Events

(Estimated time: 3.5 hours) – Leaders: Tamara Lee Pinard, Cumberland Soil and Water Conservation District & Don Witherill, Maine DEP

View aerial of Long Creek Watershed | Long Creek Restoration Project Website | Maine Mall Road Project | Philbrook Avenue Project

The Long Creek watershed has been in the spotlight for the past several years as the subject of a residual designation authority petition by the Conservation Law Foundation and a Clean Water Act designation by EPA, requiring permits for stormwater discharges from property with one acre or more of impervious area. The watershed was already a high priority for restoration for the State of Maine, which led to development of a watershed management plan supported by a wide coalition of stakeholders, including municipal leaders and private landowners. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (the permitting authority) has issued a general permit requiring permittees to financially support the implementation of the plan, which is expected to achieve restoration of the stream within ten years.

Participants on this trip will visit key sites in the watershed for current and future stormwater treatment, including some truly ground-breaking retrofit projects. At several stops, members of the watershed planning team will speak briefly, providing their own perspective on the plans development and implementation. 

A section of Long Creek.	Maine DOT installed porous pavement instead of traditional pavement to a section of the Maine Mall Road. This is the first use of porous pavement on a highly traveled, public road in the Northeast.	Improvements to the existing drainage system and the addition of streamside vegetation are part of the Philbrook Avenue portion of the Long Creek Watershed Restoration Project.

(Estimated time 3 hours) - Leader: Wendy Garland, Maine DEP & Alex Jaegerman, City of Portland (Estimated time 3 hours, walking route just under 4 miles) | Walking Tour Map & Tour Agenda

Check out some of the LID practices and smart growth principles being implemented in the City of Portland on this walking tour.

See the green roof at the Back Bay Tower apartment complex.

Tour the University of Southern Maine’s Wishcamper Center, a LEED-certified “gold” building meeting the U.S. Green Building Council’s nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

Visit the Back Cove Yardscaping Demonstration Gardens, a 2.5 acre site that showcases a variety of low-maintenance and ecologically-friendly plants, shrubs, and yardscaping materials to help educate local homeowners and gardeners on how to care for their yards in a more environmentally-friendly way.
Learn More | View landscape drawing of the demonstration gardens | Read article on the Back Cove Rain Garden

Stop in at the Boyd Street Urban Farm, where Portland youth are responsible for growing, maintaining, and harvesting the garden which provides youth development, education programs, and food for local elderly and low income residents. Features include a phytoremediation bed to address a soil lead contamination problem, a compost program to recycle scraps from local restaurants, and a rainwater harvesting system.
Learn More | Read article about the Boyd Street farmers markets

Other possible stops - Learn about Portland redevelopment initiatives. View recently installed rain gardens along the City’s trail system.

*Note: This field trip is intended as a walking tour and transportation will not be provided. Total walking distance is approximately 3.5 miles; please do not register for this tour if you do not feel you are physically capable of completing this distance on foot. The tour will take place rain or shine; please dress accordingly with proper foul weather gear if necessary.

The green roof at the Back Bay Tower Apartment complex.	Volunteers and city workers plant Portland’s new rain garden by the Back Cove parking lot.	The Boyd Urban Farm helps supply low-income Mainers with access to locally grown food and has recently opened a series of farmers markets throughout Portland.

 

(Estimated time 5 hours) – Leader: Todd Janeski, VA NEMO

Visit the UNH Stormwater Website | View Field Site Map | Read UNH Stormwater Center 2009 Biannual Report

Travel to University of New Hampshire’s Stormwater Center in Durham, NH, one of the nation’s preeminent stormwater research facilities. The UNH Stormwater Center designed, constructed, and runs a facility that provides the controlled testing of stormwater management designs and devices. The primary mission of the Center is the protection of water resources through effective stormwater management.

You will tour the research facility, which houses three categories of stormwater treatment processes: conventional structural devices, Low Impact Development (LID) designs, and manufactured devices. Specifically there are 13 technologies: manufactured devices (infiltration device, filtration device, manhole retrofits, etc), a sand filter, a bioretention system, a gravel wetland, porous asphalt, a tree filter, a detention pond, and a swale. The Center tests each of these systems for their ability to not only effectively reduce peak flows, but also to improve many water quality constituents (sediment, nutrients, metals, hydrocarbons, and/or microorganisms).

(Estimated time 3.5 hours) – Leader Chris Feurt, Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve & Julianna Barrett, CT NEMO & CT Sea Grant

Visit the Wells NERR Website | View Trail Map | Read history of the Laudholm Farm

Travel to the picturesque Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve at Laudholm Farm for a habitat conservation walk and talk. Laudholm farm is a historic saltwater farm in Wells Maine that dates back to 1643 and is on the National Register of Historic places. When the farm ceased operations in the late 70s a group of citizens banned together to preserve the property. Today the farm is home to the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, which works to expand knowledge about coasts and estuaries, engage people in environmental learning, and involve communities in conserving natural resources, all with a goal of protecting and restoring coastal ecosystems around the Gulf of Maine.

The walk/talk will meander from the uplands to the sea and will focus on wildlife and habitat conservation on the Research Reserve and in nearby coastal communities.