|
Current News
2008
Annual Conservation District Summer Camp
The
annual Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District Summer
Camp makes learning fun and gives children an opportunity to explore the
natural resources and agriculture of the region. This year the camp will
be offered from 9:00AM to Noontime for children ages 7 – 12. Enrollment is limited to 30
children. The Foxcroft Academy
is donating space in their Student Center for the camp which will be
held from July 21st to 25th and also from July 28th
to August 1st.
Our
Natural Resources Summer Camp will be held from July 21st to
25th. Summer Campers
will participate in exploration activities and games about energy, air
quality, woodlands, water quality, wildlife, wetlands and more, with our
natural resource presenters. Our Agricultural Tours Summer Camp will be
held from July 28th to August 1st. Participants will gather at the Foxcroft Academy Student
Center, and then
leave from there to go on farm tour adventures. Nutrition education will
be integrated into the summer camp curriculum. Children will also do
natural resource based arts and crafts, and play cooperative recreation
games.
Community support for this summer camp is provided with funding
from the Dover
– Foxcroft Kiwanis, the Guilford Kiwanis, the Dexter Sunrise Kiwanis and
the Milo Brownville Kiwanis. Additional funding is provided by the Milo
Garden Club. Snacks will be provided by the Save – a – Lot Food Store in Dover – Foxcroft,
and by Horizon Organics. These camps are made possible due to the support
from the local community and schools, the guest speakers who donate their time to put on presentations, and
also the farm families that host our children during the week. Staff of
the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District host and
facilitate the camp, and the parents of children assist them with guiding
the group in the daily summer camp activities.
Children will need to wear sturdy shoes that can get wet and
muddy. Parents should also plan on providing sun screen, insect
repellent, and water bottles. Pre-registration is required by Monday,
July 14th. For more information and for pre-registration,
please contact the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation
District by calling 564 – 2321, extension 3, or stop by our office at 42 Pine Crest Drive
in Dover
– Foxcroft.
Community Forest
Volunteer Day and Tree Identification Workshop
The Piscataquis County Soil
and Water Conservation District (PCSWCD) and the Small Woodland Owners
Association of Maine (SWOAM) are hosting a summertime Community Forest
Volunteer Day and Tree Identification Workshop on Saturday, July 12th
at the Demonstration
Forest. Our Demonstration Forest
is located on 180 acres in Williamsburg
Township.
On this day, starting at
8:30AM, we are coordinating volunteer help with forest projects,
including installing our new forest interpretive signs made by the Tri County
Technical Center,
the Greenville High School and the Foxcroft Academy
students. This is a great opportunity for individuals and/or civic groups
to get involved, as well as for any students seeking community service
hours. At 12:30 we will have a picnic lunch.
We
will host a Tree Identification Workshop at 1:00PM with presenter Keith
Kanoti of the Maine Forest Service. As we explore the forest,
participants will learn
how to use a dichotomous key to identify some of Maine's more common tree species. All
participants will receive a copy of the Maine Forest Service's centennial
edition of the Forest Trees of Maine.
A
complimentary picnic lunch will be provided for all volunteers, and by donation for all others. For more information,
the PCSWCD may be reached at 564 – 2321, extension 3 or at info@piscataquisswcd.org or SWOAM may be
reached by calling Pete Robinson at 564 - 7433, emailing grbns1@aol.com or by calling John Gilbert at
924 - 3534 or emailing jgilbert@panax.com. You may also visit their
website at www.swoam.org. Pre – registration is
required by Tuesday, July 8th for our Demonstration Forest
Community Volunteer Day and/or Tree Identification Workshop.
Local
High Schools Participate in the Demonstration Forest
Community Development Project
Teachers
and students from the Tri County Technical Center (TCTC), Greenville High
School (GHS) and Foxcroft Academy (FA) have been hard at work this past
year, participating in the Demonstration Forest Community Development
Project. Art Departments from GHS and FA, under the direction of their
teachers, Debi Baker and Jane Blay, have designed and painted natural
resource signs for the many sites out at the forest. These signs include
information on tree species and forest management, native wildlife, and
other significant natural features. Karen Walsh, Teacher of the Graphic
Design and Communications Department of the TCTC, led her students on
designing cultural heritage signs using photographs provided by several
local historical societies and by the Larson family, who were early
settlers of the forest land. The cultural heritage signs included the
digital layering of these photos with interpretive text, framed in a
distinct border developed by students. Then all of the signs were turned
over to the TCTC Building Trades Department and the FA Technical
Department, teachers John Guay and Jack McLeod,
and their students, for finalizing.
