Join Sue and Bob Pinette for a guided tour of the blueberry barrens of Crystal Spring Farm. The tour will consider the unique plants, soil type, and creatures that call this area home.
The Crystal Spring Farm blueberry barren is a unique habitat and is a product of geologic history and human actions. The sand and gravel deposited by melting glaciers at the end of the last ice age provides a level, well-drained base that acidic plants love. Both Native Americans and European settlers used fire deliberately as a way to maintain the area as grassland and promote blueberry production. If you want to learn more about this unique habitat check out this resource.
The Land Trust owns only a portion of the sandplain. Adjacent privately-owned land is managed for commercial blueberry production. Please respect boundary markers and stay off adjacent agricultural land.
Bob is a Fort Kent native who studied botany and mycology at Iowa State University. He returned to his Aroostook County roots, serving as a biology professor at The University of Maine at Presque Isle for 33 years. His research focused on the diversity of fungi in northern Maine. Bob and Sue retired to Brunswick seven years ago. Sue is a BTLT Stewardship Committee member with training in horticulture and a special interest in the Midcoast’s native plants. They are both members of BTLT’s Stewardship Committee.
The walk should take 1hr. We suggest wearing sturdy shoes and bringing water, sunscreen and a hat.
The blueberry barren can be accessed from Pleasant Hill Road in Brunswick across from the road from the farm field that the Tom Settlemire Community Garden is in. Parking can be done along the road next to the gate to access the blueberry barren, or in the farm lane about 300 yards “up” the road towards the farm house, along the tree line. Cones will mark the parking areas.
The BTLT Stewardship Tour Series seeks to introduce the community to land conservation, stewardship, and history by offering guided walks with the Land Trust’s incredible Stewardship Team!
Bookings
Bookings are closed for this event.
