Hunter safety course, sponsored by Fairfield VFW Post 6924, 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday and 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Call Don Perrine at 660-6382 to register. 

The Stanton Bird Club will host “Tracking the Stonewalls of the Forest” at the Thorncrag Nature Sanctuary on Montello St. in Lewiston from 1:30-3:30 p.m. March 6. Naturalist Susan Hayward will lead the event, which provides the opportunity to both snowshoe through the sanctuary along the stonewalls and find and identify the tracks left in the late winter snow by animals that use the stonewalls for shelter. This event is free and open to the public. Meet at the Thorncrag Parking. For directions and a map of Thorncrag, visit the website: www.stantonbirdclub.org. For more information, call 784-8307. 

Guided snowshoe hike at Rines Forest in Cumberland, March 6 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tours will be given by Jay Braunsheidel and Sally Stockwell, director of Conservation at Maine Audubon. Children can take part in a scavenger hunt through the woods and receive Maine animal tracks pocket guides to discover who lives in the forest. Free hot cocoa and snacks. Some snowshoes will be available, courtesy of Eastern Mountain Sports. The event will be hosted by the Chebeague & Cumberland Land Trust. Go to www.ccltmaine.org for more information. 

Looking ahead

Tom Jamrog will present photos, video clips and gear from his 2010 2,656 mile hike through California, Oregon and Washington at 8:30 p.m. March 10 at Lincolnville Central School. For more information, call 763-3406.

Wilderness Lost, Wilderness Regained. On March 17 from 7 to 8:30 p.m., Robert Kimber, author of “A Canoeist’s Sketchbook”; “Upcountry”; “Living Wild”; and “Domestic: The Education of a Hunter-Gardener,” will read from his essays on subjects as various as dogs, black flies, brook trout and wilderness, dwelling not so much on what we have lost in the natural world but on saving, celebrating and enjoying what we still have. The event is at Ladd Recreation Center in Wayne. 

Technology and Sense of Place. On March 24 from 7 to 8:30 p.m., Jane Brox, author of “Here and Nowhere Else”; “Clearing Land”; “Five Thousand Days Like This One”; and “Brilliant: The Evolution of Artificial Light,” will read from her most recent work, “Brilliant,” and talk about the way changes in technology change people’s sense of place. She’ll speak about the transformation of the American countryside in the 20th century as rural electrification transformed life on the farm as well as the way rural people saw themselves and their place in the world. The event is at Ladd Recreation Center in Wayne. 

Introduction to winter camping, March 11-13, Hidden Valley Nature Center in Jefferson. Participants will receive a detailed gear list before the class. It will start on Friday with snowshoeing or skiing into the yurt, a comfortable, warm winter shelter with a woodstove; Saturday and Sunday will be spent mostly outside. Topics include trip planning, clothing, safety, travel, shelter and food. Cost is $125 for HVNC supporters, $150 for all others. Register with David Butler at www.canoemaine.com or by calling (877) 632-2663. 

The Waterville/Winslow Chapter of Ducks Unlimited will hold its annual fundraising banquet March 12 at the Winslow VFW. The event includes dinner, a live auction, a silent auction, various raffles and games. Reservations are required. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. For more information, contact Casey Carey at 441-0397. 

Summer Children’s Camp Fair, March 20 from 1 to 4 p.m. at East End School Gymnasium, 195 North St., Portland. Free admission. Meet camp staff, explore summer experiences for ages tots to teens. It’s the only camp fair in southern Maine this year. For information, go to www.mainecamps.org or call 518-9557. 

Maine Guide Training Program, Skowhegan Community Center, 39 Poulin Drive, Skowhegan, April 14, 15, 16 and 17. The course prepares students for taking the state’s licensing exam for recreational, hunting and fishing guides. The cost is $475 per person, and $200 deposit is required upon registration. For more information or to register, contact Carroll Ware at Fins and Furs Adventures at 474-5430.

Ongoing

Walk-On Adventures, L.L.Bean, Freeport. Snowshoeing, 9:30 a.m. to noon, and cross-country skiing, 1 to 3 p.m., every Saturday and Sunday through March, conditions permitting. Equipment provided. $15. Call (877) 755-2326 or stop by the information desk in the Discovery Lobby. 

Portland Trails Winter Walks, Riverton Trolley Park, Saturday; Presumpscot River Trail, March 19. Register by e-mailing info@trails.org or calling 775-2411. Portland Trails has snowshoes available (free for members, $5/non-members) that can be reserved. For more information, go to www.trails.org. 

The Portland Water District invites preschoolers to join it for environmentally themed stories, activities and crafts. Sessions include: Plants and Their Parts, March 18; Fun with Frogs, April 15. Programs run 10 a.m. to noon at the Sebago Lake Ecology Center in Standish. To register, e-mail sebagolake@pwd.org or call 774-5961, ext. 3319 or 3320. Donation supports loon preservation. Scholarships are available, and snacks are provided. 

Weekly Bird Walk, 8 a.m. Thursdays at Gilsland Farm, off Route One, Falmouth, $5 for Maine Audubon members, $8 for nonmembers. Bring binoculars and a field guide and meet in the visitor center parking lot. FMI: Call 781-2330, ext. 209. 

Snowshoeing at Inland Woods/Pine Ridge Trails in Waterville, 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays. Head lamps required. Meet at the trail head behind Inland Hospital, 200 Kennedy Memorial Drive. FMI: e-mail ewells@emh.org or call 861-3292. 

Bird Walks, 1 to 2 p.m. Wednesdays through March 9, George B. Dorr Museum of Natural History at College of the Atlantic, 105 Eden St., Bar Harbor. FMI: e-mail astunkel@coa.edu or call 288-5395. 

Tracking Walks, 10 to 11 a.m. Thursdays through March 10. Learn to identify tracks and signs of creatures. Meet at the George B. Dorr Museum of Natural History, College of the Atlantic, 105 Eden St., Bar Harbor. FMI: e-mail mdickinson@coa.edu or call 288-5395.

 

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