Fundraising Card Party to Benefit the Falmouth Historical Society

Fundraising Card Party to Benefit the Falmouth Historical Society
http://www.falmouthmehistory.org/

Noon to 4 p.m. Thursday, March 31, 2011

Where: Holy Martyrs Church, 266 Foreside Road Falmouth, Maine

Phone: 781-2705

Baby Singalong

Monday, March 28, 2011


Baby Singalong

10 - 11 a.m. Falmouth Memorial Library 781-2351.

Town of Falmouth Town Council Public Forum

Town of Falmouth


Town Council Public Forum

Falmouth High School Auditorium



The Falmouth Town Council will hold a special meeting on the Proposed FY2012 Municipal and School Budget on Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 7:00 pm in the Falmouth High School Auditorium. A public forum will be held to seek public input and inquiries immediately following the budget presentation.



Due to the selected venue, live broadcast of the meeting on the local access channel and town website will not be available. The meeting will be tape recorded; broadcast on the local access channel and online download will be available at a later date.



Click here to view the agenda: http://www.town.falmouth.me.us/Pages/FalmouthME_CouncilAgendas/2011/03302011/index

Walking Trails at Gilsland Farm, Falmouth Maine

Have you ever walked the trails at Gilsland farm? A wonderful activity to do with family and friends in the spring when everything is awakening at the Audubon! 

Trails

Gilsland Farm’s 2.5 miles of trails wind through meadows, in and out of woods, and along the shore of the Presumpscot River estuary. All trails are gentle with no steep grades.

The main trailhead is located just outside the environmental center at the end of the driveway. From it one can access all the trail spurs and junctions as well as the following principal trail loops: 

West Meadow Trail (0.7 miles)

This walk encircles the rolling West Meadow with its high bluffs overlooking the Presumpscot estuary and views to the Portland skyline in the distance. Follow the signs from the main trailhead through a small forested wetland and out into the field. Two observation blinds accessible by spur trails provide secluded spots from which to observe wintering waterfowl and flocks of migrant shorebirds that gather on the mudflats in June, August and September to feed on the abundant marine life exposed by the tide.

Pond Meadow Trail (0.6 miles)

Passing through the greatest diversity of habitat on the sanctuary, the Pond Meadow Trail begins on the left at the junction below the trailhead. Pockets of mature red oak and hemlock that date back a century or more are interspersed with stands of red maple, white ash, white birch and trembling aspen. Continuing through the woods just below the apple orchard, the trail leads down to the pond where muskrat and wetland birds live and feed. From here the trail leads up to the drive and then back to the parking lot.

North Meadow Trail (1.2 miles)

From the junction below the trailhead, bear right along the base of the parking lot through a grove of mature oaks and hemlocks and on into the North Meadow. A wide loop around this field offers views reminiscent of the property's farming past. Hayed annually in late summer after the nesting bobolinks and meadowlarks have fledged their young, this meadow provides winter forage for Canada geese and hunting grounds for migrating birds of prey. The bordering spruce and shrub edges of red sumac, northern arrowood and speckled alder are good places to observe songbirds.

Directions

By public transportation:Take METRO Route 7 from Portland or Falmouth Center. Northbound buses depart hourly from Monument Square at half past the hour. The bus stop is located on Route 1 at the end of the Gilsland Farm driveway.Complete route map and schedule.

From the north: take I-295 to exit 10 and then left on Bucknam Road. At the light turn right onto U.S. Route 1 and continue south for one mile. After the blinking light at the intersection of Routes 1 and 88, Gilsland Farm Road is on the right at the light blue sign.

From the south: take I-295 to exit 9. Continue 1.9 miles north on U.S. Route 1 and turn left onto Gilsland Farm Road at the light blue sign, immediately before the intersection of Routes 1 and 88.

Are you interested in more Public Transporartion options in Greater Portland?

On March 24th and 25th, the PACTS Executive Committee presents


Moving Greater Portland towards a transit-focused region.
a series of presentations and workshops for regional leaders to develop a vision for future transportation investments

• Create choices

• Save money

• Generate economic opportunity

• Build community

THE ISSUES

PROBLEMS

Traffic congestion • Increasing gas prices • Inadequate transportation funding

GOALS

Livability • Quality of Life • Urban and Rural • Driving less • Economic resilience • Sustainable Community Development • Coordinated bus schedules and~fares

ONGOING INITIATIVES

Amtrak Downeaster extension • Lakes Region Bus • Portland North commuter rail/bus • Tri-Community Transportation Plan • Gorham East-West Corridor

Thursday Evening, March 24th

6:30-8:30 PM, Open house & appetizers at 6:00

Westbrook Middle School 471 Stroudwater Street, Westbrook

An intensive interactive “town hall” style presentation and frank discussion about where Greater Portland stands, where it is going, and what it could look like as informed by local data and best practices from around the country and around the globe.

Friday Morning, March 25th

9:00 AM -12:30 PM, Coffee, fruit & pastries at 8:30

Disability RMSOne Riverfront Plaza Westbrook

A hands-on mark-up session to brainstorm concepts for future transportation investment and land use patterns as informed by local and national planners, developers, and employers who will make it happen.


THE FACILITATORS:
Thomas Brennan, Principal at Nelson\Nygaard, has special expertise in transit service design and policy, parking management, TDM and strategic transportation planning. He has led many of the firms largest transit system planning and multimodal transportation planning projects. He is one of the firm’s leading experts on outreach, facilitation and stakeholder involvement. Thomas was the project manager for the Metro (Portland, OR) Regional High Capacity Transit System Plan, which developed a 30-year vision for expansion of light rail transit in a three-county metropolitan region, working for Oregon Metro and closely with regional transit providers and local jurisdictions. This project won the Oregon Public Transit Association 2009 Project of The Year Award and is receiving national attention from the Federal Transit Administration and the USDOT for its innovative approach to using performance based measures for allocating regional high capacity transit resources.

Geoff Slater, Principal at Nelson\Nygaard’s Boston office, has 30 years experience working as a consultant, in senior management at Boston’s MBTA, and for MPO’s. Geoff has extensive experience throughout the United States and internationally. Notable projects have included redesign of Pittsburgh’s transit service, the development of one of the country’s first BRT lines (Boston’s Silver Line) and the redesign of commuter rail service throughout post-apartheid South Africa. Other projects have included a number of bus and rail corridor studies, the redesign of bus services in many American cities, and the development of new rail, BRT, and bus services.


David M. Taylor, Senior Vice President HDR, National Director, Sustainable Transportation Solutions, is a frequent national speaker on TOD and sustainability and an expert in the development of new streetcar systems that are now recognized as important catalysts for economic development. An accomplished charrette organizer and leader, he has led charrettes in Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, California, New Jersey and Washington state. As the national leader for HDR’s TOD practice, Mr. Taylor has multiple systems plans, transit corridor plans, Major Investment Studies, Alternatives Analyses, and supporting environmental documents. Recent projects includes Virginia Beach, VA AA and Station Area Planning, Atlanta to Macon Intercity Rail Station Area Planning, Cedar Hill, TX City Center/TOD Plan, the New Orleans to Baton Rouge Intercity Rail Station Area Planning, Cincinnati’s Oasis Commuter Rail Station Area Planning, the Transit Master Plan for Rancho Cordova, CA and the Cobb County, GA Station Area Planning. His work includes over 150 station area planning and development projects, including codes and ordinances.