Scarborough to celebrate inaugural Marsh Day
Two bicyclists take in the sunrise over Scarborough Marsh from a bridge along the Eastern Trail in August 2023. (Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer)
It’s difficult to think about Scarborough without thinking of the Scarborough Marsh. Maine’s largest salt marsh serves as the background of the town’s website, its waterways snake into the center of town, and marsh grasses adorn Scarborough’s logo. Residents and visitors flock to the marsh in all seasons to take photos of wildlife, watch birds, cross-country ski, kayak or just enjoy a nice walk.
To celebrate this key feature in town, the Scarborough Land Trust organized the inaugural Marsh Day: a day of activities, events and educational opportunities at the marsh and throughout town.
From 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, residents can explore the marsh, learn about its wildlife, and discover the conservation efforts that protect it.
“The intent was to create a day where the public can learn more about and just experience and appreciate Scarborough Marsh and how important it is to our community,” said Andrew Mackie, executive director of the land trust.
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Blue Point School, located at 174 Pine Point Road, will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with activities, organization tables and information about the marsh. Throughout the day, residents can enjoy free activities around town, including a family bird walk at the Eastern Trail, a guided canoe paddle at the marsh, and a fish-seining demonstration at Ferry Beach.
People can find the full list of activities and register for them on the land trust’s website. About a week before the event, 120 people were already signed up for activities, Mackie said.
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The Scarborough Marsh Committee, which is part of the trust, has been planning Marsh Day for the past year, with the help of 20 partners, he said.
The marsh is facing many threats, Mackie said, from sea level rise to impacts from development around the marsh and extreme storms. It takes many people to keep the marsh healthy.
Steven Jury will host a discussion about blue crabs — a species migrating north as the Gulf of Maine warms — at Blue Point School from 2 to 3 p.m. As a professor at Saint Joseph’s College, he is partnering with the land trust for a blue crab monitoring project.
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At Marsh Day, he hopes to discuss and promote his research and increase public understanding of the marsh and its inhabitants.
The Scarborough Marsh, and the Gulf of Maine in general, is very dynamic, Jury said. It’s one of the fastest warming marine systems in the world, and every year he has been studying it has been unique. The more people learn about these systems, the better they can respond and react as it changes.
“Keep your eyes open,” Jury said. “Things are changing, and they’ll continue to change.”
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Tagged: conservation, environment, Scarborough Land Trust, scarborough marsh
Salomé Cloteaux is a community reporter covering Scarborough and Westbrook. She was born in France but lived in Indiana for most of her life before moving to Portland in November 2025. Salomé has a degree. More by Salomé Cloteaux
