Jan Beckett understands the importance of helping hands.
Beckett is the president of the volunteer organization Friends of Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Milford. The refuge is fairly large, at 11,500 acres, with seven miles of trails.
Beckett is always looking for volunteers, so when University of Maine senior Morgan Taylor called her to offer help, Beckett jumped at the chance to show her where the refuge could use some extra hands.
First, it involved them taking a hike in the refuge last Saturday morning.
Morgan showed up with a half-dozen UMaine students who are members of the scientific organization, the Society for Conservation Biology. I met them, Beckett and Rod Johnson, treasurer of the “friends” group, at one of the north entrances to the refuge off the Stud Mill Road to start the hike.
In her brief introduction at the trailhead, Beckett explained the purpose of the hike as an opportunity for the students to get acquainted with the landscape in the refuge. Along the way, she would point out areas where a few projects might be planned and implemented. But generally, the hike was designed to introduce the students to the refuge and the refuge to the students.
“There won’t be any trail work today,” she said.
I breathed a sigh of relief at that announcement, and we headed down the South Buzzy Brook Trail into the forest.
The trail follows an old, grassed-over logging road into the woods. Overhead, the sun was losing the fight with an advancing warm front. Rain was forecast for later that day, but it looked like we would be able to take the hike out and return to the vehicles without getting wet. Still, the sun was steadily retreating behind a thin veil of clouds.
As we walk along, in single file, the signs of fall are everywhere in the cool forest. Even though the sun’s light is screened, it seems as if there is light coming from the trees. Only it’s not light, its brilliance glows from the flaming reds of swamp maple in full fall showiness. It’s in the golden lace of trailside ferns and the yellows of birch, aspen and beech. All the colors seem to combine to give the forest a light of its own.
Johnson leads the way with a GPS receiver in hand. He has been trying to orient to the 45th parallel that bisects the refuge. His attention is momentarily drawn to a huge Norway pine that he points out to the rest of us as we pass.
Soon, he announces that we are indeed standing on the 45th. We all gather around the imaginary line, then, walk a little farther to a point where the trail peters out and ends in a fir thicket.
It’s here that Johnson and one of the others, Ben Wasserman, a recent UMaine grad with a double major in wildlife biology and mathematics, search for a possible route that may or may not continue. They scout a while and discover that there is no apparent trail, so we all turn back toward another hike we passed on the way.
That trail is an out-and-back hike that branches from the one we’re on and at the intersection, we turn toward a meadow created by beaver activity. The area was flooded by the beavers, then, they abandoned it. Now it’s returning to a wet field in the woods with a small brook. We stop at the edge of the field after the short, level hike and take a snack break.
Whenever we’ve stopped it has been a good chance to meet others in the group. Usually on a hike, the only person you can talk to is the one either in front of or directly behind you in line, because everyone else is out of earshot. So I made the rounds to meet some of the people along with us.
One of the guys in the group, Bryan Murphy, had his dog, Izzy, a husky/beagle mix that was on its leash and never barked once. Murphy is an instructor with the Jobs for Maine’s Graduates. He works for the service-based organization out of Old Town High School.
Murphy is interested in encouraging students to volunteer at the refuge.
“But, today I’m just enjoying the hike,” he said.
There was also Danielle Dutton, graduating this year in ecology and environmental science; Erin Brunk, a zoology major and third-year senior; and Andrew Tomes, botany major. Morgan Taylor is in her third year in wildlife ecology. All had career paths that lead to working in the outdoors.
But Beckett was quick to point out that not everyone who volunteers has to be a scientific scholar.
“Anyone can volunteer. We have a lot of trail maintenance that’s needed, and we need volunteers to lead hikes,” she said. “We have age groups from retirees to high school students, from all walks of life, not just scientists; anyone who wants to help is welcome. We can always use the help.”
I got the sense that Beckett is on to something by introducing them to the refuge on a hike. Once you experience the place, you’ll want to sign up. You can call her at 207-827-0227 to tell her you’re interested.
She’ll take you on a hike the next time.