Events Schedule 2018
2018 will be a great season for going outside!
Whether you like to sit back and enjoy the bands during our weekly Monday Music series, step up and help clear trails during our clean ups or Weekly Work Days, or even hone your observational skills with our Spring Hike series led by local Maine Master Naturalists or our new citizen science monitoring project–we’ve got something for you!
We’ll add and update events as the season progresses. Please check back frequently and follow us on Facebook for more information!
For questions, contact Austin Schuver, Community Engagement Coordinator: austin@frenchmanbay.org
May 5 – Card Brook Clean Up
Frenchman Bay Conservancy and The City of Ellsworth are partnering to host a clean-up event for Card Brook in Ellsworth. Snacks are provided and participants will be entered to win gift cards to local businesses! Meet at the Hannaford parking lot at 9:30 am, contact Steve Fuller at 669-6615 or email sfuller@ellsworthmaine.gov.
May 5 – Union River Festival
The Card Brook Clean Up will be followed by a celebration of the Union River at Ellsworth’s Harbor Park from noon to 4 pm, featuring live music, food and drink, speakers, informational booths, and fun activities like paddling the Union River at 2:30pm, bring your own boat!
May 12 – Indian Point Clean Up
Frenchman Bay Conservancy and the Ellsworth Rotary Club will host a clean-up event at FBC’s Indian Point Preserve in Ellsworth. Clean up begins at 9 am.
Spring Hike Series
Join us in welcoming spring to Maine! The Sunday following each hike is a rain date.
May 19 – Baker Hill Preserve in Sullivan. Naturalist Roberta Sharp will lead a birds and blooms hike at 9:30 am.
May 26 – Old Pond Railway Trail in Hancock. Learn how to identify warblers by sight and sound with expert birder Fred Yost, starting at the parking across from Hancock Town Hall at 8 am.
June 9 – Simon Trail in Lamoine. A trio of naturalists will help identify mosses, lichen, and birds at 9:30 am.
June 16 – Frances B. Wood Preserve in Gouldsboro. Botanist Jill Weber will lead a hike exploring wildflowers and other plants at 9:30 am.
June 20 – Weekly Trail Work Days Begin
Each Wednesday this summer, volunteers will meet at the Tidal Falls Preserve parking lot at 8:30 am. The group will visit whichever FBC trails and preserves are in need of stewardship work. No prior stewardship experience is needed, all are welcome! Wear sturdy shoes and work gloves and bring water.
June 23 – Celebrate Marlboro Beach
Visit Marlboro Beach in Lamoine to celebrate a partnership between the Town of Lamoine and Frenchman Bay Conservancy that protected the beach and access to its valuable mud flats. Food and entertainment will begin at 2 pm followed by a clamming demonstration.
June 30 – Kid’s Quest Day and *NEW* Visitor Education Center Open House
Drop by Tidal Falls Preserve between 10 am and 2 pm for fun kid-friendly activities and to see our new visitor education center. In partnership with Schoodic Scenic Byway, kids and their parents are encouraged to explore Tidal Falls and the other Kid’s Quest sites along the Schoodic Scenic Byway (Route 1) to learn more about this area’s history, culture, and nature.
July 6 – Friday Nights Lecture Series Begins
Friends of Taunton Bay and Frenchman Bay Conservancy will again partner to host the 2018 Friday Night Lecture Series at Gordon’s Wharf in Sullivan. The lectures begin at 7 pm on Fridays from July 6 to August 17 (except for July 20). To kick off the series, authors John and Marlene Daley will share their knowledge from years of experience scuba diving in Taunton Bay and from researching the area’s history when writing their book History of Taunton Bay.
July 7 – Intertidal Exploration at Tidal Falls
Join experienced educator and biologist Hannah Webber of Schoodic Institute for an intertidal exploration of Tidal Falls Preserve beginning at noon. Bring sturdy waterproof footwear.
July 9 – Monday Music, Gus LaCasse and Volunteer Appreciation Night
Monday Music Concert Series begins on July 9. All our free concerts are weather permitting starting at 6:30 pm. A food truck will provide hot veggie and beef burgers, chicken wings, fries, dessert and a range of other items! Cancellations will be posted at www.facebook.com/frenchmanbay. On Volunteer Appreciation Night, we recognize our committed volunteers and encourage others to get involved!
July 11 – Citizen Science Trainings Begin
Anyone can be a citizen scientist! Frenchman Bay Conservancy and Schoodic Institute need people interested in local plants who want to help researchers understand the effects of climate change. Wednesday trainings run from July through August and will teach you how to identify plants and enter data. For more information about this new program contact austin@frenchmanbay.org.
