Despite this morning’s glorious sunrise over Penobscot Bay and Sears Island, tomorrow will almost certainly bring drenching rain, so we must regretfully cancel tomorrow’s Solstice by the Sea celebration. We hope you will still find ways tomorrow evening to celebrate the return of the light, following your own traditions and with people you love, in a place that’s safe and dry.
We are enormously grateful for such powerful interest in this event. As we continue our efforts to preserve and protect this extraordinary island and its many natural treasures, knowing so many people find joy here gives purpose and meaning to our work. We look forward to celebrating the beauty and history of Sears Island with you in the future.
“Light is to darkness what love is to fear; in the presence of one the other disappears.” -Marianne Williamson
Warm regards, Friends of Sears Island Board of Directors
Skull specimens in Dirigo Learning’s collection. Photo by Robin Huntley
Sorry, but this program is now full! You can still use the registration form to put your child on the waiting list, and we will contact you if space becomes available.
Friends of Sears Island and Dirigo Learning will host an animal bones exploration workshop for kids at the Belfast Free Library on Monday, October 22, from 4:30-6:00pm. The program will be led by Robin Huntley, of Dirigo Learning. During this hands-on workshop, participants will learn to recognize the key identifying characteristics of a host of familiar creatures. Children will get to closely examine a variety of skulls, antlers, teeth, and other bones to look for clues about a creature’s diet, habitat, and behavior. Showcased during the workshop will be Dirigo Learning’s bone collection, made up of over 35 different skull, bone, tooth, and antler specimens from birds, mammals, and fish. Animals from the Maine landscape will be emphasized during the place-based program, and nearly all of the specimens included in Dirigo Learning’s bone collection have been gathered locally.
This program is for kids ages 6-12 with an accompanying adult. To sign-up, please visit https://friendsofsearsisland.org/registration-october-22/. This event is part of Friends of Sears Island’s “Science Squad,” an after-school program involving children as scientists, explorers, and stewards of their environment. Science Squad is made possible by a grant from the Davis Conservation Foundation. Program co-sponsor Dirigo Learning is a Community-Based Education Network affiliate for Midcoast and Central Maine whose mission is to promote community-based education by cultivation of learning experiences rooted within local landscape and culture.
Registered participants can plan to meet in the Abbott Room, on the ground floor of the library. For more information, visit www.friendsofsearsisland.org, facebook.com/friendsofsearsisland or call 207-975-3878.
Friends of Sears Island will host Spring Stewards Day for Kids, on Friday, April 27th, from 4:00-5:30pm. After a long winter of marine debris washing up on Sears Island, spring is the perfect time for a beach clean-up, and with the celebration of Earth Day this month, this program will focus on pollution and stewardship. Marianne McKinney Randall from the Ban the Bag in Belfast group will teach participants about pollution in our marine environment and what local activists are doing to help with this problem. The program will also include a beach clean-up with kids collecting data on the types of debris found along the beach. This information will be sent to the Ocean Conservancy to be added to their global ocean trash database.
Space is limited for this free program, and advance registration is required. To sign-up, please CLICK HERE.This event is part of Friends of Sears Island’s “Science Squad,” a place-based after-school program involving children as scientists, explorers, and stewards of their environment. Science Squad is made possible by a grant from the Davis Conservation Foundation.
Sears Island is on Sears Island Road off Route 1 just east of Searsport. Registered participants should park along the causeway at the end of the road and meet at the island gate by 4:00pm. Please wear footwear and outdoor gear appropriate for walking along the beach and bring water and a snack. No pets are permitted at public programs. In the event of inclement weather, program participants will be notified that the program is cancelled, with a back-up date of April 30th, 4:00-5:30pm. For more information, visit www.friendsofsearsisland.org, facebook.com/friendsofsearsisland or call 207-975-3878.
