Pair of Trail Projects Get a Boost

A bloom at Harvey Butler Rhododendron Sanctuary

Photo: Lee Burnett

By Lee Burnett

Two new trails were awarded state funding this week. Native Plant Trust of Wayland, Mass., received $100,400 to build a connector trail from Sanford Community Forest on upper Oak Street to the nearby Harvey Butler Rhododendron Sanctuary. Maine Health received $50,000 to build a loop trail in the woods near the campus.

Both trails are to be built to universal access standards, a popular type of trail that is smooth, firm and wide enough for wheelchairs and strollers.

Native Plant Trust is collaborating with Sanford Trails Committee and Three Rivers Land Trust to build a half-mile trail that will improve access to a five-acre stand of rosebay rhododendron, a plant common in the southern Appalachian Mountains but rare this far north. The project has been in the works for four years.

“Native Plant Trust is very excited to have this community partnership come to fruition,” said Fred Sechler, ecological programs coordinator at the Native Plant Trust, the lead applicant.

The groups are contributing $27,000 in cash and in-kind labor to the project. Construction could start later this year.

“The Sanford Trails Committee is thrilled to have the funding for this long-planned project approved so it can go forward to give trail users access to one of Sanford’s significant natural treasures,” said Lawrence Furbish, chair of Sanford Trails Committee.

The rhododendrons put out a showy display of blooms in July, but the sanctuary is lightly visited, partly because the current trailhead on Oak Street has no dedicated parking except on the road shoulder. The new trail would be accessed from an existing parking area at Sanford Community Forest.

“This project will vastly improve safe parking access to our rhododendron sanctuary and connect trails from different conservation land, offering great educational and recreational opportunities,” said Sechler. “Native Plant Trust looks forward to building a collaborative conservation partnership with the Sanford Trails Committee and Three Rivers Land Trust.”

In the future, the trail could provide access to a variety of woodland experiences as Three Rivers Land Trust is developing a series of pocket forests to improve diversity at Sanford Community Forest.

“The Rhododendron Sanctuary is a local treasure. Three Rivers Land Trust is thrilled to partner with the Native Plant Trust on improving and increasing access for everyone in our community,” said Ruth Gutman, executive director of the Three Rivers Land Trust.

The hospital trail will be built in conjunction with construction of a therapeutic labyrinth, a specifically designed circular walking path that can induce a meditative experience with healing benefits. Maine Health already has a small labyrinth at its Biddeford campus, where staff and families find “peace and centering,” according to Rev. Shelly Snow, director of spiritual care at the hospital.

“The labyrinth will provide all with the opportunity to engage in a slow and contemplative experience or fast and energizing experience. We are so excited to add this well-being and spiritual health resource for our community,” she said.