Incoming first-year students at Orono High School are embarking on a journey that will deepen their connections to the world around them. These students won’t be traveling to far off exotic locales, but instead will be connecting with their local watershed through an interdisciplinary, place-based education program called Watershed Academy. Initiated by Orono High School […]
News & Notes
All Persons Trail Coming to Gilsland Farm
One of the hallmarks of Maine Audubon’s vision is to create accessible, inclusive, and welcoming wildlife sanctuaries that provide a haven for Maine wildlife and broaden access to nature and experiential learning for everyone. Stepping over tree roots, navigating an uneven path, and climbing up a grassy slope: these present unsurmountable obstacles for many people. […]
Advocacy Director Francesca Gundrum Wins Conservation Award
Maine Audubon Advocacy Director, Francesca “Ches” Gundrum, is a powerhouse at the State House—and her leadership is earning well-deserved recognition. On September 17, 2026, the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) honored Ches with its inaugural Pete Didisheim Conservation Leadership Award for Advocacy at its 2026 Conservation Leadership Awards ceremony. We’re incredibly proud of Ches […]
2026 New Board of Trustee Announcements
Maine Audubon is pleased to announce the induction of seven new people to its Board of Trustees in 2025-26. “Maine Audubon is thrilled and honored to have such dedicated, passionate, and qualified individuals serve on our board,” says Maine Audubon President Judy Camuso. “The Board of Trustees is critical to our success as an organization […]
Scarborough Marsh wraps up for the summer
For many, Labor Day Weekend signifies the transition into the fall season. Schools are starting back up, sunny days at the beach give way to cooler mornings, and for us at the Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center, that means the end of the summer season, but one that ended with some of our busiest days of […]
Native Plant Communities: Salt Marshes
Along the coast of Maine, saltmarsh plant communities are abundant and important. Studies show that saltmarshes can sequester carbon up to 10 times faster than forests! The broad umbrella of saltmarshes contain a gradient of plant communities that feature different characteristics based on salinity, easily distinguished by distance from the coast. Salt-hay Saltmarshes form in […]
Thousands Opposed to Flawed CMP Conservation Plan for Western Maine
September 17th Public Hearing Will Consider Appeal Asking for Improvements to Protect Mature Forests and Connected Wildlife Habitat September 10, 2026 (Augusta, ME) – More than 2,000 Mainers have signed a petition calling for improvements to a flawed conservation plan that Central Maine Power (CMP) developed as mitigation for its New England Clean Energy Connect […]
Plovers in a Peculiar Place
A pair of Piping Plovers called York home this season for the first time ever since Maine Audubon has been monitoring the population starting in the 1980s. Short Sands Beach is a small quarter-mile-long stretch of sandy beach with Ellis Park set behind it. A pair of plovers decided that Ellis Park’s man-made beach volleyball […]
Plover Nesting Season Sets New High
Maine Piping Plovers have done it again by shattering past record numbers, reaching 191 breeding pairs that fledged 352 chicks. The prior record of breeding pairs—174—was in 2025. The most chicks ever fledged—252—was recorded in 2022. Yes, that’s 100 more! This year, plover productivity was 1.84 chicks fledged per pair, which is higher than the […]