Wildflower Talk will Prepare You to Identify Spring Blooms
Northern blue violet growing on Sears Island. Photo by Alison Dibble
Clare Cole will present a wildflower identification slideshow at the Belfast Free Library on April 3rd, at 6:30pm. She will discuss which wildflowers bloom in this area of Maine as the seasons progress from spring to summer, and key characteristics to help you identify various species. Clare is a Maine Master Naturalist. Her capstone project was identifying the flowering plants at Bangor City Forest. She continued the project and has identified over 250 species of wildflowers and shrubs to date. She also has a degree in forestry and enjoys hiking and backpacking with her husband and three grown sons.
The Belfast Free Library and Friends of Sears Island are co-sponsoring this event. This program is free and open to the public. For more information about the Belfast Free Library, visit www.belfastlibrary.org. To learn more about Friends of Sears Island check out www.friendsofsearsisland.org. For program updates, visit www.facebook.com/friendsofsearsisland or call 207-975-3878.
Friends of Sears Island will host a presentation on the history of air pollution in Maine by Dr. Stephen Norton, at the Belfast Free Library on June 5th, at 6:30pm. Humans have only been able to accurately characterize the chemical climate of Earth for about 50 years. To study pollution prior to the 1950s, scientists study the archives of pollution that are stored in soils, tree cores, museum collections of vegetation, ice cores from high elevation and/or high latitude, lake sediments, and peat accumulations in bogs. The evening presentation will focus on what soil surveys, lake and peat sediments can reveal, and if time allows, a few comments on the other archives.
Steve Norton is a Professor Emeritus in the School of Earth and Climate Sciences at the University of Maine. He graduated from Princeton and Harvard University, earning his PhD in 1967. He joined the Department of Geology faculty at the University of Maine in 1968 where he taught and did research until his retirement in 2008. His research is in the field of aquatic geochemistry.
This program is now full!
If you would like to be put on a waiting list, please click to complete a registration form. You will be notified if space opens up.
Have you ever wondered how animals and plants survive the harsh Maine winter? On February 20th from 1:00-3:00pm Friends of Sears Island will host a free winter survival program led by Serena Cole. Serena has been a biology and environmental educator for 30 years. She has led student science groups to Costa Rica, and been involved with citizen science projects at Schoodic Point Educational Research Center. Families will explore the winter woods on Sears Island while learning about plant and animal adaptations to cold climates, as well as outdoor winter survival strategies for humans. At the end of the program kids will have a chance to build a simple shelter to protect against the elements. This program is designed for kids ages 6-12 with an accompanying adult. To participate, please click here to register online.
This event is part of Friends of Sears Island’s “Science Squad,” a place-based after-school program involving children as scientists, explorers, and stewards of their environment. Science Squad is made possible by a grant from the Davis Conservation Foundation. Sears Island is on Sears Island Road off Route 1 just east of Searsport. Registered participants should park along the causeway at the end of the road and meet at the island gate by 1pm. Please wear footwear and outdoor gear appropriate for winter hiking and bring water and a snack. Please no pets at public programs. In the event of inclement weather, program participants will be notified that the program is cancelled, with a back-up date of Feb. 22nd, 1-3pm. For more information, visit www.friendsofsearsisland.org, facebook.com/friendsofsearsisland or call Aleta at 855-884-2284.
Dr. Mark McCollough, endangered species biologist with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will speak on “The Rusty Patched Bumble Bee, Maine Newest Endangered Species” at the Belfast Free Library on February 6th, at 6:30pm. This program is free and open to the public.
The rusty patched bumble bee was added to the Federal Endangered Species List in March 2017. It was once one of Maine’s most abundant and widespread bumble bees, but has disappeared from much of its range. It was last seen in the mid-coast region of Penobscot Bay and may still exist here. Why are the rusty patched bumble bee, yellow-banded bumble bee, and many other pollinator species declining? What can you do to help? Would you like to help search for bumble bees this summer? Mark will discuss the fascinating ecology of this bumble bee and explain several programs that Federal and State agencies are initiating to help pollinator species in the state.
Dr. McCollough has been an endangered species biologist for the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the last 15 years. Before that he worked for Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and was leader of the Nongame and Endangered wildlife programs. Mark works on everything from bumble bees to Canada lynx to the elusive Furbish’s lousewort. Some may know that Mark is also a wildlife artist. You may own a piece of his art and not know it (Maine’s chickadee and loon automobile license plates as well as Maine’s latest endangered species poster).
