As Maine Audubon ramps up its activities and outreach in both DownEast/Eastern and Western Maine, we look for ways to share content and resources with the communities there. One great mechanism for doing this is by participating in popular summer festivals that occur and draw hundreds of people each year. Given that it is August and the beginning of peak abundance for Monarch Butterflies across Maine, we are excited to share some of the great educational materials and activities that we have developed over the years to help conserve this iconic species, as well as to engage people of all ages in the critical connection between countless other species of insects and Maine native plants. If you happen to be in the area on the dates below, please stop by our table to say hello and learn about Monarchs and other migratory insects which depend on Mainers to restore and steward native plants and habitats.
DOWNEAST
Machias Wild Blueberry Festival, Machias, August 15-17
If you know anything about Downeast Maine, then you are likely well aware of the cultural, economic, and ecological importance of wild blueberries, particularly Vaccinium angustifolia or Lowbush Blueberry, and the expansive blueberry barrens which have dotted the landscape since the last glaciers receded. There are historic records of 290 species of butterflies and moths using Vaccinium as a caterpillar host plant in what is now the zip code for Machias, so landscapes full of wild blueberries are certainly far from barren ecologically. Beyond the significant wildlife benefits, this important native plant, its habitat, and the ecosystems it supports has been stewarded and harvested by humans, namely the Passamaquoddy, for millenia.
Wild blueberries, the two current Passamaquoddy communities, and, more recently, several companies which now ship this foodcrop all over the world, remain central to what makes the region such a special place to live or visit. It all convenes and gets celebrated in Machias each mid-August during the Machias Wild Blueberry Festival, which runs this year from Friday, August 15, through Sunday, August 17. Maine Audubon will be there on Saturday, August 16, and Sunday, August 17, in the tent hosted by our friends at Washington Academy to showcase Monarch ecology and the Community Tree Nursery we manage on campus with Project SHARE and other partners. Do we need to mention that there will be blueberry pies at the festival?
If you are in Downeast Maine that weekend, you could also join Maine Audubon staff and our local partners for the following:
Migration Birding Walk with Cobscook Institute – Friday, August 15 at 10 am (currently full and taking names for a wait list! Trip meets at Cobscook Institute in Trescott to carpool to the birding site in South Lubec)
Head Harbor Passage Boat Trip – Saturday, August 16, 12-2:30 pm (departs from Eastport wharf)
WESTERN
Mahoosuc Land Trust Monarch Festival, Bethel, Sunday, August 24, 12-4 pm
In the five years since the Mahoosuc Land Trust opened its “Habitat for All,” a quarter-acre pollinator and vegetable garden at Valentine Farm, it has also hosted an annual community celebration each August to “promote habitat and biodiversity conservation by empowering us to reimagine our backyards as sanctuaries for pollinators.” The popular family-friendly festival will feature numerous organizations and activities. Look for a “Monarchs & Maine” display staffed by Maine Audubon and our partners at Maine Community Integration at the “Habitat for All” garden on Sunday afternoon.
There is also a kick-off event on Saturday, August 23, 6 pm, featuring a keynote presentation by Vermont forester and naturalist, Ethan Tapper, author of How to Love a Forest (Tapper joined us at Maine Audubon for a talk at Gilsland Farm in 2024).
