The Kennebunk Land Trust invites people to support the trust while getting out on the trails and registering for the 50 x 50 Trail Challenge. In recognition of the trusts’ 50th year, participants raise $50 in donations to travel (walk, bike, run, stroll, etc.) 50 miles in 50 days on Kennebunk Land Trust trails, Kennebunk Plains, or local beaches.

All proceeds go to keep the trails open and accessible all year long.

Participants can register for themselves, or as a group for a sports team, family, workplace, and more. Participants can also register a pup to be a part of the challenge, or compete between neighbors and coworkers. Follow the leaderboards to see how much others have raised, and receive a Kennebunk Land Trust hat and swag bag once miles are completed.

Donations for participants can be raised from family, friends, and community using a payment link. Registration can happen anytime, as this event is open all year.

Participants are encouraged to build community through the event by sharing pictures and accomplishments using the hashtag #my50x50, and following the Kennebunk Land Trust Trail Challenge on Facebook.

For more information and to register, visit www.kennebunklandtrust.org.

Reception planned for Merry Hermans Poetry Corner

Kennebunk Free Library and the George Hermans Family invite the public to a reception celebrating the dedication of the Merry Hermans Poetry Corner at the library on Wednesday, June 29 from 1 to 3 p.m. Participants are encouraged to bring a favorite poem – original or otherwise – to share in Merry’s honor. Light refreshments will be served.

According to a May 26 news release from the library, “Merry Hermans brought her love of poetry to each day of her nearly 26 years of service at Kennebunk Free Library. In addition to matching numerous patrons with their perfect book of poetry, she also succeeded in her mission to make poetry lovers out of some reluctant staff members, posting a poem of the month in the staff break room.”

The Merry Hermans Poetry Corner is made possible by a donation from Merry’s family and will provide a reading and writing space for poets and aspiring poets in the community. The space will be stocked with stationary, notebooks, pens, and other supplies to help spark creativity.

For more information, call 207-985-2173 or email kfl@kennebunklibrary.org.

Mavor exhibition opens at Brick Store Museum

The Brick Store Museum’s new exhibition, “What a Relief: The Art of Salley Mavor” will open June 7.

According to a May 26 Brick Store Museum news release, “Award-winning artist Salley Mavor has spent four decades developing her signature style and working methods, carving out her own niche within the children’s book world and the fiber art community. Her work ranges from three-dimensional sculptural illustrations to satirical political commentary in stop-motion videos.”

The exhibition at the museum is the first retrospective of Salley’s lifetime of work. The exhibition will run through Sept. 11.

Visitors to the exhibition can expect to find four galleries of Salley’s work ranging across 40 years of her career in sculptural needlework. Salley has illustrated 11 picture books, including “Pocketful of Posies” and most recently, “My Bed: Enchanting Ways to Fall Asleep Around the World in 2020.”

Mavor will visit the museum on June 25 for a book signing and opening celebration during the museum’s Dessert Bazaar.

The Brick Store Museum is open six days per week, closed only Mondays. For more information, visit www.brickstoremuseum.org. Admission is $5 per person and free for museum members.

Ham radio demonstration set for June 25-26

The New England Radio Discussion Society will demonstrate emergency communications during the national Amateur Radio Field Day exercise June 25-26 on the south yard of The New School in Kennebunk.

Since 1933, amateur radio operators have established temporary amateur radio stations in public locations during Field Day to showcase the science and skill of Amateur Radio. Organizers say that Field Day is the most popular on-the-air event in the U.S. and Canada. Over 40,000 radio amateurs gather outdoors to simulate emergency conditions using a variety of antennas, transceivers and power sources.

Visitors will have a chance to meet and talk with local ham radio operators and see what the Amateur Radio Service is about. For the public’s protection and the safety of radio equipment operators, organizers request that patrons follow current Maine CDC COVID-19 protocols.

For more information, call Alex Mendelsohn at 207-967-8812.

Kennebunk Savings starts solar project in Wells

Kennebunk Savings has embarked on a solar project adjacent to its Wells location on Sanford Road.

The bank is working with ReVision Energy to install a 288-panel ground-mounted solar array in an effort to reduce its carbon footprint. The solar array will be located behind its Wells branch where a vacant office building now sits. The array will occupy a space roughly the size of a football field and will generate nearly 160,000 kilowatt hours, enough energy to power four of the bank’s branches.

The project began May 9 with permanent closure of Brook Lane, the right of way maintained by the bank that runs from Stephen Eaton Lane, through the Bank’s parking lot to Sanford Road (route 109). Demolition of the 30-year-old building on the property will make way for the array.

“We’re incredibly excited to see this project come to fruition,” said Dennis Byrd, Kennebunk Savings’ chief operating officer, in an email. “We want to make best use of land while being responsible corporate citizens and neighbors. This solar array will have an annual CO2 offset of 168,806 lbs. That’s equivalent to 8,613 gallons of gasoline not burned or 16 cars removed from the road. Seeing the potential environmental impact, we’re now evaluating other opportunities to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.”

The solar project is all part of Kennebunk Savings’ broader environmental goals. For the past year, the bank has been participating in the University of New Hampshire’s Carbon Clinic which pairs students with area businesses and nonprofits to perform a comprehensive carbon footprint analysis and provide guidance on how to achieve carbon neutrality.

According to a Kennebunk Savings news release, “The environment is one of five focus areas of its corporate giving program. The bank is a longtime supporter of land trusts and regularly funds land conservation, preserving natural spaces for generations to enjoy. Last year, it launched its tree initiative. It gave away nearly 1,875 white pine saplings to customers and planted more than 125 trees in Kennebunk and Sanford and plans to do another planting this fall.”

An aerial view of the planned location of a solar array adjacent to Kennebunk Savings’ branch on Sanford Road in Wells. The blue rows mark the areas where the ground-mounted solar panels will sit.

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