UNITY — The Sebasticook Regional Land Trust is scheduled this month to offer three programs, Avenza Mapping Workshop, Trailwork Day and Brook Trout Talk.
Avenza Mapping App Workshop
This is geared toward those interested in working with maps to mark trails, navigate woodlands, follow and track boundaries, or manage land stewardship activities. People can learn how to use the free, downloadable Avenza Maps app at an SRLT workshop from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Sept. 16. There are many ways to use this app to help with land stewardship or for recreational trail use, according to a news release from Cheryl Daigle, trust program manager.
The workshop begins at 9 a.m. at the Unity Public Library, 38 School St. The one hour in-classroom instruction will include a presentation to gain a basic knowledge of the Avenza application and its uses for land stewardship activities. An iPhone, iPad or Android device is required to download the app.
Then participants will travel to the Richardson Memorial Preserve for two hours of practice with field usage of the application. This will include basic orienteering uses with navigating and utilizing the digital map interface, measuring distance, drawing and tracking, trail marking utilizing the GPS Feature, delineating an area using the polygon feature, and adding photographs to the maps. Mapping a timber harvest area and marking invasive plant locations also will be discussed.
The workshop is led by Dan Hill, a biologist and licensed forester in the Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Land Management Program. Registration is required online at sebasticookrlt.org. People should bring snacks, water and footwear suitable for trail use and the weather.
Trailwork Day at Richardson Memorial Preserve
On Sunday, Sept. 17, people can join the trust from 8 a.m. to noon at the Richardson Memorial Preserve to help maintain the new trail and push back the invasive honeysuckle that is impacting wildlife habitat on the preserve.
The 116-acre Richardson Preserve is more known for its agricultural fields and trust’s management for grassland birds, but it also contains acres of woodland with over a mile of frontage on Sandy Stream. Organizers seek help maintaining the loop trail completed in 2021 to enhance recreational use.
People can meet at 8 a.m. at the preserve kiosk off Stevens Road in Unity. Equipment is provided, but participants should bring heavy duty gloves, waterproof footwear, and wear shoes appropriate for trail work and the weather.
Squaretail: The Definitive Guide to Brook Trout
Brook trout are Maine’s signature native salmonid and a favorite fish of anglers across the northeast. On Wednesday, Sept. 20, Emily Bastian of the Native Fish Coalition will present on the biology, history, lore, angling, and conservation of brook trout from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Benton Grange, 29 River Road in Benton.
The Native Fish Coalition is a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to the conservation, preservation and restoration of wild native fish. The coalition is primarily focused on gamefish, and the reason is twofold: Native gamefish are often the species that are most threatened, and what is good for these fish is good for all native fish.
Donations are welcome to help support future programming but are not required to sign up.
For all of the programs, RSVP at sebasticookrlt.org.
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