Community & Events
Be a part of the green community
Do you live, work, or play in Ellsworth and want to be a positive force in the community?
We have opportunities for everyone, from attending an event to helping implement Green Plan recommendations as a member of an action team.
Sign up for our e-news: We'll send you a quarterly Green Ellsworth newsletter letting you know about events and opportunities to discuss the topics that matter to you.
Learn more about our Green Ellsworth Action Teams and then sign-up as a Friend of Green Ellsworth to get involved in a subject (or a few!) you're interested in.
To volunteer with Green Ellsworth more broadly (e.g., communications and digital outreach, grant applications and fundraising, volunteer management, citizen scientist teams), contact: Mary Blackstone.
✳ Green Stars ✳
Check out our interviews with Green Ellsworth’s GREEN STARS to learn more about businesses, non-profits and individuals in our community who have been working towards a more sustainable lifestyle, community and planet.
Attend an Event
Tree Pruning Workshop
March 25, 10:00 AM (snow date April 1)
The Ellsworth Garden Club and Frenchman Bay Conservancy will host a tree pruning workshop at the Community Tree Nursery at Jordan Homestead Preserve.
The workshop will be led by licensed arborist and Green Ellsworth urban forestry lead, Tabatha White. Participants will learn pruning techniques they can apply to their own trees and to our city’s urban forest as Green Ellsworth Tree Stewards.
Register by emailing Mary Blackstone or calling her at 667-8878.
Connecting With Our Union River
Friday, April 7th: 4 - 6:30 PM online
Saturday, April 8th: 9 AM - 2:30 PM at Moore Community Center
Historically the Union River has been an important salmon river, and it continues to attract sea run fish such as alewives which have been critical to thriving fresh and salt water ecosystems. Overall, the watershed provides habitat for a wide range of aquatic and terrestrial species, and the Upper Union, in particular, has been designated as providing habitats of “statewide ecological significance.” Trout Unlimited has identified it as having the best potential in the state for helping cold water fish such as trout and salmon survive the warming effects of climate change.
Focus at the summit will be on the full stretch of the river from its headwaters to Union River Bay including its lakes and tributaries. Presentations and follow up discussions will address water quality, fish stocks, connectivity, access, land conservation, the history of the river as a window into its future as a heritage corridor, and actions for securing a healthy future for this regional water resource.
Featured speakers will include Wendy Garland, Environmental Specialist with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection; David Lamon, Fields Pond Manager, Maine Audubon; Bill Fogle, local historian and videographer; Aaron Dority, Executive Director, Frenchman Bay Conservancy; Brett Ciccotelli, fisherman, Maine Guide and river rat; and Mark Whiting, Chair, Board of Supervisors, Hancock County Soil & Water Conservation District.
The summit will also include displays by state and local organizations including interactive displays such as Maine Audubon’s stream table; a story map of Union River access points created by Green Ellsworth and Frenchman Bay Conservancy summer intern, Zoe Toribio; and the Ellsworth Historical Society’s oral history corner where people can add their memories and stories relating to the watershed to those already collected.
The full schedule of events is available here. For more information, email Mary Blackstone or call 667-8878.
Register in advance for the April 7 virtual sessions on Zoom.
Annual Card Brook Clean-up
April 22, exact time TBD (9/9:30) (rain date April 29)
Ellsworth Hannaford Parking Lot
The City of Ellsworth and community partners will host the annual Card Brook Clean-up on Earth Day. The event will begin in the parking lot on the right hand side of the Hannaford Supermarket in Ellsworth. Volunteers should come prepared by wearing sturdy footwear that can get wet and muddy. Trash bags, work gloves, snacks, and water will be provided.
To sign up or for more information, contact Elizabeth Littlefield at 669-6608 or by email.
Annual Roadside Clean-up Week
April 22 - April 30
Everywhere in Ellsworth!
From April 22-30, join us in beautify our city by picking up trash along roads in Ellsworth. The City will provide yellow bags at the Card Brook Clean-up and in the foyer of City Hall. Additional details coming soon!
As always, wear bright colors and practice good traffic safety. Don’t pick up broken glass, dirty needles, or any other potentially dangerous debris. Wear boots, long pants tucked into your socks to avoid ticks, and gloves to protect your hands. Thanks for helping!
Past Events
Ellsworth Energy Expo
October 8, 2022, Knowlton Park
Area residents were invited to stop by the Ellsworth Energy Expo for information about lowering energy costs, winter preparedness, and switching to local, clean and affordable energy sources. Organized by Green Ellsworth’s Energy Action Team, participating organizations included Efficiency Maine, Downeast Community Partners, Window Dressers, Natural Resources Council of Maine, Versant Power, 211 Maine, local emergency management agencies, and A Climate to Thrive.
Efficiency Maine is an independent administrator of programs in Maine to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Visit their website to learn more about: available rebates, financing, and technical resources; their network of independent installers; and heat pumps, insulation, electric vehicles, heat pump water heaters, and other energy efficiency upgrades.
Downeast Community Partners (DCP) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life and reduce the impact of poverty in Downeast communities by delivering services and programs that treat community members with dignity and compassion, and offer them the possibility of achieving their goals. DCP has multiple programs, such as the Home Energy Assistance Program (commonly called LIHEAP or HEAP Fuel Assistance) which provides money to income eligible homeowners and renters to help pay heating costs, as well as a heat pump program that pays for the cost and installation of a heat pump for eligible Maine homeowners. Reach out to them for info on heating improvements, weatherization, the Central Heating Improvement Program (CHIP) and the energy assistance program, among other services.
