Crave the forest's bounty? Join David (65+ years of experience!) for an immersive foraging adventure. Learn to identify edible treasures, from berries to mushrooms, and uncover the secrets of plant ecology. This isn't just a walk, it's a transformative experience that fills your basket and your soul! Limited spots, register today! David is a member of the Maine Mycological Assoc. NOTE: This class will start with an outdoor talk at the waterfront followed by the walking portion.

Join seasoned forager David Spahr on an immersive mushroom hunt, exploring habitats, structures, and safe foraging practices. Uncover surprises in each walk, shaped by season and location. Suitable for all ages (8-15 with a registered parent), this moderate-difficulty hike promises an exciting, educational adventure. Supply List: Notebook and pen to take notes, sensible clothing and footwear, water, snack and bug repellant. A basket or bags are optional. NOTE: This class will start with an outdoor talk at the waterfront followed by the walking portion.

Hike, snowshoe, geocache, hunt, and enjoy the woods and fields of Maine with confidence that you can read a topographic map, understand the symbols, know which way a river flows, plot a course bearing, use online resources, and how to get to safety. Familiarization to using a compass and map outdoors included. There is homework to practice in between each class. Students will have access to an online textbook. Perfect for future Registered Maine Guides or Trip Leaders. Students must have a DeLorme Maine Gazetteer, and a 2-degree baseplate compass. This course is offered via Zoom over two sessions. This is a LEVEL 1 program.

Acorns, or oak nuts, have remained an important and nutritious food source for many animals, including humans, around the world for hundreds of thousands of years. The oak tree has sustained human civilization since its inception in countless ways. Why have we in our modern culture nearly forgotten how to harvest, process, honor and eat this incredible food? Learn to identify, harvest, process, store, and use acorns in the kitchen. We’ll cover the whole process: identification, gathering, storage, processing, leaching and cooking. Homemade acorn bread, acorn muffins and other acorn-based snacks will be available as free samples.

Crave the forest's bounty? Join David (65+ years of experience!) for an immersive foraging adventure. Learn to identify edible treasures, from berries to mushrooms, and uncover the secrets of plant ecology. This isn't just a walk, it's a transformative experience that fills your basket and your soul! Limited spots, register today! David is a member of the Maine Mycological Assoc. NOTE: This class will start with an outdoor talk at the waterfront followed by the walking portion.

Interested in the night sky? Join us for an enchanted evening of star-gazing! Hosted by members of Southern Maine Astronomers (SMA), these ‘star parties’ include naked eye, binocular, telescopic, or electronically-aided telescopic viewing with the support of trained volunteers, as well as brief talks or demonstrations focused on the how-to's of observing. SMA is a community of folks interested in astronomy, a few of us even do that as a job. We learn and exchange ideas at meetings that include an astronomy talk and open mic discussions of recent observing experiences or other astro-bites. The tone is light, we're in this for fun. We look at (or photograph) stuff in the sky at our star parties, talk about the objects we see, share views and information about our gear. *Rain/Cloud Date: 10/17.

We’ll be outside practicing how to follow and set bearings and navigation tricks of the trade in the light and in the dark! A compass never runs out of batteries or fails to connect with a satellite. *Students should have taken Map & Compass Level 1 or have experience using compasses with maps. **Students must have a headlamp, a flashlight and a 2-degree baseplate compass.

Learn to identify, regeneratively gather and harvest, properly store and process, and weave with pine needles. We'll cover the basics of coiled basketry, which is a global, ancient human skill, and create a wonderful pine-needle basket. All tools and materials will be provided. *Program includes all required tools and materials.