The Nature Conservancy in Maine

The summer concert series at Thompson's Point continues, and we’re having a blast!! 😍 Shoutout to our amazing partners from Reverb and Sebago Clean Waters for keeping us company – most recently at yesterday’s Counting Crows concert 🎉🎶 Those cools kids in the purple are Bryan Emerson (TNC Maine’s Mitigation Program Manager) and Evan Grauer (our 2024 Bowdoin Fellow) here to tell you all about their passion for climate action, and how you can join us to make the world a better place 💜 We’ll be tabling all summer long – come fill up your water bottle, and while you’re staying hydrated (+ reducing single use plastic waste) you can learn more about our team, take our trivia quiz, win prizes, and grab some merch. Come jam with us! p.s. Can’t make it to a concert, but still wondering how you can #JoinMaine?? Swing on over to our website to find out more ➡➡ https://lnkd.in/ee7iG7D3 📸 Words From The Woods #JoinMaineMonday #ThisWeeksClimateAction #maine #livemusic #outdoorconcerts #Thompsonspoint #portlandME #conservation #reducereuserecycle #gogreen #musicforacause #portlandmaine #nature

Do you love movies? Gardening? Spending time outside? Creativity? Maine itself??? If you said “yes” to one (or more likely, ALL) of the above, we’d love to see you at the upcoming Maine Outdoor Film Festival!! 🎬🎉 Our very own Nancy Olmstead, TNC Maine’s Conservation Ecologist, is interviewed in one of the films: “The Buzz on Native Plants” highlights the importance of Maine’s biodiversity, as well as discussing the threats posed by invasive species and steps we can all take as Mainers to help our beautiful state thrive. We’ll be there for the screening on July 26 – come visit us, pick up some merch, and learn more about how you can help support Maine plants!! 🥰🌻 https://lnkd.in/ecxa6Kyw One stunning plant shown in the film is the Northern Blazing Star, a globally rare plant species that thrives in the regularly burned landscape at our Kennebunk Plains Preserve. If you can’t join us at the festival, you can still bask in the beauty of native plants all around the state – just visit our website (https://nature.ly/3zS1eI7) to learn more about visiting TNC preserves. ☀ **Please note: while we encourage everyone to enjoy the beautiful view at our preserves, we do not allow collecting of any plant materials, especially rare plants like the Blazing Star. Visitors can look to native plant nurseries or places like Wild Seed Project or Maine Audubon to source native plants that they might like to take home to their garden. Thanks for helping us protect these beloved species! 💚 📸 Northern Blazing Star at Kennebunk Plains Preserve. Sam Moore #filmfestival #MaineOutdoorFilmFestival #filmmakers #mainewildlife #biodiversity #nativeplants #wildflowers #visitmaine #northernblazingstar #pollinators #habitatprotection #gardening #plantsofmaine #flowersofmaine

🦈 Did you know that thresher sharks use the long, upper lobe of their tail (also known as a caudal fin) to temporarily stun their prey? With a flick of their tail, they can create shock waves that immobilize schools of small fish, making them easier to catch. 🦈 Threshers, like other sharks, rays, and skates, are elasmobranchs: they have a skeleton made of cartilage, rather than bone. Unlike most other sharks, though, threshers have a unique adaptation called regional endothermy, which allows them to maintain a body temperature above that of the surrounding water. This allows them to venture into cooler waters and chase prey at varying depths. They also have a mysterious migratory pattern that continues to puzzle researchers. While some individuals may be more sedentary, others embark on incredible journeys across vast oceanic distances, and the reasons behind these migrations and their destination points are still not fully understood. Like many other shark species, thresher sharks face significant conservation challenges due to factors like overfishing and pollution. Their slow reproductive rates make them particularly vulnerable, underscoring the need for responsible fishing practices and marine conservation efforts. And while sharks aren’t generally known for their cute factor, this adorable tidbit might help win you over: a baby shark is called a pup!* 🐶😍 *We apologize to anyone who now has the “Baby Shark” song stuck in their head. In addition to being maddeningly repetitive, now you know it is also scientifically inaccurate!! 📸 Jess Staufenberg #SharkWeek #sharks #naturefacts #wildlife #oceans #mainecoast #saveourseas #conservation #animalfacts #threshershark