Once
the signs are installed, forest visitors will be able to take a self –
guided tour of the cultural heritage and natural resource sites that are
at the forest, as well as view new brochures made by TCTC student Kelsie Bird. The signs will also be featured at the
forest Open House in September. The Demonstration Forest Community
Development Project was funded by a grant from Project Canopy. Project
Canopy delivers the community forestry program in Maine for the Maine Forest Service,
the USDA Forest Service and the Pine Tree State Arboretum. It has a
vision that every community will actively and wisely manage its forestry
resources in a sustainable manner, and that all Maine citizens become well informed as
to the proper management of these resources and the benefits derived from
them. Through this project the forest will continue to grow as an
educational, recreational and economic asset for this community. The
forest and its programs are unique in Piscataquis County,
and provide students and other visitors with a sense of the rich forestry
heritage of this region. The forest has been identified as one of this
region’s top nature based tourism sites, and is available for educational
field trips and tours. For more information, please contact the PCSWCD at
564 – 2321, Extension 3, info@piscataquisswcd.org,
or www.piscataquisswcd.org.
  
Left:
Greenville High School students are painting
a sign for the Mountain Overlook at the forest, which shows the distant
views of Ebeemee, Saddleback and Jo Mary
Mountains.
Right:
Teachers and students from the Tri
County Technical
Center’s Graphic
Design and Communications Department and the Building Trades Department
tour the forest to learn more about developing site specific interpretive
signage. They developed the cultural heritage signs for the forest.
Bottom: Students from Foxcroft
Academy’s Art Department
show the new interpretive signs that they painted, which highlight the
forest’s natural resources.
Sustainable Hardwood
Forest Created in Maine
Williamsburg, Maine
- On a clear, sunny weekend in May, volunteers from several local
community groups joined together to create a unique hardwood forest in Piscataquis County, Maine. A partnership was formed in the
local community between the Piscataquis County Soil and Water
Conservation District (PCSWCD), the Central Maine Chapter of the Small
Woodland Owners Association of Maine (SWOAM), the Maine Forest Service,
Lumbra Hardwoods, Incorporated, the Maine Chapter of the American
Chestnut Foundation and a teenage program called Lifejackets, through the
local Charlotte White social service agency, when the PCSWCD applied for
and received grant funds for this special project from the Hardwood
Forestry Fund.
The
Hardwood Forestry Fund is an educational organization dedicated to
establishing sustainable hardwood forests, Since 1990, Hardwood Forestry
Fund members have joined together to celebrate and conserve the beauty
and sustainability of hardwoods. Through tree planting on public land,
the Hardwood Forestry Fund promotes hardwood timber growth, management,
environmental education, and wise use of our nation's renewable forest
resources. Trees planted by the Hardwood Forestry Fund require a
management plan that ensures they will be cared for to provide quality
natural resources for future generations. The PCSWCD has developed such a
plan that includes for education and demonstration to help teach school
children and private landowners how to establish and be good stewards of
hardwood forests.
A
generous contribution to the project was made by Lumbra Hardwoods,
Incorporated, a family owned hardwood lumber manufacturing plant in Milo. This hardwood lumber manufacturing plant was
first established in Vermont in 1952 and
then moved to Maine in 1960 because of Maine’s quality
hardwood log supply. They are a sawmill that does not own forestland, so
Lumbra Hardwoods, Inc. has long been dependent upon the health and
sustainability of Maine’s
forest. Some of the finest hardwoods in North America come from Maine. Hardwoods
are often used for furniture and other wood products. Forests also serve
to help keep our air and water pure, and are a valuable renewable energy
resource.
The
Maine Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) also made a
generous contribution to the project. TACF was founded in 1983 to restore the American chestnut tree
throughout the United
States. According to the American Chestnut Society,
there was “a group of prominent plant scientists who recognized the
severe impact the demise of the American chestnut tree imposed upon the
local economy of rural communities, and upon the ecology of forests
within the tree’s native range. The American chestnut tree reined over
200 million acres of eastern woodlands from Maine
to Florida, and from the Piedmont west
to the Ohio
Valley, until
succumbing to a lethal fungus infestation, known as the chestnut blight,
during the first half of the 20th century.” Chestnut trees were a valuable source
of timber and food for colonial Americans.
SWOAM
was formed over thirty years ago to provide a voice and resource to Maine's small
woodland owners. SWOAM strengthens long-term woodland stewardship by
improving tree quality and forest health, protecting our waters and
wildlife habitats and demonstrating good forest management through their
land trust.
The
PCSWCD was formed over sixty years ago to protect the soil and water in
this region. Its mission is to be a leader in agriculture, forestry and
other natural resource education, providing assistance and coordination
of resources and information to promote practices that maintain our way
of life.
