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Posts tagged ‘science’

Jun 16

Belgrade Lakes Market Returning on June 21st

Looking for something fun to do this Father’s Day?

The MLRC is pleased to announce that the wildly popular Belgrade Lakes Market will be returning for the season beginning this Sunday, June 21st. The market, which is held on the grounds of the Maine Lakes Resource Center, offers a variety of locally grown produce, fresh baked goods, and handmade products. New editions this year include new vendors and live music each week.

Beginning this July, Colby College students involved in the Water Quality Initiative will be presenting weekly updates on the water quality conditions in each of the seven lakes during market hours. These student researchers will report on the latest data from the intensive sampling efforts ongoing in the Belgrade Lakes this summer. These presentations will be held in the MLRC at three posted times throughout the market. Information from the presentations will be made available online for those unable to attend.

The Belgrade Lakes Market will take place every Sunday throughout the summer until September 6th. We look forward to seeing you there!

Jun 8

MLRC Partner Highlight: Nathan Durant, BRCA Youth Conservation Corps Program Director

This summer marks the start of Nathan Durant’s second season as Program Director for the BRCA Youth Conservation Corps (YCC). Each summer, the BRCA YCC funds a crew of local high school and college students to work on projects designed to prevent erosion while the homeowner pays for any necessary materials (such as rocks, mulch, plants, and geotextile). The YCC provides a cost effective way to remedy erosion issues on your property and subsequently improves the water quality of your lake. This Spring, Nathan was trained as a LakeSmart screener and will incorporate the LakeSmart standards into his BMP recommendations.

YCC crew members installing rip rap to stabilize a shoreline.

YCC crew members installing rip rap to stabilize a shoreline.

Nathan hails from Williamsburg, a township located near Brownville, Maine. He attended college at University of Maine at Farmington where he assisted Dr. Dan Buckley in his research pertaining to shoreline surveys and invasive aquatic plants for the Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust in 2011. Once graduated, he was accepted for the Margret Chase Smith summer internship program. Over that summer he worked with the Forest Health and Monitoring program as an entomology assistant. Nathan then began working on a trail crew with the Maine Conservation Corps (MCC). While part of the MCC, Nathan spent time building a 60ft bridge through brackish wetlands in Damariscotta, cutting new trail on the Schoodic Peninsula, setting stone steps in Grafton Notch State Park, and finished his service resurfacing bike trails in Yarmouth. This 900 hour term of service at MCC ignited “a fiery passion for conservation” that Nathan intends to stoke for the rest of his life.

In addition to leading the YCC, Nathan also works as part of the interim sampling crew collecting data for the Water Quality Initiative.

The BRCA YCC is looking for summer project sites in the Belgrade Lakes region. If you are interested in controlling erosion and improving your lake, please contact Nathan at (207) 495-6039 or [email protected] to set up a site visit.

Mar 23

Whitney King to give Plenary Address at Maine Sustainability and Water Conference

Whitney King, Miselis Professor of Chemistry at Colby College and member of the MLRC Board will present the plenary address at the 2015 Maine Sustainability and Water Conference.

Professor King’s address is titled “How can we stop loving our lakes to death? Building a Community-Based Action Plan to Keep our Lakes Golden”. The address will focus on the Belgrade Lakes and the declining water quality that is threatening many of our iconic Maine lakes. Professor King will discuss “developing sustainable solutions for the Belgrade Lakes with community partnerships to define the change in lake ecosystem function, agree on a plan for collective action, and implement broad-based watershed restoration projects”.

“The Maine Water Conference was founded in 1994 by the Senator George J. Mitchell Center at the University of Maine as an annual forum for water resource professionals, researchers, consultants, citizens, students, regulators, and planners to exchange information and present new findings on water resource issues in Maine. The conference has grown to become one of the largest environmentally related conferences in Maine attracting over 350 attendees each year.

In 2014, the former Maine Water Conference expanded its focus to become the Maine Sustainability & Water Conference. The conference included several sessions on sustainability science research in Maine as well as sessions with a joint focus on water resources and sustainability”.

The conference will be held on Tuesday, March 31st at Augusta Civic Center. Registration for the conference is still open.

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