What an incredible victory for our northern neighbors!! 😍🌊 In a global milestone for Indigenous-led conservation leadership, TNC is celebrating the launch of the Great Bear Sea PFP (led by 17 First Nations and supported by the Governments of Canada and British Columbia), a project that will protect and improve the management of ten MILLION hectares of environmentally, culturally and economically significant ocean. “The landmark achievement of the Great Bear Sea agreements should be celebrated as one that advances conservation, and also one that demonstrates the potential of collaboration and respect. This initiative realizes decades of vision by the First Nations and the support of the federal and provincial governments,” says Hadley Archer, Executive Director of The Nature Conservancy's Canada Program. “Our organization is proud to have supported all of the governance partners towards this significant outcome for Indigenous-led, co-governed stewardship and large-scale financing that will benefit lands, waters and people forever.” 💙 The ocean connects us all, and we all must work together to protect it. Learn more about the project: https://lnkd.in/eZE6Jgfs 📸 Young humpback whale diving and tail slapping near Klemtu, BC, Canada. Jason Houston #conservation #oceans #aquaculture #GreatBearSea #canada #globalpartners #habitatrestoration #seastheday #saveourseas

When was the last time you truly unplugged and connected with nature?? Maybe you went for a hike or a swim; perhaps you went camping, and replaced screens with stars for the night. No matter your preferred activity, spending time in nature offers a chance to recharge your SELF – not just your devices. And what better time to do so than during National Forest Week?! This year’s theme is: #FindYourAWEsome 😍💚🌲 The National Forest Foundation (NFF), the U.S. Forest Service’s congressionally chartered non-profit partner, has made it their mission to let people know how interconnected the health of our communities and National Forests are. Forests improve air quality by absorbing harmful pollutants; purify and provide water for thousands of communities across the United States; mitigate the effects of climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide; provide important natural resources for industry and communities; and so much more. Here are some ways the NFF suggests celebrating National Forest Week!! (link below for more details) 🌲 Visit a National Forest Near You: Did you know 7 in 10 Americans are within a 2-hour drive of a National Forest or Grassland? 🌲 Enter the Photo Contest: Do you have a photo or video of a National Forest you are particularly proud of? Enter the National Forest Week Photo Contest! 🌲 Attend an event: The NFF is hosting events all across the country to celebrate National Forest Week™. If you are in the area, come celebrate! 🌲 Share Your Story: Share your photos, adventures, and appreciation for National Forests with the rest of the world using #NationalForestWeek https://nature.ly/4cMDaoA 📸 Debsconeag Lakes Wilderness Area. Phoebe Parker / TNC #NationalForestWeek #ForestMode #enjoynature #natureinmaine #forestry #woods #conservation #hikemaine #mainetrails #getoutdoors #summerinmaine #USForestService #trees #woods

Shoutout to our incredibly talon-ted Documentary Storytelling Fellow, Clark Tate, for these incredible images!!! 😍🦅 Clark recently stopped to get some footage of sturgeon on the Kennebec in Gardiner, and wound up catching a surprise encounter with eagles and osprey instead. The feathered predators put on quite the show – it seems Clark wasn’t the only one interested in “capturing” the fish! 🎬🎥🐟 You just never know what you’ll find, when exploring nature in Maine 💚💙 📸 Clark Tate #eagles #osprey #maine #wildlife #natureinmaine #explore #getoutdoors #birdwatching #mainebirds #sturgeon #fishing #rivers #freshwaterfish #summerinmaine #birding