The Belfast Free Library and Friends of Sears Island are co-sponsoring this event in cooperation with the Waldo County Soil and Water Conservation District. For more information about the Belfast Free Library, visit www.belfastlibrary.org. To learn more about Friends of Sears Island check out www.friendsofsearsisland.org. Information on the Waldo County Soil and Water Conservation District can be found at: www.waldocountysoilandwater.org. For program updates in the event of inclement weather, visit www.facebook.com/friendsofsearsisland or call 207-975-3878.
Children search for butterflies in the milkweed field on Sears Island during a monarch butterfly tagging program last fall. (Photo by Ashley Megquier)
Friends of Sears Island (FOSI) recently received a generous grant from the Davis Conservation Foundation to create “Science Squad,” a place-based after-school program involving children as citizen scientists. In the coming year, FOSI will host an after-school program once a month for 12 students and their parents, during each month that school is in session. This program will engage children throughout the seasons as explorers, researchers, and stewards of their local environment. They will also contribute valuable data to a variety of citizen science projects, including FOSI’s database of island biodiversity.
Future programs will be announced via our email list, and also on the website. If you would like to be added to our email list, please complete our contact form. Programs have filled up quickly, so be sure to sign up promptly!
Join Friends of Sears Island for a branch weaving workshop with Sandi Cirillo on Sunday, October 1st, from 9am-12pm. She will lead program attendees on an exploration of Sears Island while gathering natural materials to create a weaving, suitable for display in your home or a child’s room. We’ll look for a small but sturdy branch and then learn how to weave on found items. Everyone on this outing will learn more about the environment on Sears Island and how important it is to protect it. Registration is required for this event- please call 207-975-3878 to sign-up, as space is limited. This program is free and open to ages 7 and up. Children must attend with an adult who will be responsible for their supervision.
Sandi has been a fiber/mixed media artist for over 25 years and is a retired art educator who gives many different fiber workshops in the Northeast, North Carolina, locally at her home studio in Searsport, and through Bucksport Adult Education. Visit her website, www.especially-for-ewe.com to see examples of Sandi’s work and a list of available workshops.
Sears Island is on Sears Island Road off Route 1 just east of Searsport. Participants should park along the causeway at the end of the road and meet at the kiosk near the island gate by 9:00am. Please bring a beach blanket to sit on while weaving and a pair of sturdy scissors. Also wear sturdy shoes, suitable clothing for hiking, and bring a snack, water, and bug spray if desired. Please no pets for this event. For more information and updates in the event of inclement weather, visit www.friendsofsearsisland.org, www.facebook.com/friendsofsearsisland, or call Ashley at 207-975-3878.
Friends of Sears Island will be hosting a mushroom walk led by David Porter on September 13th, from 10am-12pm. David is a graduate of Yale and the University of Washington, and worked as a professor in the Plant Biology Department at the University of Georgia. His specialty is mycology, the study of mushrooms and other fungi. Program attendees will observe numerous fall mushrooms, learn the basics of mushroom identification, and become aware of commonly overlooked signs of the hidden underground activities of mushrooms and other fungi and how they contribute to the ecology of the Maine forest.
This event is free and open to the public, and questions and curiosity are welcomed. Sears Island is on Sears Island Road off Route 1 just east of Searsport. Participants should park along the causeway at the end of the road and meet at the kiosk near the island gate by 10am. Wear footwear appropriate for walking in the woods, and clothing to protect against ticks and the weather. Bring water, a snack, and insect repellent. Please no pets on guided walks. In the event of steady rain, the program will be cancelled. For more information and updates, visit www.friendsofsearsisland.org, facebook.com/friendsofsearsisland or call Ashley at 207-975-3878.
Despite this morning’s glorious sunrise over Penobscot Bay and Sears Island, tomorrow will almost certainly bring drenching rain, so we must regretfully cancel tomorrow’s Solstice by the Sea celebration. We hope you will still find ways tomorrow evening to celebrate the return of the light, following your own traditions and with people you love, in a place that’s safe and dry.
