Saco Watershed Events Calendar - check out events happening within and surrounding the watershed that aim to protect and enjoy the resource. Many events hosted through Saco Watershed Collaborative partners.

Frog Songs and Vernal Pools: Guided Forest Bathing

Saturday, March 28, 2026, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Soak up the spring air and awaken with nature as we slowly walk the coastal woods and vernal pool habitats at Fuller Forest Preserve. Session includes gentle mindful movement, a series of guided sensory invitations, slow gentle walking over 1/2 mile to a mile total and ends with a tea gathering. Perfect for beginners and seasoned forest bathers alike. Space is limited.

Forest Bathing is an outdoor guided mindfulness group practice with proven health benefits. The session offers a slow guided walk through natural forest settings, several 10-15 minute guided sensory invitations done individually, and then a final tea gathering at the end. Every part of the session is done in a quiet forest setting. The many health benefits include slowing your pulse, lowering blood pressure, improving natural immune system, lowering stress, and increasing creativity…to name a few.

Walk is free and open to the public. Registration is required here.

Tides of Change: Climate Action Through Conservation

Thursday, March 26, 2026, 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Maine Beer Company
525 U.S. 1
Freeport, ME, 04032
United States

Maine Coast Heritage Trust and Maine Beer Company present

Tides of Change: Climate Action Through Conservation

Did you know that land conservation is one of the most effective ways to reduce the negative impacts of climate change? And building climate change resilience is one of Maine Coast Heritage Trust’s top priorities.

You’re invited to join us for a one-of-a-kind, interactive fundraiser at Maine Beer Company in Freeport to learn more about the role land conservation plays in a changing climate and how you can help make a difference for the place you love. Now in its third year, Tides of Change combines art, live music, fresh oysters, and craft beverages with a focus on ways you can get involved with solutions that protect Maine’s coast.

2026 Maine Sustainability & Water conference

Thu, Mar 26, 2026, 10:00 AM – Sun, Mar 29, 2026, 11:00 AM

Augusta Civic Center
76 Community Drive
Augusta, ME, 04330
United States

About the Conference

The Maine Sustainability & Water Conference provides an annual forum where professionals, researchers, consultants, citizens, students, regulators, and planners gather to exchange information and present new findings on sustainability and water resource issues in Maine.

Launched in 1994 by UMaine’s Senator George J. Mitchell Center with a primary focus on the future of Maine’s water resources, the conference has grown to incorporate topics related to many of the sustainability challenges facing Maine, including issues related to climate change, energy futures, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, tourism, and municipal planning. The conference attracts a broad audience of close to 500 participants from across the state.

Conference information will be added to these pages as soon as it becomes available. Please check back for details or sign up for the Mitchell Center’s e-newsletter for regular conference updates.

Smelt Brook Preserve Clean-Up

Thursday, March 26, 2026, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Smelt Brook Preserve
321 Cider Hill Road
York, ME, 03909
United States

Join us for a volunteer clean-up event at Smelt Brook Preserve, focusing on Route 91, where litter tends to accumulate. We’ll provide gloves and trash bags—feel free to bring your own litter pickers if you have them. Please wear sturdy shoes and weather-appropriate clothing, and don’t forget to bring water. For safety reasons, due to high traffic in the area, please leave children and pets at home.
Meet us at the Highland Farm parking lot, and let’s work together to keep Smelt Brook clean and beautiful!

This workday is free and open to the public with registration. Please register here.

Salt Marsh Restoration Presentation and Q&A

Wednesday, March 25, 2026, 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM

York Land Trust
1 Long Neck Marsh Rd
York, ME, 03909
United States

Join Maine Coast Heritage Fund’s Marsh Restoration Program Manager Tatia Bauer for a Salt Marsh Restoration Presentation and Q&A that focuses on an exciting five-year multifaceted restoration project on 132 acres of local salt marsh.

YLT is working with partners at the York River Stewardship Committee, Wells Reserve, Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, and Maine Coast Heritage Trust to conduct salt marsh restoration on approximately 132 acres of salt marsh across YLT and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) lands on the upper York River.

Agricultural ditches and embankments from the 1700s and 1800s have changed the water flow and water levels in marshes throughout coastal New England, including those in the York River estuary. These changes have affected marsh plant communities, created large pools on the marsh devoid of vegetation, and are ultimately preventing the marsh ecosystem from keeping pace with rising seas, threatening this critical habitat.

This project aims to restore tidal channel connections throughout the marshes. The field team will begin its restoration work in the marshes in the fall of 2026 and conclude in the winter of 2029, with pre- and post-restoration monitoring beginning in summer 2026 and continuing through late 2032.

This presentation is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Please register here. It will take place entirely indoors. You may join in-person in York Land Trust’s Community Room or virtually via Zoom.

Alewife Restoration on the Sebasticook River and Beyond

Thursday, March 19, 2026, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM

St. Joseph Center
80 Garland Road
Winslow, ME, 04901
United States

Last year the Sebasticook River saw a return of over 9 million alewives – the largest alewife run on the East Coast. Landis Hudson, executive director of Maine Rivers, will share her experiences with successful alewife restoration efforts, as well as places that have not yet reached their potential.

Webinar: The Basics of Gardening for Birds and Pollinators

Wednesday, March 18, 2026, 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

About the event

One of the most delightful aspects of gardening is having birds and pollinator call your garden home. In this webinar, we will cover the basics of how to get started - site selection, habitat needs, things to avoid, and next steps.