Join us on July 20th for the first Volunteer Trail Workday of the summer!! 😍😍 We’ll be meeting at 9:00 am in the Loring Conant Preserve parking lot in Georgetown, ME for a fun day of cleaning up the trails together. We are planning to clip the trail corridor, paint blazes, and may even carry in lumber for new bog bridges. Please bring gloves, sturdy footwear, plenty of water and lunch, insect repellent/bug net, and sun protection. We plan to wrap the volunteer trail workday by 1:00pm. If you have questions, please email sarah.madronal@tnc.org. No need to register ahead of time, but feel free to join the event page to stay in the loop on any updates: https://nature.ly/4cAzwym 🌲🌲 Can’t wait to see you there!!! For other ways to join us, visit our #JoinMaine website to see how you can show your support for TNC: https://lnkd.in/ee7iG7D3 💚💚 #JoinMaineMondays #ThisWeeksClimateAction #trails #maine #hikemaine #volunteer #nature #trailday #trailcleanup #getoutdoors 📸 Sam Moore / TNC

Christmas in July?? Not exactly… but beachgoers may have noticed a jolly sight over the long weekend - namely, upcycled Christmas trees at Popham!! 🌲🌊 The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and Maine Geological Survey devised a plan to rebuild beach elevation using discarded Christmas trees. The idea was inspired by similar efforts in New Jersey and North Carolina and a successful trial at South Portland’s Willard Beach in 2023. With their branches and needles, these trees can trap windblown and wave-deposited sand, preventing further erosion and heightening beach elevation over time. This project also provides a timely reminder for the rest of the season: coastal ecosystems can be fragile, and beachgoers are asked to tread carefully during summer excursions! Stick to designated paths and avoid disturbing dunes, vegetation, and other natural features. 🏖 We love this example of a creative, nature-based approach to a local climate problem, and we can’t wait to learn more about the results!! Read more: https://nature.ly/3WdOIeZ 📸 Drone photo of the Popham Beach State Park Christmas tree pilot (Sean Vaillancourt photo for the Press Herald) #conservation #coastalrestoration #maine #beach #summerinmaine #mainecoast #popham #pophambeach #reducereuserecycle #gogreen #naturebasedsolutions #habitatrestoration #climateaction

Looking for a new podcast to check out this summer??? 🎙 Consider learning about “MERLIN” - a major, European Union funded project invested in helping freshwater restoration across the continent over the coming years. The podcast follows the MERLIN project in its journey toward saving the planet. 🌍🌎🌏 The most recent episode, “MERLIN Podcast EP.8 – Stories from the water’s edge: getting freshwater restoration done in Europe,” starts with expertise and storytelling from Joshua Royte: TNC Maine’s Senior Conservation Scientist, and an advisor to the EU MERLIN project. 🐟🌊💧 Listeners can hear his perspective on freshwater restoration in Europe, as well as the work the MERLIN project is doing to help bring its rivers, streams and wetlands back to life. We’re so proud of Josh and his commitment to climate actions which span the entire globe. Learn more at the link! https://lnkd.in/eAtze4Pe 💙💚 📸 Julio Aguilar/TNC Photo Contest 2023 (aerial shot over Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve in Wells, Maine); Phoebe Parker (headshot of Joshua Royte, Senior Conservation Scientist for TNC Maine and Advisor to the EU MERLIN project) #podcast #freshwaterrestoration #hydropower #rivers #streams #lakes #conservation #climateaction #MERLIN #damremoval #europe #interconnectedness #restoration

🦅 The bald eagle could easily be a poster child for nature's comebacks in the United States. Decades ago, this national symbol was at risk of extinction due to habitat loss, illegal hunting and widespread use of DDT, a once-popular chemical insecticide. When DDT was banned in the U.S. in 1972, the number of known active nests in some states was down to double or triple digits; by the time surveys concluded in 2006, they numbered in the thousands in the same locations. And in 2007, the bald eagle was officially removed from the U.S. Endangered Species List. 🦅 As a species that relies on healthy waters, intact and mature forests, and open country, the bald eagle’s success is tied to conservation of many different habitats and the diversity of species found within them. Today, TNC proudly works with partners to protect important habitats that support these incredible birds. Check out more inspiring comeback stories from every state: https://lnkd.in/dDgU6B4c ♥🤍💙 📸 Sally Slick / TNC Photo Contest 2021 #baldeagle #naturescomebacks #successstories #conservation #wildlife #unitedstateswildlife #biodiversity #eagles #birds