The MFS works to ensure that the trees and forest
lands of Maine will continue to provide
benefits for present and future generations of Maine people. They will assist
with monitoring this forest.
Through
the 2008 Woodland Management Workshop Series being offered by the PCSWCD
and SWOAM, this project and several other educational programs for the
public are being offered to build this region’s sustainable natural
resources. The Maine Forest Service has provided valuable assistance to
bring this series to our region of Maine.
This
forest project includes long term plans to plant 1000 American chestnut
trees, 2500 red oak trees and 200 bur oak trees at the PCSWCD Demonstration
Forest and Woodlot in Williamsburg, and
will be managed through a cooperative effort of the PCSWCD and the MFS.
So far, 300 American chestnut trees and 1700 oak trees have been planted.
Project goals are to restore the American chestnut and to assist in the
development of a very unique hardwood forest, which will create a legacy
for future generations!
Nokomis High School
Wins First and Second Place
at Central Region Envirothon
Five
area high school teams took part in the 2008 Central Regional Envirothon
competition held on May 16th at the Demonstration
Forest in Williamsburg. At the end of the
competition, Nokomis High School, led by Advisor Jennifer Briggs,
won both first and second place, qualifying them for the State finals
that were held on May 29th at Unity
College. Hampden High School won third place, and
also qualified for the state competition. The winner at the state level
represents Maine in the national
competition to be held in Arizona
in late July. These students may also go on to participate in the
international Envirothon as well, and are eligible for scholarships and
other awards. They are also introduced to possible natural resource
careers they may pursue in college. The Maine Community Foundation
provided funding for this year’s event. The Maine Community Foundation’s
Community Building Grant Program has provided grants and scholarships
throughout the state for twenty five years. They support organizations
and projects that strengthen Maine
communities and improve our quality of life here in Maine.
The
Envirothon is a hands-on outdoor environmental event in which teams
compete. Students test their knowledge of natural resource issues by
answering questions and solving hands-on problems at five stations:
Wildlife, Aquatic, Forestry, Soils, and a current natural resource issue.
Envirothon touches on virtually every aspect of curriculum in an
interdisciplinary manner fostering problem solving and looking at the
environmental, economic and social aspects of environmental issues.
Staff
from the Piscataquis, Somerset
and Penobscot Soil and Water Conservation Districts host the central
region events. Professionals from the Maine Forest Service, the
Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the Department of
Environmental Protection, the USDA, and other agencies assist students
throughout the session. Please contact your local conservation district
for more information on forming a team in your high school for the 2009
Envirothon!
Conservation
District and Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine
to
Offer Woodland Management Workshop
Series for Landowners
A Woodland Management Workshop Series will be offered
through a unique partnership between the Piscataquis County Soil and
Water Conservation District (PCSWCD) and the Central Maine Chapter of the
Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine (SWOAM). Educational programs
for the public will be offered to effectively protect and manage our
local natural resources. The May workshop series is as follows:
Vernal Pool Workshop - Saturday,
May 3rd at 9:00AM
Gordon
Moore of the Maine Forest Service will lead a classroom session at the USDA Service
Center in Dover – Foxcroft at 9:00AM, and then
participants will have a field session at a local vernal pool site.
Topics will include vernal pool identification, habitat management
guidelines, vernal pool monitoring and regulations. Wear you mud boots!
CEUs are available for Certified Logging Professionals, and may be for
other professions – please inquire. Registration fee $5.00.
Hardwood Forest Planting - Saturday/Sunday, May
10th and 11th at 8:00AM:
This project includes plans to plant 1000 American
chestnut trees, 2500 red oak trees and 200 bur oak trees at the PCSWCD Demonstration Forest
and Woodlot. We will be working to restore the American chestnut and to
assist in the development of a very unique hardwood forest. This
project was funded by the Hardwood Forestry Fund, an educational organization
dedicated to establishing sustainable hardwood forests, and through
generous contributions from Lumbra Hardwood Mill in Milo
and the Maine Chapter of the American Chestnut Society.
Participants will want to bring tree planting tools. Please
volunteer to help further our community’s public forest. We will be
creating a legacy for future generations!
Tree Pruning Workshop - Friday,
May 23rd at 9:00AM
This workshop will educate participants on pruning
forest and street trees and will be geared to the needs of woodland
owners and municipalities in this region. Pete Lammert
and Gordon Moore of the Maine
Forest Service will lead a classroom session at the USDA
Service Center
in Dover
– Foxcroft then tree pruning demonstrations will occur at local field
sites. Registration fee $5.00.
