Friday, March 27, 2020

Local field trip options for parents

By Rachelle Curran Apse, Director of the Presumpscot Regional Land Trust

As a working parent of two young kids, adding homeschooling parent to my daily requirements (since schools closed March 16th) has been overwhelming to say the least. To keep our spirits up, get exercise, and decrease the cabin fever, I aim to bring the kids on a morning field trip to a local forested trail every sunny day to explore our fascinating local landscape.

Our first trip was to Nelson Preserve to walk the 1.5-mile loop trail on conserved land owned by the
Presumpscot Regional Land Trust, which is located next to 187 Flaggy Meadow Road in Gorham.
On our adventure we practiced our math through a scavenger hunt collecting different types of leaves and seeds. We explored the life sciences when listening to different bird songs and observing woodpecker holes. We ate tasty snacks, jumped off stumps, climbed on downed logs, and all felt much better about life by the end of our exploration. We are planning to head to Black Brook Preserve on Windham Center Road in Windham.

The Presumpscot Regional Land Trust has an interactive online map with all the walking and hiking trails in Gorham, Gray, Standish, Westbrook, and Windham plus downloadable maps for all 14 Land Trust trails and the Sebago to the Sea Trail (a 28-mile trail from Sebago Lake to Casco Bay). All of these trails are free and open to the public and families are welcome to explore the land. This is all possible thanks to the support by hundreds of Land Trust members and business partners. Go to www.prlt.org/preserves-trails to learn more. Happy adventuring.

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