Upcoming Events
Upcoming scheduled events
Royal River Conservation Trust (RRCT) sponsors numerous events throughout the year from four annual cornerstone events like the Pisgah Hill Preserve Full Moon Trek to regular Get Out! Nature Walks and special one-time opportunities. Please join us.
Wednesday, March 26, 2025 | 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Location: Spear Farm Estuary Preserve, 445 Bayview Street, Yarmouth
Curriculum: Join us to search for signs of life after a long period of dormancy and hibernation. Before the trees leaf out and the understory grows up, we may also spot lingering signs of the past year such as bird's nests. This time of year there are changes almost daily as the days lengthen and warm. Be prepared for muddy trails with good boots and maybe poles, and it is not too soon to be mindful of ticks.
Naturalist: Karen Massey
Get Out! Nature Walks are volunteer-led regular trips with trained master naturalists. Join us for a well-planned, no-cost, guided adventure. Monthly on the fourth Wednesday; always free; rain, snow, or shine. Jointly offered by both RRCT and the Chebeague and Cumberland Land Trust, the walks take place at preserves in the towns of Chebeague Island, Cumberland, Yarmouth, North Yarmouth, Pownal, New Gloucester, and Durham. Our curriculum is targeted at adults and engaged youth. Because the purpose is nature observation, we ask that dogs do not join us. Email CCLT with any questions.
*Photography and Filming Note: Your attendance at RRCT events may be photographed or filmed and your attendance indicates consent to have any images or footage featuring you at the event to be used for RRCT-related materials and outreach. Should images or footage appear in marketing materials that you don’t wish to be featured in, you must notify RRCT at Info@RRCT.org and RRCT will cease to further use your image or footage for any new materials going forward.
April 23, 2025 | 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Location: Riverfront Woods Preserve, Yarmouth
Curriculum: Explore the magic of vernal pools—temporary bodies of water in the woods that provide critical habitat for a wealth of amphibian life. We will get a close-up look at egg masses and other evidence of frogs and salamanders.
Naturalist: Beth Sturtevant
Get Out! Nature Walks
These Get Out! Nature Walks are volunteer-led regular trips with trained master naturalists. Join us for a well-planned, no-cost, guided adventure. Monthly on the fourth Wednesday; always free; rain, snow, or shine. Jointly offered by both RRCT and the Chebeague and Cumberland Land Trust, the walks take place at preserves in the towns of Chebeague Island, Cumberland, Yarmouth, North Yarmouth, Pownal, New Gloucester, and Durham. Our curriculum is targeted at adults and engaged youth. Because the purpose is nature observation, we ask that dogs do not join us. Email CCLT with any questions.
*Photography and Filming Note: Your attendance at RRCT events may be photographed or filmed and your attendance indicates consent to have any images or footage featuring you at the event to be used for RRCT-related materials and outreach. Should images or footage appear in marketing materials that you don’t wish to be featured in, you must notify RRCT at Info@RRCT.org and RRCT will cease to further use your image or footage for any new materials going forward.
Help Build a New Trail on the Royal River!
📍 Location: New Gloucester, Maine. Address will be provided to registrants. (Parking lot and road shoulder parking available)
📅 Date: Saturday, May 3 (Rain Date: Sunday, May 4)
🛠 Hosted by: AMC Maine Chapter Trail Committee & Royal River Conservation Trust
Join us for a hands-on Trail Skills Workshop this spring as we help establish a brand-new 1.5-mile primitive loop trail on RRCT's recently conserved 150-acre property along the Royal River in New Gloucester! This exciting project, in partnership with the AMC Maine Chapter, will provide public hiking and fishing access once complete.
Choose Your Session:
📅 Three options available:
• Morning Session: 10:00 am to 12 pm
• Afternoon Session: 12:30 to 2:30 pm
• Full-Day Session: 10:00 am to 2:30 pm (Lunch: 12 pm to 12:30 pm)
What You’ll Learn & Do:
Led by experienced AMC volunteer trail crew leaders, this workshop will cover essential trail-building skills, including:
✔️ Defining trail corridor dimensions and proper layout
✔️ Pruning techniques for sustainable trail maintenance
✔️ Trail placement (discussion-based)
✔️ Hands-on trail work – clearing brush, improving tread, and defining the new route
Project Details:
• The trail route will be pre-flagged before the workday.
