- Preserving Nature, Promoting Its Use

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Preserving Nature, Promoting Its Use

Cathance Preserve at Highland Green Helps Students Learn

September 5, 2002

TOPSHAM, Maine - When 250 homes and a nine-hole golf course move into the neighborhood, can nature really be preserved? In the case of Highland Green, the answer is – absolutely. While it took a number of compromises, in the end the environment was protected and a new opportunity for conservation education was born with the Cathance River Education Alliance (CREA). Highland Green residents also benefit because they can enjoy the expanded recreational opportunities that have become available as a result.

The Background

The land on which Highland Green is built consists of approximately 600 previously clear-cut wooded acres, punctuated by streams and wetland, including a large heath centrally located to the north. Along the northern border flows the Cathance River, used by townspeople for swimming and recreational boating.

When neighbors learned of the proposed development, they worried that the natural habitat might be adversely affected. As a result, several concerned citizens organized the Topsham's Future group. Members of the group were particularly troubled about potential fertilizer run-off from the golf course polluting the river.

In the fall of 1999, Highland Green developer John Wasileski met with representatives of Topsham's Future to hear their concerns. Topsham's Future proposed an alternative plan for land use, keeping most of the features in the original development but providing for a substantial setback from the river eliminating the golf course. For Wasileski, however, giving up the golf course completely might mean seriously affecting the marketing success of the project.

Negotiating an Agreement

Over the next weeks, dialogue continued between Wasileski and Topsham's Future. Finally, in March 2000, they reached a "middle ground" and a formal agreement was signed. To reach consensus, Wasileski volunteered to move the golf course south and ceded a 1,000-foot, 186-acre buffer zone between the development and the river. Wasileski's decision to dedicate this land will forever protect more than 230 acres of conservation land.

Topsham's Future agreed to an "organic" nine-hole golf course that would be certified by Audubon International and operated in an environmentally responsible manner.

Wasileski and Topsham's Future also agreed that the hiking and biking trails in the preserve will be open to the public and that the land would be used as a working laboratory for students in local schools.

The Education Alliance

In the month following the signing of the agreement, Wasileski and John Rensenbrink of Topsham's Future co-founded the Cathance River Education Alliance (CREA). The organization is dedicated to promoting environmental awareness and education about the Cathance watershed. Wasileski is also funding a part-time consultant whose responsibility it is to develop an outreach program that will enable students to learn more about the Cathance River preserve and its habitat. In the past year, State Farm Insurance has also made a grant to CREA, and the CREA Board is now seeking to further diversify its funding sources to fulfill the intention of the founders to base CREA on a financially diversified footing. As an Alliance, the CREA Board includes the following: several people who took the lead in Topsham's Future including Dana Cary, Carla Rensenbrink, John Rensenbrink and Janvier Smith; two residents of the Highlands, Dugal Arbuckle and Russ Pinfold; Bucky Koulouris, the assistant director of the Brunswick/Topsham Land Trust, the organization that holds the conservation easement granted by owner Wasileski; the chief staff person, Whit Whitney, of Friends of Merrymeeting Bay; Matt Teare of Highland Green staff; and CREA's Educational Coordinator, Rick Wilson, teacher at Brunswick High School, who spearheads the CREA program. CREA's objective is to promote and use the Cathance River preserve and watershed as a teaching tool for environmental studies. It encourages and assists teachers, students and administrators in the twelve schools in Brunswick and Topsham by developing appropriate curricula, workshops and visits to the preserve. CREA, working with the Brunswick/Topsham Land Trust, also promotes the improvement and management of the preserve, and works with other environmental organizations to generate awareness and support.

According to Wilson, the Alliance acts as a clearinghouse for information and communication. A bi-annual newsletter keeps teachers abreast of workshops and other information relating to the conservation area. Last year, CREA sponsored two workshops at The Highlands on forest ecology and water monitoring, each attended by 10 to 15 local teachers. This year they held four workshops and currently have teacher representatives in ten area schools.

CREA, in fact, is the catalyst for a formal water-monitoring program from the source to the mouth of the Cathance River. Seven locations have been selected for year round monitoring, conducted by students from Bowdoin College, who are currently developing software that will allow the data to be displayed on line. Trout Unlimited, a citizens group, is also involved in the project.

Looking Ahead

During this academic year, CREA has customized poster-size maps of the Cathance watershed as a learning tool for teachers and students. CREA is also working to provide easier access to monitoring points along the river and to the preserve itself. Trails should be available this summer so that CREA can conduct field trips to the Cathance preserve for participating teachers and their classes.

In addition, CREA expects to have a Web site up and running that will make it easier to educate and inform not only teachers, but also the general public, about its efforts on behalf of the Cathance watershed. Says Wilson, "We're only a small group now, but already we've been able to raise teachers' awareness about the Cathance River as a learning opportunity. The preserve is a wonderful outdoor classroom, and John Wasileski has recognized the value of supporting our efforts in promoting its use as a teaching opportunity."

Highland Green is Maine's active adult community and golf club, located in the Mid Coast community of Topsham. Created by noted Maine developer and environmentalist John Wasileski, Highland Green encompasses more than 600 acres and offers residents access to numerous recreational opportunities and a scenic nine-hole golf course. Wasileski is also the owner and developer of OceanView at Falmouth and The Highlands in Topsham. For more information on Highland Green, call (207) 725-4549.

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