WINTHROP — The Kennebec Land Trust has acquired two new properties: the 132-acre North Acres Wildlife Conservation Area in Manchester, and a 36-acre addition to the Vassalboro Wildlife Habitat, which will now conserve 366 acres.

GARDINER — Elliot Gilg held a black trash bag wide open for his father, Kerstin Gilg, as he climbed up from the riverbank with a hand full of trash.

“Last year, we cleaned it all up and we came back a week later and the trash was back,” 6-year-old Elliot said. “I was like, ‘Come on, man!’ But even if it adds back up, I feel good about cleaning it.”

“Really good cleaning it,” he said moments later.

Elliot and his father, alongside his 14-year-old brother, Alden, and mother Ilana, dedicated their morning to clean up trash along the riverbank of the Cobbossee Stream. The banking was one of 31 locations around the Cobbossee Watershed that drew participants on Saturday.

TOPSHAM – Maine Coast Heritage Trust has named Jerry Bley as recipient of the 2022 Espy Land Heritage Award, an annual award that recognizes an individual, organization, or coalition for exemplary conservation efforts in Maine.