A Blue Flag Iris – a native wildflower found on several Scarborough Land Trust preserves. Courtesy of Andrew Mackie

The Scarborough Town Council has proclaimed May 6 as Scarborough Land Trust Day. The day will also serve as clean-up day in Scarborough.

Scarborough Land Trust Executive Director Andrew Mackie gave a brief presentation to the council at the April 5 meeting and provided an overview of the organization and what it does. Scarborough Land Trust conserves and stewards land in the town for people and wildlife.

The Scarborough Land Trust was formed in 1977 and is a nonprofit organization. The organization owns and manages 1,393 acres, holds conservation easements on 125 acres, and helped protect another 267 acres currently held by partners.

The trust has nine properties with parking lots and trails with over 10 miles of trails. The estimated visitation to Scarborough Land Trust properties is 60,000 to 80,000 visits per year. These properties have a variety of public uses, from hiking, trail running, dog walking, nature contemplation, and more.

The organization also runs a variety of programs to educate and connect people to nature.

The trust is looking to conserve more land, and is working with willing landowners to accomplish these goals. The organization goes through a rigorous parcel to evaluate parcels for conservation, considering factors such as whether it borders or is adjacent or proximate to Scarborough Marsh, the size of the parcel, unique ecological communities, rare or threatened wildlife and plants, and more.

“We have reached out to every property owner in Scarborough that has 25 acres or more of an undeveloped parcel,” Mackie said. “So we are quite active reaching out to landowners, trying to build that relationship. That is a very important step because a typical project range for us is somewhere in the 5 to 10 year range to finally get a parcel protected.”

The trust is currently working on eleven projects. The staff includes experts in their field with an attorney, and follows the National Land Trust Standards and Practices.

The town council unanimously approved the proclamation.

“We hope everyone does get out on May 6 and joins their volunteer day,” said council chair Jon Anderson. “And we can’t wait to talk with (the Scarborough Land Trust) more about conservation and how Scarborough can achieve some of our conservation goals this year.”