AREA — From June through October, Lakes Environmental Association, Loon Echo Land Trust, Greater Lovell Land Trust, Upper Saco Valley Land Trust, and Western Foothills Land Trust will host the Trekking through Time Series.

Once a month throughout the summer and early fall, each organization will host a historical tour of one of its conservation properties. In collaboration with local historical societies, this series provides an opportunity for the public to learn more about the rich history of western Maine and the Mount Washington Valley, as well as the organizations protecting the land that holds these stories.

• Wednesday, June 26, from 9 a.m.to noon – The Lakes Environmental Association and the Bridgton Historical Society will bring Bridgton’s manufacturing past to life as they follow the Stevens Brook Trail and view the remnants of former mill sites. Meet at the Bridgton Historical Society, 5 Gibbs Ave., Bridgton.

• Thursday, July 18, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – Greater Lovell Land Trust will lead the way and share the story of families who farmed along the Heritage Trail at Heald and Bradley Ponds Reserve. Discover stone foundations, walls, an old road, and a mystery structure. Meet at the Flat Hill parking lot at Heald and Bradley Ponds Reserve, at the far end of Heald Pond Road off of Slab City Road in Lovell.

• Saturday, Aug. 31 from 9 a.m. to noon – Upper Saco Valley Land Trust will lead an exploration of its Leita Monroe Lucas preserve in collaboration with the Chatham Historical Society. Located on the Conway/Chatham border, this property was donated to USVLT in 2012 by Barrett Lucas in honor of his wife, the late Leita Monroe Lucas. This 62-acre property was once the home site of American Impressionist painters Thomas Wilmer Dewing and Maria Oakey Dewing. Learn more about this couple, their works, and the land they inhabited. Meet at the Leita Monroe Lucas Preserve on Green Hill Road in Conway, just south of the Chatham town line.

• Saturday, Sept. 7, from 10 a.m. to noon – Western Foothills Land Trust will convene in the warming hut at Roberts Farm Preserve to pore over census records, maps, and photos of the historic farm. Finish with a pleasant walk on the trails tracing the remnants of orchards and defining stone walls. Roberts Farm Preserve is located at 64 Roberts Road in Norway.

• Saturday, Oct. 5, from 10 a.m. to noon – Loon Echo Land Trust will lead a unique tour of one of Bridgton’s most important cultural resources, the site of the former Peabody-Fitch Farm. Once having the distinction of being the highest cultivated land in Cumberland County, a diverse forest now fills the old pastures and meadows. Efforts are underway by LELT to conserve the 252-acre “Peabody-Fitch Woods,” which surrounds the Bridgton Historical Society’s Narramissic Farm, a wonderful museum set on the eve of the Civil War. Meet at Narramissic Farm at the end of Narramissic Road off Ingalls Road in South Bridgton; the tour will set out from there.

For information on these organizations and the Trekking through Time Series, visit their websites: Lakes Environmental Organization at www.mainelakes.org, Loon Echo Land Trust at www.loonecholandtrust.org, Greater Lovell Land Trust at www.gllt.org, Upper Saco Valley Land Trust at www.usvlt.org, and Western Foothills Land Trust at www.wfltmaine.org.

The Upper Saco Valley Land Trust is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Its motto is “Preserving Land for Community Benefit.” It has completed 69 conservation projects since 2001, totaling over 12,000 acres throughout the towns of Hart’s Location, Bartlett, Jackson, Albany, Chatham, Conway, Eaton and Madison in New Hampshire; and Brownfield, Denmark and Fryeburg in Maine. Learn more about the Trust by calling (603) 356-9683, or visit www.usvlt.org.

Western Foothills Land Trust, 32 years old, protects more than 7000 acres of land and manages 30 miles of trails in the greater Oxford Hills area of western Maine. For information, call 739-2124, or visit www.wfltmaine.org.