Tom Nolan, who is on the board of directors for the Scarborough Land Trust, and his dog Hazel, walk on boardwalks that he designed and built at Fuller Farm Preserve on Broadturn Road in Scarborough. The Scarborough Land Trust received $3,500 from the L.L.Bean Maine Land Trust Grant Program in 2021 to reroute a trail at Fuller Farm Preserve that had previously gone through the middle of a grassland bird nesting area. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
Land trusts around Maine have received $65,000 for upgrades to their trail systems and other improvements.
The projects, which recently received funding through the L.L.Bean Maine Land Trust Grant Program administered by Maine Coast Heritage Trust, include the design and planning of a new parking area at the popular Robinson Woods Preserve in Cape Elizabeth.
There’s also a planned trail reroute and the installation of steps at the Cathance River Nature Preserve in Topsham and the installation of new solar-powered lights on a ski loop at Roberts Farm Preserve in Norway, along with seven other projects.
“The entire land trust community is deeply appreciative of this investment in our collective effort to connect more people to Maine’s special places,” said Angela Twitchell, land trust program director for the Maine Coast Heritage Trust.
Maine has more than 80 land trusts, and organizations that manage conserved land, run environmental education programs, work on restoration projects, and provide a place for the public to recreate.
‘IT’S VERY EXCITING’
In Cape Elizabeth, a $10,000 grant from the program will allow for the design and planning of a new parking area off Shore Road, where the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust is planning to put in a new “universally accessible” trail that will allow people with mobility challenges to access Robinson Woods.
David Briman, executive director of the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust, walks along a trail at Robinson Woods Preserve last week. The Cape Elizabeth Land Trust is planning to put in a universally accessible trail that can be used by people with mobility issues such as those pushing a stroller or walking with a cane or in a wheelchair. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
The 200-acre wooded preserve is a signature location for the land trust, said Executive Director David Briman. “It’s very exciting for us,” Briman said. “Hopefully it will be a way of bringing more people out and showing them what we’re excited about who otherwise didn’t have that opportunity. The truth is we think that will be a lot of people.”
The design and planning of the parking area is just the first step towards what Briman estimates will be about a $360,000 project to include the building of the parking area as well as the design and construction of the trail. The trust is hoping to complete the design and permitting of the parking by the end of September, he said.
The trail itself will be part of an existing network of trails at Robinson Woods but will be wider, wheelchair accessible, and include rest stops. Briman said it would likely be between a half-mile to seven-tenths of a mile.
“We’re not interested in just checking off a box,” he said. “We think this will be just as engaging and gratifying as our more challenging trails but someone who might not ordinarily be able to go out in the woods because they have a stroller, or are unsteady on their feet, they walk with a cane or are in a wheelchair, they will be able to go out and interact with the natural world.”
David Briman, executive director of the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust, stands on a trail at the Robinson Woods Preserve on Wednesday. The Cape Elizabeth Land Trust is planning to put in a “universally accessible” trail that can be used by people with mobility issues such as those pushing a stroller or walking with a cane or in a wheelchair. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
The Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust is also receiving $10,000 to complete a trail reroute project and construction of wooden steps that have been five years in the making at Cathance River Nature Preserve in Topsham. Director of Conservation Margaret Gerber said the reroute was necessary due to development on adjacent land that previously had contained some trail connections.
“This step will allow people to more easily access the trail as well as hold the trail in place and prevent erosion in the long-term,” Gerber said. “We’re very grateful for the funding to allow us to finish the project.”
In Norway, the program awarded the Western Foothills Land Trust $4,500 that, in combination with $4,000 raised by Oxford Hill High School alum and parents, will allow the trust to install solar LED lights on a 2-kilometer Nordic ski loop at Roberts Farm.
The ski…
Read More: Maine land trusts using grant funds to upgrade trail systems around the state