Programs & Events
Browse our calendar or scroll down for a complete list of upcoming programs and events.
Creative Nature Programs
Watershed Workshops
for ages 12–adult
What creative activities can help us reconnect with the non-human members of our watershed —from red oaks to asters to ospreys? How can imagination inspire us to become better stewards of our local nature?
Join regional artists engaged with ecological themes for monthly workshops featuring artist talks, guided nature walks, hands-on art projects, and group discussions. No art experience is needed—just curiosity and a willingness to explore.
All Watershed Workshops are free.
Donations are suggested and appreciated. Please register to help us plan accordingly.
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River Weaving with Ann McClellan and Billy Ray Sims
Saturday, April 19, 2025 | 2-5 PM
Ceramicist Ann McClellan and basketmaker Billy Ray Sims will demonstrate willow weaving and show us how to make functional and decorative weavings inspired by the St. George River—birds, fish, bird feeders, and fish traps. We'll discuss sustainable crafting techniques and take a walk to the riverfront to learn about alewives.
This workshop will include 30 minutes of walking on a relatively flat but muddy road.
Please bring along your own craft or pruning shears, if you have them. We’ll also have some to share!
About Ann: @camdenhillsstudio
About Billy: www.billyraysimsbaskets.com
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Mapping the Unmappable with Elaine Ng
Saturday, May 17, 2025 | 2-5 PM
What does it mean to know a place? Artist Elaine Ng will help us explore different approaches to mapping and how we consider our relationship to our material surroundings. We will begin with an artist talk and brief introduction to different strategies from historic cartography to deep mapping. Participants will then have an opportunity to walk about the Langlais Preserve, apply these ideas and create their own responses with guided exercises using the materials at hand.
About Elaine: www.elainekng.com
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How to Fall in Love with a Flower with Bri Bowman
Saturday, June 21, 2025 | 2-5 PM
Artist and herbalist Bri Bowman will immerse us in the world of plants through science, sensory awareness, and creative expression. The workshop includes discussions on plant communication, meditative deeplistening exercises, formulation of personalized flower essences, and co-creation of a sound performance inspired by the natural world. Participants will leave with a custom essence and a renewed connection to their environment.
This workshop will involve slow-paced walking on the Langlais Woodland Trail.
About Bri: https://waterthroughstone.com
Image: Kelly Rioux
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Collaborating with Geologic Time with Sam Finkelstein
at Ash Point Preserve, Owls Head Saturday, July 12, 2025 | 2-5 PM
Artist and stone carver Sam Finkelstein will invite us to discover sculptural forms that lay dormant within rocks along Maine's coast. There will be an emphasis on viewing this exercise as a collaboration between artist and nature as opposed to an imposition of internal concept onto external material. Using clay to simulate reductive stone-carving techniques will inform ways of thinking about texture, scale, volume, space, movement, light and shadow.
This workshop involves a 0.8-mile round-trip hike on narrow, uneven terrain and additional hiking along the rocky coastline.
About Sam: www.sculpture.party
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Practices for Seeing with Allison Cekala
Saturday, July 19, 2025 | 2-5 PM
Explore the natural world from a new lens. Interdisciplinary artist and educator Allison Cekala will begin with a talk about her creative practice. Participants will then head outdoors and be guided through meditative, observational, and artistic prompts, culminating in a series of painted studies inspired by the Langlais Preserve landscape. This workshop invites you to slow down, look closely, and discover new ways of seeing and engaging with the environment.
About Allison: www.allisoncekala.com
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Sown Sculptures with Rachel Alexandrou
Saturday, August 16 | 2-5 PM
Interdisciplinary artist and forager Rachel Alexandrou will guide a walk to explore local plant ecology and its connection to landscape change. We'll then shift to a creative session using Penobscot Formation Clay—the geological foundation of Maine’s landscape—and native seeds. Using simple techniques like molding, modeling, and texturing, we’ll create sculptures that can be displayed indoors or planted outdoors to become part of the landscape itself.
About Rachel: www.rachelalexandrou.com
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Amplifying the Senses: A guided walk with Karen McCoy
Saturday, September 20, 2025 | 2-5 PM
Sculptor and land artist Karen McCoy will lead us on a walk designed to heighten our awareness of sound and sharpen our observation of the environment. By slowing our pace, we’ll invite deeper sensory perception. Each participant will carry and learn to use a hand-carved wooden listening and sighting horn and a viewing lens. Engaging in this focused listening and looking becomes a way of assembling sound and sight into a “sensory map,” offering a richer understanding of the landscape.
The entirety of this workshop will involve slow-paced walking on the Langlais Woodland Trail.