Bird Walk Wednesday with White Pine Programs: March

Wednesday, March 18, 2026, 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM

Highland Farm Preserve
321 Cider Hill Road
York, ME, 03909
United States

In partnership with White Pine Programs, we offer a monthly bird walk on the third Wednesday of each month! Join us for a walk through scenic Highland Farm Preserve to learn how to ID birds, recognize birdsong, and explore the habitats birds love most. Family friendly and beginner birders welcome!

This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Sign up here.

Events Webinar: Preparing for Big Night Amphibian Migrations

Monday, March 16, 2026, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Each spring, amphibians migrate to their breeding pools, often crossing roads along the way. On Maine’s Big Nights, when temperatures are above 40°F with light rain, citizen scientists head out to help frogs and salamanders safely reach their destinations.

Join YLT for an online info session on an introduction to the Maine Big Night organization, how to get involved and adopt a site, and to learn about the little critters that need your help! Kids who are old enough to understand traffic safety are welcome to participate in big night events with an adult, but the info session will be targeted towards adults.

Registration is required for this webinar. Please register here.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to witness an incredible natural event and make a real difference for Maine’s wildlife! To learn more about Maine Big Nights and our amphibian friends head over to mainebignight.org.

Climate Change Series: Sea Change: Bounty in the Gulf of Maine Documentary Screening Part 1

Saturday, March 14, 2026, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

This event is part of the 5th annual 2026 Climate Change Series brought to you by York Public In Part 1: Bounty in the Gulf of Maine (53 minutes), discover the Gulf of Maine and how its bounty was forever changed by a global appetite for fish. Now with the Gulf warming faster than 97 percent of the world’s oceans, witness how wildlife and people are adapting to rapid change. This is the first of a three-part NOVA docuseries. Join us for Part 2 on Saturday, April 4 and Part 3 on Saturday, April 18.

Library, York Ready for Climate Action and York Land Trust. This year’s theme, “Tides of Change: Our Coast, Our Future”, will include special programming from February through April and will examine how a warming climate is reshaping marine ecosystems, coastal communities, and livelihoods—and highlight practical actions that support resilience and stewardship in one of the world’s fastest-warming ocean regions.

Webinar: Relocating a Road and Adding Native Plantings to Protect Water Quality

Thursday, March 12, 2026, 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM

Presented by Rebecca Jacobs, Boothbay Drinking Water District

March 18 at 12:30 pm

Boothbay Region Water District supplies water to the Boothbay peninsula from two open-source water supplies: Adams Pond and Knickerbocker Lake. As is common in New England, the roads surrounding Adams Pond are very close to the water supply, often less than 10 feet. To reduce non-point source pollution, the water district moved 1000’ linear feet of road frontage on Adams Pond and added nearly one acre of vegetated buffer in 2025. Learn about the process, successes, lessons learned, funding and the partnerships that made this project possible.

Why has New Hampshire’s moose population declined? Along with interesting moose facts and Q&A

Wednesday, March 11, 2026, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM

Basecamp Brewing
25 South Mountain Drive
Lincoln, NH

A presentation by Henry Jones, New Hampshire Fish and Game Moose Project Leader

The story of moose in New Hampshire, including why the population increased and is now declining, will be explained using moose ecology. Content will include how moose survive from day and to day and the consequent opportunities and challenges. Attendees should hope to gain a better understanding of what moose need and how they can help the moose population.

Speaker Bio: In this role Henry coordinates moose management in New Hampshire which includes monitoring the size and health of the moose population, promoting conservation of moose habitat, managing moose-related recreation, and providing information to the public. Henry earned a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Wildlife Ecology from the University of New Hampshire and has served as the Moose Project Leader since 2019. In his free time, Henry enjoys hunting, fishing, and helping at his family’s Christmas tree farm.

ZOOM Workshop for Maine Land Trusts: How to find and conserve late-successional and old-growth forest in your area

Wednesday, March 11, 2026, 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

In 2024, Our Climate Common used LiDAR (light detection and ranging) to map late-successional and old-growth (LSOG) forest for most of Maine (see 2024 report). LSOG forest is often more than 150 years old, ecologically exceptional, and uncommon to rare. Moreover, this mapping work showed that LSOG forest is still being lost at a high rate.

Maine land trusts could play a leading role in conserving remaining LSOG forest. If you would like to learn how to use the map to locate LSOG forest, please attend this 1.5 hour workshop.

Although the current LSOG map is for the northern/eastern/western two-thirds of Maine, it could be developed for the organized territories as well.

The presenters have identified many LSOG stands in both the organized and unorganized townships of Maine that have no protection. We will review some of these areas during the workshop. But more importantly, we will teach you how to use the map yourself for your area of interest.

Coffee with the Casco Baykeeper: Our 2025 Science Report

Thursday, March 5, 2026, 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM

Join us for an engaging morning conversation with Casco Baykeeper Ivy Frignoca, Staff Scientist Mike Doan, and Community Organizer Sara Freshley as they connect the dots between data, local observations, and how science guides our work to advocate for Casco Bay. Bring your favorite breakfast and coffee and settle in for this “science and cereal”–style webinar.

Ivy and Mike will walk through highlights from 2025 using both continuous and seasonal monitoring, sharing what the data is telling us about climate change, ocean acidification, and stormwater pollution in Casco Bay. They’ll also talk about recent upgrades to our monitoring work, including new telemetry equipment and advances in our eelgrass monitoring. Sara will bring in how data collected by Water Reporters fits alongside our scientific monitoring, and share updates on new software that makes it easier to explore, understand, and use this data.

The team will leave time for questions, which they always enjoy!