A Holiday Scavenger Hunt to Offset Climate (and World) Angst
Dec 13, 2023
Slowly, imperceptibly, our days will begin to lengthen. This light from the blazing sun is the center of our universe—and a giver of life. We are fortunate to live in a place—on a bountiful planet—surrounded by many gifts, like the powering sun. It comes to us freely, steadfastly.
These holiday weeks we’re taking a break from hard climate news and actions to point to a few of the many other precious offerings found here in Camden.
The crew of CamdenCAN hopes you’ll find the time, and a place, to enjoy (and honor) these gifts. We’ve suggested some places for discovery—hoping you and yours find your own special ways to enjoy them.
- The topography—glacially scoured, well-bedrocked, with mountains, hills, watersheds, valleys, and soils. A hike up Ocean Lookout provides a way to fully embrace this one.
- Camden’s harbor—also glacially scoured, modified daily by wind and tides. This time of year our waters are quiet—that itself is a gift to the creatures who make Camden harbor home. Sit and enjoy.
- Our marine life—from the mundane rockweed to Jonah (and the dreaded green) crabs, seals, lobsters, barnacles, harbor porpoises, sunfish, and mussels, to name just a few. Scramble down to explore the richness of intertidal life at low tide an any one of the many town-owned paths to shore—Bay Road is a great place to start.
- The salty, briny air—that one day will be free of diesel fumes. Inhale and smile. From anywhere.
- Our trees—quietly capturing carbon, bringing shade, holding our soil from eroding into our rivers and seas. Next time you ponder a tree also look down, at the unseen, hidden network of roots anchoring these stalwarts. Where’s your favorite town tree?
- Moving, babbling water—streams of fresh water tumbling down over rocks and logs. Camden has a surfeit of forests with stream-side trails. A five-minute walk into Hodson Preserve brings you right to river’s edge.
- Our diurnal tides—the predictable, constant rhythm of high and low, twice a day, connects us to a powerful lunar force and provides a constantly changing seascape. Tomorrow’s low tide will be one hour later than today’s. That’s a good reminder that change is woven into our lives.
- Our avian family—from the gulls and buffleheads you’ll find down at the harbor to the eagles and ospreys of the rivers and broader seascapes. A chickadee or a pileated woodpecker will greet you on the trail or in your own backyard.
- Our fresh water supply—managed and brought to us by Public Works and our local water company. We can’t live without this critical resource. We turn on a tap and out it flows. How many ways can you celebrate easily accessible, fresh drinking water? (And do you know what body of water our drinking water comes from?)
- The nonprofits and state agencies protecting our local environment and habitats, including Coastal Mountain Land Trust, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, Merryspring, SEA, and Camden Hills State Park, to name just a few. There are hundreds of people working for the ecological health of our corner of the world. Give one of them a smile, or better yet include them in your year-end giving.
- Our schooners—close your eyes and picture our harbor without those towering, wooden masts. Camden’s legacy of wooden boats is unique, and won’t remain if we don’t keep treasuring these vessels. Have you hugged a schooner owner lately?
- The hardworking municipal staff, and all our fellow citizens volunteering on innumerable committees and organizations that benefit Camden. These engaged humans care enough to work together to ensure a viable future for Camden. Acknowledge their work—or say thanks—when you can.
There are so many more gifts, including you, dear reader. Thanks for being our neighbor and someone who values Camden.
Other Offerings
We can’t sign off without sharing a couple important opportunities.
A Climate to Thrive is offering an online Climate Ambassador training beginning in January. Click on this link to learn more, and sign up. (And you can listen to the talk “Camden, the Climate Crisis, and You” given at the CPL by one of our local climate ambassadors.)
Symmetree, in downtown Camden, is offering a women’s circle reading of All We Can Save. Find out more by going in the store, or sign up here.
Sarah Miller, one of our 12/7 panelists (and a founding member of CamdenCAN), wrote a blog summarizing Camden climate action—read it here.
Maine Climate News, In Case You Missed It
The third update to Maine’s climate plan is out. Read the update here, and a summary of it here.
Maine will no longer require older heating systems to be disconnected to get heat pump rebates.
Concluding Thoughts
We’ll give a recap of the 12/7 Camden Talks Climate panel on Camden’s climate action in an upcoming newsletter (and share the video link then, too). It was both a celebration of the breadth of Camden climate work to date and a sobering look at the costly impacts of climate change.
For now though, in this season of quieting, we’ll send our wishes to you for a few weeks of slowing the pace—a chance to savor the offerings lapping at our shores.
May you and yours find the gifts here sufficient to fill your soul, if not your stockings.