• Volunteers will help clear and establish the trail, which crosses an open field, loops through the woods, and includes a spur trail to the river.
• RRCT Stewardship Director, Hanae Garrison will be on-site all day to provide a walkthrough before we begin.
• This is a large project, but RRCT’s volunteer Trail Crew will continue the work after our session.
Who Can Join?
✅ No prior trail work experience is needed!
✅ Tools and guidance will be provided.
What to Bring:
🔹 PPE Required – Work clothes, sturdy boots, eye protection, sunblock, and bug repellent (for ticks & mosquitoes).
🔹 Water Snacks, bag lunch (if doing the full day session)
📩 Registration required. Sign up now!
🔹 Be a part of building a brand-new trail for the community!
Trip Leaders
Phillip Coyne, Rota Knott, Hanae Garrison
Join us for the Third Annual Wescustogo Paddle in May! We will depart from Wescustogo Park (Route 231) in North Yarmouth and paddle 8 miles to Royal River Park (East Elm Street) in Yarmouth. This two- to three-hour trip will begin with a brief program at 2 p.m. Stay tuned for more details!
May 28, 2025 | 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Location: Broad Cove Reserve, Cumberland Foreside
Curriculum: Join us at Broad Cove Reserve to learn fascinating facts about horseshoe crabs who have emerged from the ocean to lay their eggs on sandy beaches like this one for 445 million years. You will likely be able to see these harmless arthropods up close! Meet at the parking lot at 2:00 p.m. for the 15-minute walk down to the beach.
Naturalist: Karen Massey
Get Out! Nature Walks
These Get Out! Nature Walks are volunteer-led regular trips with trained master naturalists. Join us for a well-planned, no-cost, guided adventure. Monthly on the fourth Wednesday; always free; rain, snow, or shine. Jointly offered by both RRCT and the Chebeague and Cumberland Land Trust, the walks take place at preserves in the towns of Chebeague Island, Cumberland, Yarmouth, North Yarmouth, Pownal, New Gloucester, and Durham. Our curriculum is targeted at adults and engaged youth. Because the purpose is nature observation, we ask that dogs do not join us. Email CCLT with any questions.
*Photography and Filming Note: Your attendance at RRCT events may be photographed or filmed and your attendance indicates consent to have any images or footage featuring you at the event to be used for RRCT-related materials and outreach. Should images or footage appear in marketing materials that you don’t wish to be featured in, you must notify RRCT at Info@RRCT.org and RRCT will cease to further use your image or footage for any new materials going forward.
June 25, 2025 | 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Location: Littlejohn Island Preserve, Yarmouth
SPECIAL PARKING: For this event only, drive to the very end of Pemasong Lane in Yarmouth. The service gate will be open. Go through the gate and park on the right in the grass. RRCT staff will be there to direct you.
Curriculum: We’ll walk through the pine-oak forest to the shore of this stunning 23-acre preserve on Casco Bay. We’ll investigate the tidal mudflats and sandy beaches along the coastline while keeping an eye out for common eiders, black guillemots, ospreys, and bald eagles.
Naturalists: Karen Massey
Get Out! Nature Walks
These Get Out! Nature Walks are volunteer-led regular trips with trained master naturalists. Join us for a well-planned, no-cost, guided adventure. Monthly on the fourth Wednesday; always free; rain, snow, or shine. Jointly offered by both RRCT and the Chebeague and Cumberland Land Trust, the walks take place at preserves in the towns of Chebeague Island, Cumberland, Yarmouth, North Yarmouth, Pownal, New Gloucester, and Durham. Our curriculum is targeted at adults and engaged youth. Because the purpose is nature observation, we ask that dogs do not join us. Email CCLT with any questions.
*Photography and Filming Note: Your attendance at RRCT events may be photographed or filmed and your attendance indicates consent to have any images or footage featuring you at the event to be used for RRCT-related materials and outreach. Should images or footage appear in marketing materials that you don’t wish to be featured in, you must notify RRCT at Info@RRCT.org and RRCT will cease to further use your image or footage for any new materials going forward.