Woodland
Aesthetics - Saturday, June 6th - National Trails Day
American Hiking Society's National Trails Day®, held the first Saturday of every
June, and is America's
largest celebration of trails and the outdoors. Join us at the Demonstration Forest
in Williamsburg
on this day to participate in trail work projects in the morning and an
educational workshop on Woodland Aesthetics in the afternoon, with
presenter Andy Shultz of the Maine Forest Service. Please contact the
PCSWCD for more information.
Unpaved Road
Maintenance and Repair - Saturday, June 14th
Do you need to grade your road, do
maintenance, site clean up, landscaping finish grading or snow removal on
soft roads? Brad Dean of the Maine
Department of Transportation and Dave Power of the Natural Resources
Conservation will teach workshop participants how to maintain your
property, prevent soil erosion and protect water quality. The PCSWCD Frontrunner grader/raker is
available for a low rental fee to all workshop participants. Registration
fee $15.00.
Tree
Identification - Saturday, July 12th
We will be hosting a
Community Forest Volunteer Day to work on forest projects in the morning.
There will be a presentation on tree identification with Keith Kanoti of
the Maine Forest Service in the afternoon. Please contact the PCSWCD for
more information.
SWOAM was formed over thirty years ago to provide a
voice and resource to Maine's
small woodland owners. SWOAM strengthens long-term woodland stewardship
by improving tree quality and forest health, protecting our waters and
wildlife habitats and demonstrating good forest management through their
land trust. The PCSWCD was formed over sixty years ago to protect the
soil and water in this region. Its mission is to be a leader in
agriculture, forestry and other natural resource education, providing
assistance and coordination of resources and information to promote
practices that maintain our way of life.
The local community is encouraged to become involved
in natural resource conservation efforts by participating in these
programs, volunteering to assist with projects, serving on the PCSWCD
Board and/or by joining SWOAM. For more information please contact either
organization. The PCSWCD may be reached at 564 - 2321, extension 3, email
mailto:info@piscataquisswcd.org,
or visit the website at www.piscataquisswcd.org.
SWOAM may be contacted by calling Pete Robinson at 564 - 7433, emailing grbns1@aol.com
or by calling John Gilbert at 924 - 3534 or emailing jgilbert@panax.com. You may also visit
their website at www.swoam.org.
Pre - registration is requested by one week prior to each program date.
Demonstration Forest
Annual Open House Featured Unique Presentations
The
rain did not deter people from enjoying the Demonstration Forest Annual
Open House, which featured moving and informative presentations from
local authors and historians on the cultural heritage of this region.
Walter McDougall spoke eloquently about the early history of this region
and the impact of Henry David Thoreau and Moses Greenleaf on our local
community. William Sawtell and Paul Fowlkes
provided unique perspectives of the histories of each of their families,
and the families that came here from Wales
and Scotland
to work in the slate quarries. Fowlkes also
provided a demonstration of working with handtools
and slate. A discussion was held regarding the two families that lived in
homesteads in the Demonstration
Forest land area,
and how this area that was once farmland became the educational and
working forest that it is today. The district is currently researching
the cultural heritage of this area as part of the Demonstration Forest
Community Development Project, which is partially funded by a grant from
Project Canopy, the Pine Tree State Arboretum and the Maine Forest
Service.
Additionally
participants were led on an exciting geocaching
quest through the forest, led by Jim Macomber. Gordon
Moore and Steve Hobart lent their expertise along the way, teaching about
the significant natural features in the forest. For those of you new to Geocache, a GPS is used to locate
something hiding on the earth (geo refers to earth and cache refers
to hiding or storing). It is best to start with a map of the area
that you are exploring in and seeking the hidden treasure. Maps are
available at the district office or on our website. When you are at the
demonstration forest, follow the interpretive trails. Bring a
compass with you if your GPS does not have one. Our location
coordinates (geocache waypoints)
are Latitude 45 degrees, 22 minutes, 22.4 seconds North and
Longitude 69 degrees, 5 minutes, 1.9 seconds West. Our geocache is a Traditional Cache of a container, log
book, and some small treasures. Note your discovery in our log
book. Take a treasure and leave a treasure for the next
family!
For
more information about the district’s educational programs for all ages
and about developing the Demonstration Forest as a community resource
please contact the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation
District at 564 – 2321, Extension 3, email us at info@piscataquisswcd.org
or at 42 Pine Crest Drive, Dover – Foxcroft, ME 04426.
The
Demonstration
Forest Receives Two
National Awards
The Piscataquis County Soil
and Water Conservation District is the recipient of two national awards
for our work at the Demonstration
Forest in Williamsburg Township.