About Karen: www.karen-mccoy.com
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Tree Withness with Gina Siepel
Sunday, October 12, 2025 | 2-5 PM
“Witness trees” are trees recognized for their presence at significant human events. While they connect us to history on an arboreal clock, this concept remains human-centered. What if we shifted focus to the trees them-selves—witnessing their long, quietly dramatic lives? Led by interdisciplinary artist and woodworker Gina Siepel, this workshop begins with a presentation on witness trees, followed by playful activities that turn our attention tree-ward. We'll meet the Langlais Preserve’s charismatic trees, exploring who they are, how they live, and imagining their past, present, and future through walking, writing, and discussion.
This workshop will include 60 minutes of slow-paced walking on the Langlais Woodland Trail.
About Gina: www.ginasiepel.com/
Art Adventures
for ages 6+
More information coming soon!
All Art Adventures are free.
Donations are suggested and greatly appreciated. Registration is encouraged, so that we can plan accordingly.
Wonder Walks
for ages 0–5
More information coming soon!
All Wonder Walks are free.
Donations are suggested and greatly appreciated. Registration is encouraged, so that we can plan accordingly.
Events
Cushing Community School Little Sprouts Plant & Seedling Sale
Sunday, June 1, 2025
9 AM-1 PM
Pick out your season’s vegetable and flower seedlings, herbs, and perennials, a baked good or two, and more. Hosted by the Cushing Community School Friends & Family Group.
Watershed Workshop: Mapping the Unmappable with Elaine Ng
What does it mean to know a place? Artist Elaine Ng will help us explore different approaches to mapping and how we consider our relationship to our material surroundings. We will begin with an artist talk and brief introduction to different strategies from historic cartography to deep mapping. Participants will then have an opportunity to walk about the Langlais Preserve, apply these ideas and create their own responses with guided exercises using the materials at hand.
About Elaine: www.elainekng.com
Watershed Workshop: How to Fall in Love with a Flower with Bri Bowman
Artist and herbalist Bri Bowman will immerse us in the world of plants through science, sensory awareness, and creative expression. The workshop includes discussions on plant communication, meditative deep listening exercises, formulation of personalized flower essences, and co-creation of a sound performance inspired by the natural world. Participants will leave with a custom essence and a renewed connection to their environment.
This workshop will involve slow-paced walking on the Langlais Woodland Trail.
About Bri: https://waterthroughstone.com
Watershed Workshop: Practices for Seeing with Allison Cekala
Explore the natural world from a new lens. Inter- disciplinary artist and educator Allison Cekala will begin with a talk about her creative practice. Participants will then head outdoors and be guided through meditative, observational, and artistic prompts, culminating in a series of painted studies inspired by the Langlais Preserve landscape. This workshop invites you to slow down, look closely, and discover new ways of seeing and engaging with the environment.
About Allison: www.allisoncekala.com
Sown Sculptures with Rachel Alexandrou
Interdisciplinary artist and forager Rachel Alexandrou will guide a walk around the Langlais Preserve to explore local plant ecology and its connection to landscape change. We'll then shift to a creative session using Penobscot Formation Clay—the geological foundation of Maine’s landscape—and native seeds. Using simple techniques like molding, modeling, and texturing, participants will create sculptures that can be displayed indoors or planted outdoors to become part of the landscape itself.
About Rachel: https://rachelalexandrou.com/
Watershed Workshop: Amplifying the Senses: A guided walk with Karen McCoy
Sculptor and land artist Karen McCoy will lead us on a walk designed to heighten our awareness of sound and sharpen our observation of the environment. By slowing our pace, we’ll invite deeper sensory perception. Each participant will carry and learn to use a hand-carved wooden listening and sighting horn and a viewing lens. Engaging in this focused listening and looking becomes a way of assembling sound and sight into a “sensory map,” offering a richer understanding of the landscape.
The entirety of this workshop will involve slow-paced walking on the Langlais Woodland Trail.
About Karen: https://www.karen-mccoy.com/
Watershed Workshop: Tree Withness with Gina Siepel
“Witness trees” are trees recognized for their presence at significant human events. While they connect us to history on an arboreal clock, this concept remains human-centered. What if we shifted focus to the trees themselves —witnessing their long, quietly dramatic lives? Led by interdisciplinary artist and woodworker Gina Siepel, this workshop begins with a presentation on witness trees, followed by playful activities that turn our attention tree-ward. We'll meet the Langlais Preserve’s charismatic trees, exploring who they are, how they live, and imagining their past, present, and future through walking, writing, and discussion.
This workshop will include about 60 minutes of slow-paced walking on the Langlais Woodland Trail.
About Gina: www.ginasiepel.com