maine coast heritage trust
2019 giving while living regional grant: $2,500
Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT) put the Foundation’s $2,500 grant to a range of good uses: maintaining 90 miles of existing trails and placing signage and kiosks at their preserves; checking in with easement holders and land abutters; cleaning up trash; managing volunteers; evaluating and removing invasive plant species; and protecting wildlife and fragile nesting habitat. All of this work is part of the myriad ways that MCHT extends the reach, impact, and benefits that land conservation provides all Maine communities.
MCHT hosts free Open Houses at various public preserves along the coast, like The Goslings Preserve in Casco Bay.
Sharing the spirit of the Foundation’s commitment to a healthier world, Maine Coast Heritage Trust’s coastal conservation work includes field trips and events to connect people to the land, inspire a love of nature, and reinforce the urgency of protecting Maine’s special places for future generations. This work included field trips to Marshall Island, two boat tours of Cobscook Bay, and an open house on Monroe Island (one of our newest preserves), and the Saltwater Shindig on The Goslings in Casco Bay.
The Trust also hosted history and wildlife walks of Frenchboro, an open house on Clark Island, a community celebration at their Sipp Bay Preserve, and an opening celebration at Woodward Point in Brunswick. In 2019, the Trust proudly opened three new preserves:
Rocky Lake Preserve (2,352 acres in Whiting, Washington County)
Woodward Point Preserve (87 acres in Brunswick, Cumberland County)
Monroe Island Preserve (225 acres in Owls Head, Knox County)
These preserves are the culmination of many years of work and examples of the Trust’s commitment to conserving lands that reflect the character of Maine’s coast and that support its ecological health and the well-being of coastal communities. All three projects would not have been possible without generous donations from organizations like the Woodard & Curran Foundation.
Check out just a sampling of some of MCHT’s recent accomplishments.
Thank you to Patricia Thomes, from Woodard & Curran, Inc.’s Portland, ME, office, who nominated Maine Coast Heritage Trust for a Foundation Giving While Living Regional Grant.