise: Photo by Robert Dennis

From Tom's Desk- Looking Back 1/27/15

“Winters in Arundel and all our Eastern country lie hard and burdensome on idle folk.  There are heavy skies and spittings of snow in November, a weighty fall or two in December, and through January and February and March enough snow and ice and bitter wind to make the devil himself press close up to the flames of hell, and still feel a chill on the side removed from the fire.”  Kenneth Roberts in “Arundel”

Millie Pinkham in front of her Pier Road, Cape Porpoise, Maine Home c. 1905

Saying Goodbye To Good Unsuspected Friends

In 2012 the Trust in our Children Program embarked on a year long project with the Kennebunk High School’s Alternative Education program.  "At risk" students came to the Trust and worked on what became known as the Learning Trail, an interpretive walk in the woods. 

In the past two years, the Learning Trail has become one of our more popular trails, and has proven to be a huge asset to the Trust and our town.   The real story however, is not in the town or on a trail… it’s in the people who built it and the relationship that grew from those first few days out in the woods.

It is hard to explain how that project transformed all of us who were a part of it but it did.  We started out with a little bit of attitude and a whole lot of hoodies.  No one knew what to expect and no one really knew how to work together.  Slowly as we hauled rocks, built bridges, and learned to problem solve together, the walls came down, and a trust was built.  Away fell the stereo types and in its place came a common respect and love for the walk in the woods that we created.

So much happened that year to make change.  That trail started a standing relationship with a group of individuals who we are proud to stand behind and beside.  Friday Harry Fay and Austin Cole graduated and followed behind many others. We were proud to be able to be at their graduation and to see the growth they have shown since first meeting them.

Both started this program failing out of school.  Truancy was an issue, anger management was an issue, trusting adults in school was an issue.  As they graduated on Friday both have jobs, and Austin is going on to get a certification at community college.  Both students are productive active citizens of this community. 

In speaking to them at their graduation I got a card out of my wallet that I keep in there and read it to them.  It is a quote from Abraham Lincoln that I have kept in my wallet for years. Words to live by.  I tried to quote this to them.. I say tried because between the squeaks and tears (I am a terrible crier) I am hoping they got the point. 

"I have an irrepressible desire to live till I can be assured that the world is a little better for my having lived in it."    I hope that they could see all that they had done to make our Conservation Trust stronger and better, and that they can leave knowing that this place, is truly better for them having been a part of it. 

They have made the Trust a part of their home, and they can always come home again.

Good Luck Harry and Austin!