Thank you to Executive Director Kara Wooldrik of Portland Trails for her outstanding presentation at our weekly Westbrook-Gorham Rotary Club luncheon.  Portland Trails is a non-profit land trust with the mission of creating and maintaining a network of trails and green spaces that connect people with places.

With 70 miles of trails, Portland Trails turned 25 years old this year.  With a small staff of seven, they are an "umbrella organization" for many other trail and land trust groups throughout the Greater Portland area, including portions of the 28-mile Sebago To the Sea Trail that runs through the outdoor Warren Recreation area along the Presumpscot River. In the past year, they have seen 1M users of their trails.  The organization has over 1000 members, over 3000 volunteers and over 200 corporate partners – people powered conversation. They encourage removal of invasive species to allow the growth of native plants.
 
A top priority for the organization is to enable people-powered transportation – trails that help people move around, commute and run errands. Their magic number is ¼ mile. People are more likely to use the trails if they have access within ¼ of a mile. They have accomplished this goal in Portland and are now working on the same goal for Westbrook, Falmouth and other communities.   Future projects include connecting the Conant property along the river to the Riverwalk and creating a Westbrook to Portland trail – 22 miles along the Presumpscot River from downtown to downtown.
 
Jason Beever (L) with Kara Wooldrick (R) and
the book she signed for the Warren Library