A nature walk will be held Saturday, June 9, in the Alexander-Harkins Preserve in New Auburn.

Land trust, bird club to host nature walk

AUBURN – All are invited to join the Androscoggin Land Trust and Stanton Bird Club from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, June 9, on a nature walk along the Alexander-Harkins Preserve in New Auburn It is a network of maintained trails meandering through woods, meadows, wetlands and a pond.

Those going should meet at 9 a.m. at Staples parking lot in Lewiston. For directions or more information, call Michael Auger, trust director of land protection and stewardship, at 782-2302.

Beyond the opportunity for neighborhood and community recreation available at the preserve, the combination of open fields and urban forest provides for a diversity of bird life.

Baltimore orioles, brown thrashers, warblers, thrushes and possibly hawks are among the variety of birds that may be seen. Auger will be on hand to answer questions about plants and trees, and Susan and Tom Hayward of the bird club will identify and discuss birds.

The 30-acre preserve was donated to the trust in 2000 by Joseph Harkins. The preserve is adjacent to Sherwood Heights School’s Sherwood Forest and is used by students for nature study and educational opportunities.

The Alexander-Harkins Preserve, Huston Farm conservation easements in New Auburn and the new Androscoggin River Preserve in Lewiston are part of the trust’s growing conservation and recreational contributions in Lewiston-Auburn in the land trust’s urban service area.

The trust conserves land in all directions around the urban core, as far north as Canton and Jay and south to Lisbon and Durham.

The trust is a membership-supported conservation organization dedicated to protecting the natural areas, traditional landscapes, and outdoor experience along the central Androscoggin River corridor. Visit www.androscogginlandtrust.org for more information.

The Stanton Bird Club is a conservation organization offering monthly natural history programs and field trips throughout the state free. Stanton welcomes new members whose dues help to support land stewardship at three sanctuaries owned and managed by the club in Lewiston and Monmouth. For more information, contact the club at 782-5238 or visit www.stantonbirdclub.org.