Community and Summer Programming
COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING
Trust in Education isn’t just for kids though! We also host senior, adult, family, and other community programs throughout the year. These programs could be guided nature walks, evening presentations, or other fun experiential outings. You can find us visiting the Atria, collaborating with other community groups, and hosting fundraisers. Our biggest annual fundraiser each year is Trust Trail Fest! Did you know each time you run in our 5K, 10K, or 1/2 marathon you’re supporting environmental education in our community? Click here to check out more information!
Summer Camps
We are excited to partner with Kennebunkport Parks and Recreation for the summer of 2023 for camp programming. Throughout the summer, campers enrolled in the Kennebunkport Parks and Recreation program will be brought to KCT properties for various nature-based activities. Campers can expect to explore our trails, spend time on the water, and learn about local flora, fauna, and history. Registration is conducted through Kennebunkport Parks and Recreation. To sign up for the K-6th grade day camp, please click here. To sign up for the Outdoor Adventures Teen Summer camp, click here.
Archaeology in Cape Porpoise
Cape Porpoise Archaeological Alliance: The Cape Porpoise Archaeological Partnership is an alliance between the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust and the Brick Store Museum. Its purpose is to conduct archaeological study of the islands in Cape Porpoise harbor located just off the coast of Kennebunkport, Maine. Evidence suggests that Historic and Pre-Historic Period archaeological sites are present. Sea level rise due to global climate change, however, is causing shoreline erosion damaging or potentially destroying these locations. Important information of past cultures is being lost before study can begin. This is why the Trust, which owns and manages these islands, supports archaeological research. An example of this erosion can be found less than five miles southwest of Stage Island at what was previously Strawberry Island. In the 1940’s, Strawberry Island was home to a working farm with farmhouse and barn. Today it is a pile of rocks completely submerged at high tide. Global sea level rise is increasing at a rate of 0.14 inches per year. This gradual increase equates to greater storm surges and conditions will worsen. Without prompt action, important information about this little-known period of history; contact between pre-Europeans and Europeans will be lost forever.
Digging for History: The Kennebunkport Conservation Trust began its archaeological search on the islands of Cape Porpoise, Maine. The first European fishermen travelled these islands in the early 17th century, using them as their summertime home base to harvest the rich fisheries in the Gulf of Maine. They would cure their catch on fish "stages" before packing it aboard their ships for the long journey home. Stage Island and Stage Harbor derived their name as a result of this process. Eventually, explorers braved the winter and in that time a new Maine village was born.
Discoveries on the islands over the past several years indicate that there is even a far deeper story to tell than this. Native American stone tools found on the islands show that they too had come to this place to harvest the sea long before its European discover. Indeed, that figure could well be over 2000 years ago. In 2019, CPAA discovered the oldest, and only pre-European contact, dug out canoe found in Maine, dating 700-800 years old.
Contact Chief Archaeologist Tim Spahr via email at timspahr.cpaa@gmail.com