When I first moved to Maine back in 2008 I started working for the Portland Phoenix, an alternative newsweekly similar to the publication I had worked for back in Vermont. Unfortunately - as with much of the newspaper world - the recession hit the Phoenix hard. Within nine months I had lost my job.

I always have extremely clear memories of any event that turned out to be lifechanging. So it comes as no surprise that I remember every single detail of August 12, 2009, including the difficult conversation with the newspaper's higher ups, and my tearful call to my parents.

I also clearly remember certain moments in the days that followed. One of these is the moment I sat at my dining room table and called Tom Bradbury at the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust. Tom is a family friend, the Trust is always in need of help, and I was - for the first time in years - bored.

I had no idea how much that phone call would influence my life in the years that followed. That day marked the start of a mutually beneficial relationship between myself and my neighbors at the headquarters down the road. I marked merchandise, they gave me a place to hang out. I filed property paperwork, and they gave me a glass of wine when I couldn't afford any! I mowed the lawn at the lighthouse, they introduced me to some of my favorite people in town.

Maybe most importantly, the Trust asked me re-mark some of their trails, and I in turn rediscovered my love for the woods. So I was beyond excited to have a chance to write about these trails for my second column in the York County Coast Star, in hopes that more neighbors will discover them as they continue to spread throughout town.

You can read more, here.

Hey-Ya!

Living next door to the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust makes it a pretty easy spot to do some volunteer work. And because I'm lucky enough to have a job that allows me to spend two hours of my work week volunteering, I've spent a lot of time over the past year cleaning up around the lighthouse, scanning in old photos at the office, organizing filing cabinets, and helping with the trails. In truth, I usually spend more than my allotted two hours, and most Saturdays and Sundays can be spotted walking down the dirt road to the start of Jeremy's Trail, which along with Jenne's Loop, I recently re-marked for the Trust.

This video of the work I did may hover on the long side but please watch till the end to see why you must come check out the trails for yourself.

There's also the added bonus that you might run into me in the woods. And I will likely be dancing wildly to the bad 90's hiphop playing on my earbuds.

Just getting in touch with nature, kids.



Enjoy!