FAYETTE — Anna Hodgkins is heading back to the University of Maine in a couple of weeks to continue her studies in biology as a sophomore, but she’s leaving a piece of work behind at the Kennebec Land Trust that will be considered by board members in the months to come.

As one of three land trust summer interns, the Hallowell resident took on trail work, office work and a research project.

Hodgkins dug into the history of the 113-acre Wakefield Wildlife Sanctuary, the West Gardiner property along the Cobbosseecontee Stream bequeathed earlier this year to the land trust by Kendra Shaw.

The land trust is now deliberating whether it will accept the bequest, in part because it requires the maintenance of cabins on the property for a certain period of time.

Theresa Kerchner, the Kennebec Land Trust’s executive director, said the board has a committee looking into it.

Hodgkins’ efforts were among those recognized at the Kennebec Land Trust’s 28th annual meeting that drew about 85 members Sunday following a morning of activities at Camp Winnebago in Fayette, where the meeting has been held for five years.

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Among the trust’s accomplishments during the year is the completion of the donation of the 164-acre Howard Hill property to the city of Augusta with an endowment.

“I started sleeping a lot better as soon as that was over,” board President Mary Denison said.

Along with fundraising activities and the expansion of trails, Denison said the Kennebec Land Trust is also currently seeking accreditation through the Land Trust Alliance.

Accreditation, a demanding process, means that a land trust organization is meeting specific standards for land conservation and that the organization is worthy of public trust.

For her project, Hodgkins dug into historic property and agriculture to get an idea of what happened on the land over the past two centuries or so.

She found that the property remained in the same family since about 1828. It was worked as a farm over successive generations until the early part of the 20th century when the family breadwinners went to work off the farm.

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“The family and agricultural history are tied together,” Hodgkins said.

Jessica Lowell can be contacted at 621-5632 or at:

jlowell@centralmaine.com

Twitter: JLowellKJ


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