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One Summer. 1,200 landings.
To maintain the Maine Island Trail for thousands of annual visitors, the islands need regular attention. This summer, MITA volunteers will make more than 1,200 island landings to implement a wide range of stewardship activities.
During their island visits, MITA’s volunteer stewardship corps cleans shorelines of marine debris, keeps campsites and trails clear of fallen trees and other hazards, helps with invasive plant management, monitors island conditions, and educates visitors about Leave No Trace recreation.
MITA is launching its first annual Float Their Boats! campaign so these volunteer stewards can get ashore to carry out their essential work. Our goal is to raise $50 per island landing for a total of $60,000. (This effort replaces our previous summer stewardship campaign).
Please consider supporting volunteers’ island landings by making a gift to MITA’s new summer stewardship campaign today.
If island stewardship is implemented by volunteers, why does it cost anything? Glad you asked! The coordination of stewardship on remote wild islands is no small endeavor for MITA’s two stewardship managers, Maria and Chris. MITA’s fleet of eight aluminum skiffs are commissioned every spring and maintained throughout the summer. Volunteers are trained on tasks ranging from operating a chainsaw to identifying invasive plants to navigating a boat landing on a rocky ledge. A complex schedule for the almost daily use of MITA’s skiffs, stationed in yards and driveways along the coast, is coordinated for 25-30 volunteer skippers. More than ten major regional cleanup efforts, plus dozens of additional group workdays, are organized. It’s a nonstop effort, lasting from April through October.