WindowDressers is a volunteer nonprofit group that helps homeowners save money on heat by making insulating window inserts, which work like an indoor storm window. Customers can join a local workshop to assemble their own custom-measured inserts, and pay for their materials with financial assistance available for low-income households.
Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) is a nonprofit membership organization protecting, restoring, and conserving Maine's environment, and whose staff include experts in climate and clean energy solutions. Check out results from their recent survey of every electric vehicle owner in Maine, which received a record-breaking 1,230 individual responses from all 16 counties.
A Climate to Thrive seeks to achieve energy independence for Mount Desert Island by 2030. Decentralized, local, renewable energy solutions will reduce pollution, create new businesses, generate year-round jobs that pay a living wage, and bring the community together around the shared goal of preserving our environment. Visit them online to learn about their model of having residents, businesses, and towns working together to achieve energy independence through citizen engagement, sustainability and economic vitality.
Future of the Union River Forum
May 3, 2022, Moore Community Center and Online
Green Ellsworth’s Union River Action Team will be hosting a public forum focused on the Future of the Union River. With a recent study determining that the pristine waters of the Upper Union River may offer brook trout the best chance in the state of Maine for resiliency against the effects of climate change, the importance and potential of this river have become clearer than ever. However, the recent discovery of invasive milfoil in Hancock County has revealed that potential threats to the watershed are now on its doorstep. Recently, American Rivers has listed the Union among the 13 most endangered rivers in the United States.
This forum will include brief presentations on the current state of the river and developments that could affect its future, but the primary focus of the evening will be on breakout groups where participants can provide input on their vision for the future of the river in several key areas such as the native fishery, recreational opportunities, water quality, Ellsworth’s waterfront, sustainable economic development in the watershed, preserving access to the river, and profiling the history of the river. Forum participants as well as others in the community will also be able to complete a survey to provide additional input, all of which will help to frame and direct the Union River Watershed plan that the team is developing.
Presenters and resource people for the breakout groups include:
Mark Whiting, Chair, Hancock County Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors
Elena Piekut, City Planner, City of Ellsworth
Cara Romano, Executive Director, Heart of Ellsworth
Aaron Dority, Executive Director, Frenchman Bay Conservancy
Nate Hanson, owner of Pinniped Kayak
Carolyn Ackerman and Catherine Fox, Ellsworth Historic Preservation Commission
Dwayne Shaw, Executive Director and Brett Ciccotelli, Restoration and Engagement Manager, Downeast Salmon Federation
This will be a hybrid event taking place live at the Moore Community Center (125 State Street, Ellsworth) and on zoom. Residents, property owners and other stakeholders in the Union River Watershed are encouraged to attend and all live or virtual participants are asked to register here. For more information email Mary Blackstone, Green Ellsworth Community Liaison.
Credit: Nicholas Navarre
Community Solar – What's in it for ME?
This presentation was geared toward Ellsworth-area residents and businesses who want to learn more about their solar options, including community solar. Green Ellsworth and Ampion, a community solar company founded in Bar Harbor, shared information about how community solar helps Mainers save money while protecting the environment. The state's community solar program enables electricity customers to access clean energy without purchasing or installing solar panels and offers savings up to 15% off a typical monthly bill.
See presentation slides here, including links for more information.
FMI: Martha Dickinson of Green Ellsworth or Nico Valette of Ampion.
Sea Level Rise in Ellsworth
What impacts will the effects of sea level rise have on Ellsworth, including its shoreline habitat, residential property and downtown businesses? How can we mitigate these effects and adapt to our changing waterfront? Answers to these and other questions were discussed at a recent event hosted by Green Ellsworth in partnership with the Island Institute. This forum begins the conversation around these questions and kicks off a series of forums regarding future management of the Union River and its shorefront in Ellsworth. Read the full press release here.
Featured panelists included:
Peter Slovinsky, Marine Geologist, Maine Geological Survey (see presentation)
Jeremy Gabrielson, Conservation Planner, Maine Coast Heritage Trust (see presentation)
Tora Johnson, Associate Professor and GIS Director, University of Maine at Machias (see presentation)
Credit: Nicholas Navarre
Green Ellsworth and Partner Orgs Celebrated Earth Day and Arbor Day 2022!
April 22: Jackson Lab 's Earth Day Fair featured info about Green Ellsworth.
April 23: Card Brook Clean-Up hosted by the City of Ellsworth and University of Maine at Augusta Ellsworth Center.
April 23: Parents, students, teachers and the Ellsworth Garden Club rebuilt the Ellsworth Elementary Middle School gardens.
April 23 - May 1: Roadside Clean-Up Week hosted by Green Ellsworth and the City of Ellsworth.
May 7: Jane's Walk 1: Museum in the Streets; hosted by the Heart of Ellsworth and the Ellsworth Historical Society. Jane's Walk 2: Riverwalk North; hosted by Heart of Ellsworth, Ellsworth Historical Society, and Downeast Trout Unlimited.
Mid May : Volunteers from the Ellsworth Garden Club, Downeast Trout Unlimited, Frenchman Bay Conservancy and Green Ellsworth planted 80 trees at the new Community Tree Nursery at the Jordan Homestead Preserve on the Bayside Road in Ellsworth. Eventually, the tree nursery is expected to accommodate up to 500 trees at any given time. It will create a less expensive and more environmentally-friendly mechanism for re-treeing the City, and having been grown on locally, the trees will be more successful when transplanted. The nursery is a component of a broader re-treeing and urban forestry management effort in the City. The tree planting project culminated with second grade students from the Ellsworth Elementary Middle School planting the last of the trees -- one for each participating student.
