A Visit to Rolfe Hill in Casco
By Will Elting
Recently, a group of Sebago Clean Waters partners had the chance to explore the newly preserved Rolfe Hill in Casco. Loon Echo Land Trust had just closed on the property a couple of months prior, and their staff and volunteers had been hard at work with site planning and clean up, preparing to transform the property into a destination for hiking, mountain biking, and generally mellow nature immersion.
Twelve of us, representing five SCW partner organizations, gathered in the dirt pull-off that serves as a parking area (for now) and did brief introductions. It was a relatively small group, considering the full breadth of the collaborative spans 11 organizations and over 30 “core” individuals, and easily over a hundred in the extended SCW universe, as it were, but this outing had been rescheduled twice after two attempted winter outings that were scuttled due to a lack of wintery conditions, so a reduced turnout was understandable. The unstated uniform was pants tucked into socks to ward off those dreaded, bloodthirsty early season ticks.
Setting out onto the main trail through the property, we heard about the future plans for the preserve, and were treated to the presence of hundreds of dragonflies orbiting us as we stopped on a small bridge that crossed over a stream feeding a large wetland. The early summer sun was settling in overhead, and conversations flowed freely, echoing the waterway underfoot.
A mile or so later, after a detour to check out a significant vernal pool, the trail before us had been flooded by the damming efforts of some overzealous beavers. These titans of industry would need to be relocated at some point, but in the meantime, a brief bushwack got us around the watery impasse. Walking along with this group, I was struck by the depth of knowledge and openness of spirit on display. It felt like being amongst old friends, though most of the people I hadn’t known for more than a few months. It drove home for me the collaborative nature of Sebago Clean Waters, a unique identity that’s taken years of hard work to achieve, and requires constant attention to maintain.
As we move forward with collaboratively building and implementing an updated strategic vision for Sebago Clean Waters, I look forward to many more of these kinds of outings. Treading the forest floor with people forges a much stronger connection than any Zoom meeting can, and gives us a chance to connect with the things that drive our mission: the lands and waters that keep us healthy.
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I’ll be doing some more walks this year, trying to shine a light on more of our land trust partner’s preserves, and reflecting on how our connection to the land influences our connections to other people. To learn more about Rolfe Hill, visit the page on Loon Echo Land Trust’s website, and start planning a visit! They’ve got a lot of work planned for the site, but it’s open to the public and has a lot going for it already.