July 13 – Friday Night Lecture Series at Gordon’s Wharf
At 7 pm, MDIFW biologist Danielle D’Auria will share new research tracking blue herons’ migrations from Maine to southern locales like Florida.
July 16 – Monday Music, Michael Anderson
Concert begins at 6:30 pm.
July 20 – Lobster Dinner
Lobster Dinner at Tidal Falls. Serving 5:30 to 6:30 pm, rain or shine. Reserve your tickets early, pre-paid reservations only. FBC will provide picnic tables and tent. BYOB.
July 23 – Monday Music, Em & Company
Concert begins at 6:30 pm.
July 27 – Friday Night Lecture Series at Gordon’s Wharf
At 7 pm, College of the Atlantic professor Ken Cline will show photos from New Zealand and explain how new river conservation efforts in New Zealand might be applied to Maine.
July 28 – Wild & Scenic Film Festival
Frenchman Bay Conservancy partnered with numerous area nonprofits to host the first Wild and Scenic Film Festival in Downeast Maine! At this free outdoor film festival in Knowlton Park in Ellsworth, we’ll feature award-winning films about protecting fish, conserving rivers, and saving ocean life. Films will begin at 7:30 pm, but come about an hour early to stake out a place to sit, grab food and drinks, and talk to local organizations.
July 30 – Monday Music, Night & Day
Concert begins at 6:30 pm.
August 1 – Outdoor Photography Workshop
Hone your outdoor photography skills with local nature photographer, Gerry Monteux. Learn tips and techniques for capturing beautiful landscape images as well as birds in flight and other wildlife at Frenchman Bay Conservancy’s scenic Tidal Falls Preserve. This workshop is free at 5:30 pm, but space is limited. Contact austin@frenchmanbay.org or 422-2328 to sign-up! For a sample of Gerry’s photography, visit monteuxgallery.com.
August 3 – Friday Night Lecture Series at Gordon’s Wharf
At 7 pm, professional nature photographer Gerry Monteux will show remarkable local photographs while discussing how he chooses what to photograph and when to photograph it—a difficult choice in one of the most photogenic states in the country!
August 5 – Annual Meeting
Save the date and stay tuned for more information.
August 6 – Monday Music, The Trisha Mason Band
Concert begins at 6:30 pm.
August 10 – Friday Night Lecture Series at Gordon’s Wharf
At 7 pm, Tom Duffus, vice president of The Conservation Fund, will share stories from over 30 years of experience protecting lands and waters in the Northeast including insight from The Conservation Fund’s innovative model of collaborative conservation.
August 11 – Downeast Conservation Trail Race Series Begins
Six conservation groups are hosting the 1st Annual Downeast Conservation Trail Race Series. These unique races take place on community supported nature and wildlife preserves across Downeast Maine from Orland to Baring—including FBC’s Autumn Trail Race—beginning in Grand Lake Stream on August 11. For more information, visit www.downeastconservationraces.org.
August 13 – Monday Music, New Shades of Blue
Concert begins at 6:30 pm.
August 17 – Friday Night Lecture Series at Gordon’s Wharf
At 7 pm, researcher Glen Mittelhauser will discuss how you can get involved in the state’s largest citizen science project, the Maine Bird Atlas, a critical five-year survey aiming to document all breeding and wintering bird species in Maine.
September 8 – Clean Water, Clean Shores
Volunteers from communities surrounding Frenchman Bay are gathering to clean up debris from shoreline beaches and Stave, Preble, and Bean Islands. Stay tuned for more details and email austin@frenchmanbay.org if you’re interested in helping out.
September 29 – Fall Hike Series
Frenchman Bay Conservancy is hosting a Fall Hike Series at FBC preserves. The series will begin on September 29, during Great Maine Outdoor Weekend. Stay tuned for more details.
October 25 – Sunset & Moonrise Hike
Celebrate Halloween with us! Meet at 5:00 pm at Taft Point Preserve in Gouldsboro to watch the sun set over Frenchman Bay and hike through the forest as the full moon rises. Bring warm layers and a flashlight.
October 28 & November 4 – Autumn Trail Races
The 6th annual Downeast Double Trouble Trail Races will take place on Sunday, October 28 (hosted by Great Pond Mountain Conservation Trust) and Sunday, November 4 (hosted by FBC). The FBC Autumn Trail Race will begin at Sumner High School on Route 1 in Sullivan. This year’s race will feature both a 4.2-mile course along with a second, approximately 8-mile route. More details to follow.
Follow our Facebook and this website for updates and more information!facebook.com/frenchmanbay
For questions contact Austin Schuver, Community Engagement Coordinator: austin@frenchmanbay.org