KITTERY

Septemberfest will bring activities to Trading Post

Kittery Trading Post will hold its annual Septemberfest, with educational and special interest activities from Monday through next Sunday.

Special guests will include Larry Weishuhn, a respected wildlife biologist and host of the show “Winchester World of Whitetail” on the Versus channel, 13-year-old hunting phenom Zac Cooper and Jonathan Wood of the Raptor Project.

A variety of product-related instructional seminars, demos, exhibits and samplings will also be presented, and there will be an outdoor pool for test-paddling kayaks.

For a schedule of Septemberfest events, go online to ktpevents.com or call Kittery Trading Post at 888-587-6246.

AUGUSTA

Viles Arboretum event to celebrate chestnut tree

The Viles Arboretum, celebrating trees and everything that lives in, on, under and around them, will play host to a field excursion from 2 to 4 p.m. Sept. 12, that will focus on the American chestnut.

Participants will learn about this fascinating tree, about the blight that nearly drove it to extinction and about efforts to restore this tree to its proper place in the forests of the Northeast.

Eric Evans and other members of the American Chestnut Society will be present to help protect selected chestnut burrs and the seeds they contain for replanting.

Blacksmith Jeff Miller of Flintlock Forge in Waldoboro will be working at his forge amid the chestnuts, as in Longfellow’s famous poem, “The Village Blacksmith,” which will be read during the event.

Admission to this celebration of the American chestnut is free. Donations in support of the work of restoring the chestnut and sustaining the arboretum’s chestnut plantation — an important source of pure chestnut genes — will be encouraged.

The arboretum is at 153 Hospital St., in the heart of Augusta.

Call 626-7989 for more information.

CUSHING

Pleasant Point outing to explore moss and lichen

The Georges River Land Trust will offer a moss and lichen walk on from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday at the Pleasant Point Nature Preserve in Cushing.

Botanist Fred Olday will introduce participants to the moss and lichen characteristic of Maine’s coastal spruce-fir forests. Participants are asked to bring a hand lens and to wear clothing and footwear suitable for walking in the woods.

The Pleasant Point Nature Preserve, owned and managed by the Georges River Land Trust, is a 65-acre property acquired by the land trust in 2008. It was donated by a group of 25 local residents who had worked for a dozen years to purchase and protect this area of mixed woodland and wetland on the Cushing peninsula.

This event will take place rain or shine.

For more information and directions, call 594-5166.

POWNAL

Extension service offers Bradbury Mountain tour

University of Maine Cooperative Extension offers a tour of Bradbury Mountain State Park from 10 a.m. to noon Sept. 17.

Dave Metzler, Bradbury Mountain’s environmental educator, will lead the tour. He will focus on the history of the park, including ecology, conservation, and human and natural impact.

This event is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is requested. Please call the UMaine Extension office at 800-287-147 or 780-4205 before Sept. 13.

NEW GLOUCESTER

Trail races at Pineland to benefit African students

A half-marathon and 5K trail race will be held on Sept. 19 at Pineland Farms to help provide educational opportunity for orphaned students in Malawi.

The races begin at 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. across from the market on Farm View Street and wind through the fields and woods.

Register at www.mainerun.com or at www.littlefieldhome.org, or on the day of the race from 6 to 7:30 a.m.

For more information, call Janet Littlefield at 890-8205 or e-mail janet@littlefieldhome.org.

PORTLAND

‘Trail to Ale’ race/walk will follow paths in city

Portland Trails is gearing up for its 11th annual 10-kilometer “Trail to Ale” race/walk to be held on Sept. 19.

The off-road race allows beautiful views of Casco Bay as runners enjoy the Eastern Prom and Back Cove trails.

Participants are treated to a post-race party sponsored by Shipyard Brewing Company, Whole Foods Market and Portland Pie Company, where runners and walkers will enjoy pizza, beer, music and an awards ceremony.

The “Trail to Ale” has grown over the past 10 years and now draws hundreds of runners from outside of Portland.

The race begins at 9 a.m. near the beginning of the Eastern Promenade Trail and wraps up at East End Beach. Participants can catch a fun ride back to the post-race festivities courtesy of the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad. The post-race party begins at the Portland Company at 11 a.m.

Registration is available online at www.trails.org.

JEFFERSON

Mountain bikers follow trails at Hidden Valley

The trails at Hidden Valley Nature Center are becoming popular with mountain bikers.

The trails provide a variety of terrain and challenges. A suggested donation of $5 helps to maintain the trails.

Cabins are available for overnight stays.

Hidden Valley Nature Center is a nonprofit organization with 800 acres of diverse habitat, miles of trails and a range of low-impact sustainable forestry projects. It is dedicated to providing nature-based educational and recreational opportunities throughout the year.

Check the website, www.hvnc.org, or call 586-6752 for more information.

FARMINGTON

Fall tour will celebrate bicycling and agriculture

The Tour de Farmington, a bike tour of farms in western Maine, will take place on Oct. 10.

Celebrating local agriculture and promoting alternative modes of transportation, the tour offers cyclists a choice of two routes.

The 19-mile route is centered in the Wilton area with scenic views of the region’s forested foothills punctuated by open fields and small villages. Farms on the tour will feature hoop greenhouses, fresh produce, apple orchards, alpacas and other livestock.

The 70-mile route takes cyclists north of Farmington to the western mountains’ foothills, with hillier terrain and views of the Sandy River and Longfellow Mountain range. Along the way there will be a cheesemaking operation, a diversified vegetable farm, a bakery, farm kitchens and livestock.

Both routes will start and finish in downtown Farmington.

A local foods lunch, water and snacks will be provided. The day will conclude with a live bluegrass performance and a burrito BBQ.

Costs are $30 (adult) 19-mile tour; $15 (youths 15 and under) 19-mile tour; $65 (adults only) 70-mile tour (includes lunch and burrito BBQ); $10 Burrito BBQ dinner ticket only.

Pre-registration is required by Sept 28.

For more information, visit www.westernmountainsalliance.org or call 778-3885.