KINGFIELD — The High Peaks Alliance is partnering with the Natural Resources Council of Maine to host a civic engagement event in Kingfield later this month, while also celebrating a major grant award and highlighting local conservation efforts and wildlife observations across the region.

The civic engagement gathering will be held Feb. 25 from 5-7 p.m. at Longfellow’s in Kingfield. The event, led by NRCM Regional Outreach Coordinator Olivia Ruhlin and co-sponsored by the High Peaks Alliance, will focus on helping residents develop practical skills to engage in public policy and advocate for conservation initiatives.

The discussion will emphasize the Land for Maine’s Future program and ways rural residents can influence decisions at the State House. NRCM Director of Engagement Amanda Laliberte is also expected to attend. Dinner will be provided, and space is limited.

The event is part of broader efforts by conservation groups to strengthen community involvement and awareness of environmental protection efforts across Maine’s High Peaks region.

The High Peaks Alliance recently received a $10,000 Movement Grant from the Quimby Family Foundation to support community programming, trail stewardship and outdoor access initiatives. The foundation awarded $710,000 statewide to 157 nonprofit applicants this year.

Executive Director Brent West said the grant will help expand programs that connect people with the region’s natural landscapes.

“Their support helps us sustain outreach and programming that invite people of all ages to experience nearby nature through movement, discovery and shared stewardship,” West said.

Last year, the organization led or participated in 45 outreach events throughout western Maine, including trail restoration, land protection projects and educational programming.

The alliance will host another public event March 27, Après with the High Peaks Alliance, at Sugarloaf’s Bill and Joan Alfond Competition Center, where West will provide updates on recent conservation efforts and future initiatives. The gathering will include refreshments and opportunities for residents to learn about outdoor recreation and land protection work.

The organization’s conservation efforts are supported in part by private donors such as Kay Gibson, who helped protect Gibson Preserve, a 165-acre conservation property in Searsmont with more than four miles of trails. Gibson, who first visited Maine as a child, said preserving land became part of her and her late husband Dana’s legacy.

“Gibson Preserve is protected forever,” she said. “I feel I have an obligation to share our story in the hope that others will consider the future and the best future use of the land they have loved and cherished.”

Gibson has also supported protection of the Perham Stream Birding Trail in western Maine, demonstrating how private conservation efforts contribute to preserving natural areas across the state.

Local wildlife observations continue to reflect the region’s ecological richness. Carson Hinkley, a seventh-generation resident of East Madrid and steward of the Perham Stream Birding Trail, documented dozens of bird species this winter, including evening grosbeaks, blue jays, chickadees and Canada jays.

Hinkley reported observing as many as 58 blue jays, 52 evening grosbeaks and multiple species of woodpeckers and nuthatches at feeders near his home. He also recorded visits from turkeys, ravens and red squirrels, underscoring the biodiversity present even during harsh winter conditions.

Such observations and conservation initiatives highlight ongoing efforts to preserve Maine’s High Peaks landscape while encouraging public involvement in protecting natural resources for future generations.

The next program in the High Peaks Alliance Naturalist Series is scheduled for March 11 at the Phillips Public Library, where participants will learn about phenology, the study of seasonal changes in Maine’s plants and animals.