Friends of Lake Winnecook (Unity Pond) was recognized as Conservationist of the Year by Waldo County Soil & Water Conservation District at the 2023 Annual meeting.

Our Journal covers lots of topics, including stories about people that work with the District, a review of our work in the past year, school activities, programs, and more.
Download your free copy today!

Thanks to our Canopy Grant from the Maine Forest Service, we were able to develop and publish an 8 page guide to the arboretum, available in print at our kiosk or office, and online. The guide includes fascinating facts about trees found in the park, a walking tour, a map and key, as well as resources and activities to do.

On Thursday, October 27, 2022 at 6:30pm, Friends of Lake Winnecook (FOLW) and Waldo County Soil & Water Conservation District will host a public meeting to update Unity Pond watershed residents, lake users, and all interested parties about current efforts to restore water quality in Unity Pond. The meeting will be held in person at the Community Center in Unity (32 School Street), and online via Zoom webinar. Visit the FOLW website at https://www.lakewinnecook.org/ to register for the online webinar and to preview a draft of the 10-year action plan. The meeting will include a Q&A session to allow time for the public to ask questions about the plan. Public feedback is needed to help inform the plan and to successfully carry out restoration efforts.

It finally rained, but this summer has really been one of extraordinary drought, which has been the case during several of the last five summers. If you are planting new trees on a property as we are in the City Park Arboretum, sequential years of drought are bad news for these newer transplants…and all trees, really.

At City Park we have put in 17 new trees over the last 5 years, most in the last 2 years, thanks to a Canopy Grant from the Maine Forest Service. These trees are 6 to 10 ft tall and an inch to 3 inches in diameter. They are carefully chosen specimens of different species planted both for beauty and for education.

Join us for a Tour of Certified Conservation Landscape Properties this Sept. 9th
The Conservation Properties Tour will be an excellent opportunity to see our Districts’ educational programming up close as we visit landowners that have implemented many conservation practices we recommend in our resources, site visits and workshops. Each of the landowners have completed our Conservation Landscape Certification program. We will see a variety of properties from residential yards, mixed use properties with fields, gardens, and forests, to municipal parks. Each landowner will showcase their efforts and tell their story of working to make their landscape healthy and resilient.

Check out new planting resources we’ve added.

By now you’ve probably heard about PFAS, highly toxic man-made chemicals that are found throughout the United States, and the world. Sadly, most humans have already been exposed to them. They persist in water and soil and in our bodies and right now we don’t have a way to remove them. For now, one thing we can do as individuals is to try to prevent our continued exposure. Information is available online about the kinds of products that commonly contain PFAS. PFAS are being found in soil, water and agricultural products on land that has had applications of sludge in the past. This is an alarming situation, particularly for farmers who are facing tremendous stress and worry and, in some cases, outright ruin. Our hearts go out to all farmers in Maine, and to everyone else in our beautiful State and beloved Waldo County. Like you, we’re concerned about everyone’s health, safety and livelihood. Stay strong. We will get through this together!

Fortunately, and unfortunately, there is also a ton of other information about PFAS online. It can be a bit overwhelming and confusing. Rather than duplicating information that is well summarized elsewhere, we have collected what we think are some of the best resources for finding answers to your questions in our post here.

Now that you’ve bought your plants, check out our resources to help you get started with planting and nurturing your trees, shrubs, perennials and vegetable gardens.

You’ll find we have quite a different look now. Our new site is designed to be visually interesting as well as simple and easy to navigate.

Bear with us while we update and add the resources and content you’ve come to depend on as well as new features, tools and services.

Don’t miss out on our 2022 events and actvities….watch our website and newsletters for more information!