In-Person

This is a once-a-month walkabout in a nearby woodland.  It will involve some travel, not to exceed 45 minutes, with carpooling encouraged.  Outings will be planned for 2 or fewer hours, excluding travel time.

Dates: June 16, July 21, August 4, September 15, 2026

Time: 9:30 am - Variable

Location: TBD

Ray is a devoted sportsman and outdoorsman, and has led numerous hiking and paddling tours with Gold LEAF.

In Person

We will walk a loop in the Woodland preserve, focusing on trees, birds, and the two small ponds.

Date: June 30, 2026

Rain Date: July 7, 2026

Time: 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Location: Peter Miller Woodland Loop Trail, Anderson Rd, Vienna, ME 04360

Carpooling TBD

Deb is a regular GLI member and nature presenter. She graduated from the Maine Master Naturalist Program in 2020.

In-person

This trip will include touring two historical sites.

The Frances Perkins National Monument consists of the historic 1837 Perkins Homestead on 57 acres of farmland and forest with a 1.5-mile loop trail to the Damariscotta River. We will learn about the life and legacy of Frances Perkins in the Welcome Center inside the beautifully restored ell and barn of the Perkins Homestead. There is a self-guided exhibit. We will spend about 1.5-2 hours viewing the exhibit and walking the trail. 

We will then take the 10-minute drive to Whaleback Shell Midden. This is an 11-acre property owned by the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands and co-managed with Coastal Rivers. There, we can enjoy a picnic lunch or snacks before exploring.

The site once contained a massive oyster shell heap, or midden, formed over a period of more than 1,000 years by prehistoric people. The shells were processed for chicken feed in the late 1800’s, leaving behind just a fraction of the original mounds. Interpretive storyboards relate the history of the middens, their accumulation and destruction, and also share stories of the Upper Damariscotta River.

The swinging bench by the shore offers an ideal view of one of the largest intact middens on the East Coast, the Glidden Midden, just across the river. This trail is rated accessible by Forest Service standards: 8′ wide, gently graded, and surfaced with firm crushed stone dust. Handicap parking is available at both the Whaleback and Round Top Farm trailheads.

Frances Perkins Center: https://francesperkinscenter.org/

Whaleback Shell Midden Historic Site: https://tinyurl.com/mskhsn8a

Maine.gov Whalebakc Shell Midden: https://tinyurl.com/4nm5akm5

Carpooling: Meet in the Park 'n Ride lot next to the Farmington Walgreens. We will leave Farmington at 8:30 am for the 1.5-hour trip to the Frances Perkins National Monument, with an expected arrival time of 10 am.

Dates: July 22, 2026   Rain Date: July 24, 2026

Time: 10:00 am - midafternoon

Location: Frances Perkins National Monument, 478 River Rd, Newcastle, ME

Nadine is interested in history and exploring historical sites. She will be coordinating this trip, including carpooling.

In-person

Protected by Georges River Land Trust since 2017, the Langlais Art Preserve is a 90-acre nature preserve in Cushing, Maine, with a 10-acre art environment at its heart.

The Langlais Art Preserve encompasses the former homestead of Maine-born artist Bernard Langlais and his wife, Helen Friend Langlais. Dotting the landscape are more than a dozen of Langlais’s large-scale wooden sculptures, remnants of the expansive outdoor art environment he created here from 1966 to 1977.

Today, a 1/4-mile ADA-accessible path provides a route through the art environment, and the 2 1/2-mile Woodland Trail traverses the forest beyond. Cushing is approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes from Farmington.

Car pooling will be coordinated shortly before the trip. We will start the tour at 10:30 with staff introductions and information, then we will have time for our group to explore & enjoy the preserve. We will also have the opportunity to take a tour of Langlais's workshop, which has been carefully preserved, watch a 15- minute film created in 1977 at the height of Langlais's career in Cushing, view additional Langlais works, and try our hand at a Langlais-inspired craft.

You are encouraged to bring a lunch to eat on the lawn or at the picnic tables. A porta-potty is available. The preserve is a nonprofit running on limited resources. Each member of the group is asked to donate $10 to help offset staffing costs and support the Preserve’s operations and programs. Website: https://www.langlaisartpreserve.org 

Address: 576 River Rd, Cushing, ME

July 30, 2026.   Rain date: August 13, 2026

Caitlin Kelty-Huber is the Langlais Art Preserve Program Assistant.

In-Person

The day will start with a visit to the Bowdoin Art Museum with a docent. Following that, the group will go to lunch at the cafeteria in the Moulton Student Union.  Then, those who wish can go to the Peary-Macmillan Arctic Museum. Lunch at your own expense.

Date: August 12, 2026

Time: 11:00 am - 3:00 pm 

Location: Bowdoin College, 245 Maine Street, Brunswick, ME  04011

Cassandra Braun is a curator at the Bowdoin Art Museum.