Free Ongoing Programs:

The ongoing programs listed below provide numerous ways to serve our community year round. If you’re interested in one or more of these initiatives, reach out for more information on how to get started.

• Water Quality Monitoring - We coordinate with volunteers in the Biotoxin Monitoring Program with Maine Department of Marine Resources where we’ve helped monitor brook trout streams for five years, providing important data for the EPA. Anyone can be trained to collect water quality data and assist in this citizen science initiative.

• Free pH Soil Testing - We have a 24-hour drop box for soil samples at 474 Bucksport Rd, Ellsworth, ME. Results are returned in a few days with information on which plants thrive in which soil types. Learn more on the Healthy Soil page on our website.

• Equipment Loaning - The District lends out Oxygen testers, a lopper saw for brown tail moth removal or orchard pruning, and soil augurs for testing and soil profiles.

Backyard Rewilding:

Backyard Rewilding is an idea that has been popularized by Doug Tallamy through his work with Homegrown National Park. At HCSWCD, we have adapted his ideas to fit the goals and capabilities of the District. In our eyes, Backyard Rewilding is transforming your lawn into a living landscape by:

• Limiting mowing and allowing for natural plant growth

• Planting native species (some can be purchased through our Native Plant Sale at the start of each year and are delivered in the spring.

• Removing invasive species that out-compete our native plants and don’t provide as many ecological benefits.

The benefits of Backyard Rewilding include, but are not limited to:

• Increasing habitat for native wildlife. Depending on the species you plant, you can fill your back yard with birds, butterflies, and other wildlife. Increasing biodiversity and engaging animals from the entire food chain helps your yard act as a natural ecosystem and gives our native species more room to move throughout the state.

• Filtering polluted water before it reaches major waterways. Native plants have deep roots that absorb nutrients and allow water to infiltrate deep into the ground before it reaches nearby streams, rivers and lakes.

• Carbon sequestration. More biodiversity above ground leads to more biodiversity below ground. The plant matter above ground takes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stores it below ground, helping to mitigate the negative effects of climate change.

• Soil Stabilization. In addition to storing carbon and filtering water, deep root systems and biodiverse soil helps keep your soil where it’s at and prevents erosion.

As part of our Backyard Rewilding Program, we offer a Conservation Landscape Certification (CLC). To obtain this certification, we walk your property with you and help you evaluate your yard based on 5 Core Principles: Wildlife Habitat Creation, Soil and Water Conservation, Invasive Species Control, Ecosystem Support, and Integrated Pest Management. If your yard receives a high enough score, you attain the Conservation Landscape Certification and the chance to add your property to Doug Tallamy’s Homegrown National Park map, which shows all the CLC properties across our land. Lawn signs commemorating the certification are also given to help spread the word about conservation landscaping that creates biodiverse landscape and supports local flora and fauna. This is a great way to showcase your hard work while sparking conversation with all those who see your sign.

If you do not receive a passing score, we will help you get there with a free initial consultation (the Site Visit). More more detailed assistance beyond that, such as Technical Landscape Design including species selection and general planting plans, are available at $60/hr.

To get started, visit our Backyard Rewilding Services, where you can:

• Schedule a free initial site consult where we review your property with you.

• Hire us for Backyard Rewilding Technical Services, such as native landscape design.

• Do it yourself using the Conservation Checklists provided.

Workshops:

• Invasive Species Workshops - Our most common type of workshop, and something we touch on at almost all of our events, is invasive species. From brown tail moth removal to courtesy boat inspections, the District collaborates with area partners and volunteers to monitor invasives that affect our land and water ways. We offer general education as well as specific recommendations on how to manage invasives on your property. If you’re in need of immediate help with invasive management, reach out to our Technical Services Manager to see how we can assist you. Whether it’s invasive pests in the forest, aquatic plants infesting our waters, our invasive plants crowding out our native species, we are always interesting in spreading information about ID’ing, preventing, and mitigating invasives throughout our County.

• Workshops - We host and co-host multiple public workshops throughout the year such as Backyard Rewilding or native plant workshops, seed saving and planting parties, native landscape design classes and, LakeSmart Buffer workshops, and more. Visit our Events page for more details on upcoming workshops.

Annual Events

• Sales - Each year we hold a Native Plant Sale and a Trout Sale to help keep native species and healthy habitats alive and well in Maine. Dates for these sales vary each year.

• Field Days - The District hosts an Annual Blueberry Field Day and an Annual Forestry Field Day, free for the community and designed to offer information and conservation resources to local farmers and foresters.

• Volunteer Spring Cleanup - Each spring on Earth Day we participate in the annual Ellsworth Card Brook and Roadside Cleanup. If it’s that time of year, visit our Events page to register.

• Specialized Annual Events - We collaborate with our local, state and federal partners to help bring impactful conservation events to the public, including Migratory Fish Day, the Union River Summit, the Wild Blueberry Conference, and the Trenton Butterfly Festival.

• IPP Invasive Plant Patrol (IPP) Plant Paddles - Offered through Lake Stewards of Maine, these on water trainings help certify local volunteers who care deeply about their local waters to spot, report, and help control invasive aquatic plants. We typically hold 2-3 per year; in 2025 IPP plant paddlers learned on Jones Pond and Silver Lake.