The 2006 National Association of Conservation District’s District
Excellence Award for the Forestry category for Education recognizes successful initiatives that
the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District has made with
the Demonstration Forest to support educational opportunities for the
public, while it also serves as a training site for teachers, foresters,
and others interested in conservation education, and also the 2006 National Association of
Conservation District’s Collaborative Conservation Award given in
partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, for their
work at the Demonstration Forest. This national award recognizes a
conservation district this is carrying out, with their partners,
outstanding community and collaborative conservation projects that have a
significant positive impact on the community resource base. For more
information on these awards and to view pictures from the awards banquet
go to the NACD Website National Association of Conservation Districts and visit the
Education and Outreach page. You may also view a media press release
about our Demonstration
Forestt.
Access our forest trail map here.
Read
ME Agriculture Program for Piscataquis County Students
Students
in Piscataquis
County will have an
opportunity to learn about agriculture through a new program that is
being brought to the state by Maine Agriculture in the Classroom (MATCA).
MAITCA has received a grant for a project called "Read ME
Agriculture” that will take place during Agriculture
Week in March. The project involves volunteers that will read books about
agriculture to grades K - 3 in schools across Maine. They will then talk to the
students about their own farms, gardens or products and try to answer
student questions. Each volunteer will donate
a book, several lessons and additional resources to the classroom
visited. According to Willie Sawyer Grenier,
MAITCA Executive Director, "To have the harvest, we must sow the
seed." MAITCA hopes this effort to link reading literacy and
agriculture will grow each year. Maine's First
Lady, Karen Baldacci will start the program off on Monday, March 17th.
Tuesday the 18th is "Ag Day" at the Maine Legislature and then
volunteers will read to classrooms on Wednesday - Friday, March 19th -
21st.
In Piscataquis County
this project is being brought to you through a collaboration between
MAITCA, the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District, the
Valley Grange, the Moosehead Region Literacy Volunteers, schools in SAD
#4, SAD #68, Greenville and Shirley as well as the Guilford Memorial
Library and the Thompson Free Library in Dover - Foxcroft. These local
libraries will have agriculture displays and books for all ages, and
invite Piscataquis
County families to
stop in during Agriculture Week to learn more about farming traditions.
Both libraries are open Tuesday - Saturday, weather permitting. For more
information about their hours please contact the Guilford Memorial
Library at 876 - 4547, or the Thompson Free Library at 564 - 3350.
MAITCA
is a grassroots program coordinated by the United States Department of
Agriculture. Their goal is to help students gain a greater awareness of
the role of agriculture in the economy and society so that they will
become citizens who support wise agricultural policies. Agriculture
in the Classroom is carried out in each state according to state needs
and interests, by individuals representing farm organizations,
agribusiness, education, and government. MAITCA was established in
1987 as an independent, non-profit organization with the participation of
the Maine Department of Agriculture, Department of Education and Maine
Farm Bureau. The PCSWCD is a leader in agriculture, forestry and
other natural resource education, providing assistance and coordination
of resources and information to promote practices that maintain our way
of life. The Valley Grange members have been volunteering twice weekly to
serve as “Grange bookworms” by visiting the local schools and having
children read to them. The Moosehead Region Literacy Volunteers Program
is dedicated to providing increased access to literacy services for Maine adults who
wish to acquire or improve their literacy skills. One way they do this is
by collaborating with other organizations to develop integrated literacy
services throughout the state, and by educating policy makers and the
general public to increase awareness of literacy issues. Other groups
partnering on this project around the state include the Maine Potato
Board, the Dairy Nutrition Council, Phonological Society, Maine Wild
Blueberry Commission, and agricultural producers. For more
information about this exciting program for Piscataquis County students,
or to find out more about organizations working to increase literacy in
this region, please contact the Piscataquis County Soil and Water
Conservation District at 564 - 2321 Extension 3, the Moosehead Region
Literacy Volunteers program at 695 - 3961, the Valley Grange at 564 -
0820 or 876 - 4131, or the Guilford Memorial or Thompson Free Library.
News Archives
Monson
Native, Conservation District Partner on Agriculture Project in
Madagascar
Program
Offered to Blueberry Producers
PCSWCD to Host 2008 Central
Region Envirothon for High School Students
Annual Reports
Annual Report
2007
Annual Report 2006
Newsletters
Spring 2008 Educational Newsletter
Fall 2007 Educational
Newsletter
Fall 2007 Newsletter
Spring 2007 Educational
Newsletter
Fall 2006
Newsletter
Fall 2006
Educational Newsletter
|
