South Portland Land Trust will host a weekend full of activities honoring Earth Day, with its signature citywide Earth Day Cleanup happening on Saturday, April 22. The rain date is Sunday, April 23.

The land trust has hosted the event for 30 years, bringing community members together and cleaning up the city’s open spaces, parks, and trails. This year’s clean-up features two check in locations: Mill Creek Park and the South Branch trailhead. The sites are available for volunteers to check in and collect supplies provided by the land trust, then head to various locations across the city to clean up.

Preregistration is strongly encouraged so that the trust can keep volunteers updated in the event of inclement weather. To preregister for the cleanup, visit southportlandlandtrust.org/EarthDay2023.

Groups and organizations are welcome to participate in Saturday’s event or organize their own Earth Day cleanup with assistance from South Portland Land Trust. Contact Dana Bettez at dana@sopolandtrust.org so that the land trust can help find a site, offer guidance, and document the clean-up.

In addition to the annual cleanup, South Portland Land Trust has organized a number of other weekend events:

Saturday, April 22, Annual Earth Day Cleanup, 9 a.m.: Take part in the South Portland Land Trust’s annual Earth Day Cleanup with check-in locations in the east and west parts of the city. Preregistration is encouraged.

Saturday, April 22, Trout Brook Stream Walk, 2 p.m.: Take an informational walk along Trout Brook with the land trust and Fred Dillon, City of South Portland Storm Water Coordinator. Learn about recent restoration work done in the preserve. Preregistration is encouraged. The event is free for all.

Sunday, April 23, Dow’s Woods Nature Walk, 10 a.m.: Close out Earth Day weekend with a nature walk led by Kelly Corbin, ecological landscape consultant and owner of Living Landscapes Maine. Corbin’s specialty is native plants, and the walk will take about 1.5 hours to meander through Dow’s Woods and take a look at all the preserve has to offer.

Sunday, April 23, Fruit Tree Pick-up: Courtesy of SoPo Trees, land trust members can receive up to eight fruit trees for free after a fruit tree grafting class held at the South Portland Community Center. Trees are not full-sized and certain varieties cannot be requested at this time. Land trust members are encouraged to email dana@sopolandtrust.org to reserve trees.

Additionally, the land trust is hosting an online photo contest all weekend long, with prizes from local businesses and organizations including Red’s Dairy Freeze, Children’s Museum and Theater of Maine, yoga instructor Susannah Sanfilippo, Maine the Way, Broadway Gardens, and Mind Your Mouth Maine.

Tag @sopolandtrust on Instagram or Facebook for a chance to win. Photo categories will be announced on social media prior to Earth Day.

“Our annual Earth Day Cleanup is a wonderful way to give back to the community by helping clean up the green spaces we all love to visit and enjoy,” said Dana Bettez, South Portland Land Trust’s membership and engagement manager, in email. “And of course, after a long winter, there’s nothing like getting out onto the trails. We hope that the community enjoys our two walks this Earth Day weekend–Trout Brook Trail’s Stream Walk and our Dow’s Woods Trail Nature Walk. We are so grateful to work with Fred Dillon and Kelly Corbin to offer these educational activities.”

For more information and register for thee events, visit southportlandlandtrust.org/upcoming-events.

South Portland Alumni Network is launched

South Portland High School is forming its first official Alumni Network.

“The SPHS Alumni Network, according to a news release, “will allow school staff to more effectively reach out to alumni when there are teachers at school looking for alumni speakers or connections. South Portland High School is enhancing its career exploration and workforce development programming and are always looking for alumni who are willing to share their career and life experiences with students. The SPHS Alumni Network will also help to provide meaningful ways to connect with alumni to share the good news and updates about what’s going on in the South Portland schools.”

On April 6, alumni were invited to return to South Portland High School to tour the school to see the changes in the building. The Community Partnerships Department for the South Portland Schools consisting of Gretchen McCloy and Bryna Latham hosted the event. They can be reached at South Portland High School at 207-767-3266 x3432 or via email at mccloygr@spsdme.org and lathambr@spsdme.org.

“We know there are lots of different SPHS alumni groups out there who gather for reunions, and for events from time to time,” said McCloy, director of community partnerships for South Portland Schools, in an email. “We are pleased to create a space for alumni from all generations to come together and reconnect with our schools. There are a lot of milestones coming up this year as we move into our new South Portland Middle School and are looking forward to engaging alumni with some of the upcoming events. We are also welcoming alumni to be part of an Alumni Network Advisory Group to help us shape what this group evolves into, as well as an Alumni Historical Advisors Group to help us create a timeline of major events in our schools histories. Looking forward to meeting more SPHS alumni and hearing their stories.”

There are more South Portland High School Alumni events happening this spring, so even if alumni weren’t able to attend on April 6, they are encouraged to sign up to be included in future events.

For more information, visit https://sites.google.com/spsdme.org/community-partnerships/alumni-network.

Peoples United Methodist Church hosts bean supper

Peoples United Methodist Church will host a baked bean supper on Saturday, April 15, from 5 to 6 p.m. Peoples United Methodist Church is located at 310 Broadway in South Portland.

The menu will include homemade baked beans, hot dogs, salads, homemade casseroles and pies. The cost is $10 per person,
$8 for ages 3-12. For more information, call 207-799-3416.

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