Like everyone else, we here at BoomerTECH Adventures are enjoying the longer days, later sunsets, warmer weather and May flowers. It’s not just the bees busily buzzing around the azalea, crocuses and daffodils, there’s a plethora of spring activities and resources being sponsored by many local, state and national organizations to engage us in the coming weeks. And of course, they can be found online, so you can fill in your calendars ahead of time!
Several local garden clubs have their annual plant sales coming up. The Bath Garden Club ‘s (bathgardenclub.org) plant sale is from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 11, at Library Park. The proceeds support the club’s many civic and educational projects, which you can learn more about on its website. The Topsham Garden Club (topshamgardenclub.com) will have their spring plant sale on June 8 at the Topsham Town Hall. There are many active garden clubs throughout Maine. See if there’s one near you by visiting the Garden Club Federation of Maine’s website at mainegardenclubs.org/garden-club-directory/.
Another group of organizations with busy spring schedules are the local land trusts. The warmer weather brings both visitors and volunteers out to enjoy the natural beauty of conserved land managed in cooperation with willing land owners. The Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust has several activities in May, including a community garden volunteer workday, spring birding walks and opportunities to socialize while supporting local businesses who are donating proceeds to the land trust. For more information, visit btlt.org.
The Kennebec Estuary Land Trust (kennebecestuary.org) is sponsoring a number of springtime activities, such as a salamander walk this Friday, several bird walks, a local garden work day and more. KELT is also holding its online auction with bidding until May 12. Check it out at kennebecestuary.org/auction. To see all of Maine’s 80 land trusts, check out the Maine Land Trust Network at mltn.org.
Let’s not forget the local farmers markets. Some will be returning after the winter off while others are moving back outdoors into the sunshine. The Bath farmers market is on Saturday mornings (bathfarmersmarket.com). The downtown Brunswick farmers market is on Tuesdays and Fridays (brunswickfarmersmarket.com). Brunswick also has another farmers market at Crystal Springs Farm on Saturday mornings sponsored by the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust (btlt.org/farmers-market/). There are several others in the area. Did you know there are farmers markets open every day of the week in Maine? To find them all go, to the Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets website at mainefarmersmarkets.org.
Finally, there are some excellent educational resources to help with springtime topics, such as gardening, farming, landscaping, pest control and invasive species. The Cooperative Extension at the University of Maine (extension.umaine.edu) is literally a one-stop statewide treasure trove of information, research, advice, news and events for all things related to gardening, agriculture, food systems and more. The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association has a full calendar of spring events, including workshops on invasive species, beekeeping, seedling sales, spring migration and much more. Its full calendar of events can be found at mofga.org/event-calendar/.
So check your devices, get outside and enjoy springtime in Maine!
BoomerTECH Adventures (boomertechadventures.com) helps boomers and older adults navigate the digital world with confidence and competence. Active boomers themselves, they use their backgrounds as teachers to support individuals and groups with online courses, articles, videos and presentations to organizations upon request.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Comments are no longer available on this story