It finally feels like summer here at Gilsland Farm and everything is green and blooming. Buds are just starting to emerge in our formal peony garden, right on schedule so they will hopefully be near peak flower for our Peony Bloom and Ice Cream Social on June 15.
The Peony Bloom and Ice Cream Social is an annual celebration of the organization’s Peony Circle of Friends, dedicated members, donors and volunteers who have supported Maine Audubon with their time, energy and contributions for over twenty years. This will be my first Peony Social and I’m looking forward to meeting and honoring the special group of supporters who have shown such a deep commitment to stewardship, conservation and environmental education through their long term engagement with Maine Audubon.
Summer means it’s time to get out in the garden so I’m looking forward to learning more about how I can make my backyard wildlife friendly from Dr. Doug Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home, when he joins us for our Speaker Series event on June 29.
Summer also means that Gilsland Farm will get an influx of young energy as we’ll daily encounter summer campers on the grounds of the nature reserve, learning about wildlife and enjoying the outdoors under the guidance of our expert educators. There are still a few spots available for budding young naturalists grades K-5 for our day camps at Gilsland Farm and Fields Pond Audubon Center in Holden.
Lastly, summer means that Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center is open! We began opening on weekends Memorial Day weekend and will be open seven days a week starting June 11. Before we opened for the season, I had the pleasure of an afternoon of kayaking on the marsh. It really is a special place. I hope you’ll have a chance to visit Scarborough Marsh or one of the other Maine Audubon centers or sanctuaries this summer.
Hope you are enjoying Maine’s all too brief summer!
-Ole
Ole Amundsen became Executive Director of Maine Audubon in March 2016. He brings more than 25 years of experience in conservation leadership, with a focus on landscape scale conservation, environmental education and finance. Amundsen most recently served as program manager for the national land trust, The Conservation Fund.
