(This is the third guest blog post in our occasional series, Stream Explorers and Youth) This summer at the YMCA of Auburn-Lewiston’s Outdoor Learning and Education Center (OLEC) we had the opportunity to run a Stream Explorers activity as part of our regular summer camp programming. The center …
Community Science
News from the North: August 2023
David Lamon has taken on a new role of Northern Operations and Programs Director, expanding his gaze beyond Fields Pond to include all areas in Maine’s northern regions. Read on to see what’s been happening at Fields Pond and beyond lately! Remembering Judy As you’ve hopefully heard by now, …
Record what you see and contribute to community science
Whether you are already a keen observer of nature, or are just starting to take notice of those plants and animals around you, consider getting involved in a community science project this summer. There are many ways that observations from individuals can help naturalists, planners, city parks …
Exploring Creek Critters in Kindergarten: Caddisflies, Mayflies and Stoneflies, OH MY!
Late in May my class of seven kindergarteners at the Children’s House Montessori School set out to explore the stream at our satellite campus in Rockport. Our small school is located in downtown Camden but since fall 2020, we have spent each autumn and late spring in a 100% outdoor based setting …
Hundreds of students, hundreds of salmon!
May 19 may have been Endangered Species Day but Maine Audubon educators spent the better part of last week celebrating and helping endangered species by releasing hundreds of salmon fry, raised in part by Maine students, into the wild. Maine currently has the last remaining wild population of …
BirdSafe Maine Presents at Regional Conference
This past weekend, three members of the BirdSafe Maine team traveled to Burlington, VT, to present their work at the Northeast Natural History Conference (NENHC). The NENHC is one of the largest regional gatherings where naturalists, research scientists, natural resource managers, students, and …
Spring means it’s time to start surveying Maine streams
It’s officially spring so that means it’s time to check on your local streams, explore water quality, and find bugs! We’re kicking off a new Stream Explorer season and recruiting community scientists who can help survey large aquatic insects (macroinvertebrates) in Maine streams. If that sounds …
New soft plastic lure project invites anglers to gather data
Have you ever thought about the fish you are catching—or eating? And wondered what that fish had been eating? Soft plastic fishing lures are a popular and common tackle used extensively across Maine. These lures imitate worms, frogs, and other natural baits by moving more freely through the water …
Stream Explorers Goes to School
On a beautiful fall day with 70 degree temperatures, Maine Audubon educators took our conservation program, Stream Explorers, to Sanford Middle School. The week before our visit, we went into the classroom and practiced using the nets and identifying macroinvertebrates. By sampling the stream and …