As I have researched the property that Harpswell Heritage Land Trust (HHLT) is working to preserve, two questions have niggled at me. The first is, “Why is this tidal creek named Strawberry Creek?” Like with Mill Cove or Widgeon Cove, can we simply assume the obvious — that the creek was known for wild strawberries?… Read more
Originally published in the October 2020 issue of the Harpswell Anchor By Kara Douglas Sixty acres of clam flats and 68 acres of eelgrass beds, a fringing salt marsh, wading bird and waterfowl habitat strewn with rockweed, an iconic view from the town office looking south into Harpswell Sound: the intertidal zone and shoreland at… Read more
We are thrilled to announce the successful completion of our fundraising campaign for Strawberry Creek! Thanks to the support of more than 300 individuals and three grants, we have raised the $350,000 needed to preserve these spectacular properties. Click here to read an article about the project that was published in the Times Record. Click… Read more
This is one in a series of articles exploring the history of HHLT preserves. What makes Johnson Field Preserve precious is that it’s only a field—a field preserving a view that makes the hearts of locals and visitors sing. It’s a view to dream about when you’re longing for the best places of your life,… Read more
We are glad to be able to provide trails and preserves for both people and their four-footed friends. If you are a dog owner, we ask that you please respect others’ enjoyment of our beautiful trails and shoreline. Please understand that some people don’t like dogs and some are afraid of dogs. Please keep your… Read more
This is one in a series of articles exploring the history of HHLT preserves. Little Ponds is the wild Maine blueberry of preserves. Its 22 acres in East Harpswell burst with goodness in the realms of nature; historical agriculture, fisheries, and industry; and literature. Yes, even literature. Several Great Island family names tie into the… Read more
One of a series of articles exploring the natural and human history of Harpswell Heritage Land Trust’s protected land. For a sweet morsel of a park with delicious tidbits of human and natural history, I recommend Houghton Graves Park on Orr’s Island. You can walk under boughs of ancient apple trees to a picnic table… Read more
One of a series of articles exploring the natural and human history of Harpswell Heritage Land Trust’s protected land. If you want an invigorating hike through a forest to a pristine water view of another forest preserve, get thee to the Long Reach Preserve. You’ll clamber up and over two ridges, quickly losing the hubbub… Read more
One in a series of profiles of people who played a key role in the first 35 years of the Harpswell Heritage Land Trust. Sitting around a table in the family home just up the hill from Houghton Graves Park on Orr’s Island, Allan and Patty Graves want to make one thing perfectly clear: “It’s… Read more
This is one in a series of articles about the author’s research into Harpswell Heritage Land Trust preserves and trails this year. What is this treasure? There’s a pie riding on it. For the most intriguing idea, I’ll bake you a pie. You should know that a cherry pie that I baked for another land… Read more