Our FOHIs showed True
Dedication & Camaraderie this Year
Dedication & Camaraderie this Year
We all know it to be true—the Audubon Camp at Hog Island continues to thrive because of the incredible community established by the Friends of Hog Island. From last winter’s storms to the fall work week, FOHIs showed up with their donations and determination. There’s never been a more generous and hardworking crew! And we cannot thank you enough for your time, contributions, passion, and positivity.
The fall FOHI work week was a smashing success, and now the Quarterdeck sits safely on its new footings 50 feet farther away from the shoreline. Nearly thirty volunteers showed up ready to put the gardens to bed, tidy the rooms, tackle painting projects, and slap a new roof on the porch of the Bridge. Check out these photos of our volunteers giving it their all, never without smiles on their faces. Thank you to John Sullivan, Nina Stoyan-Rosenzweig, and Deb Lamperti for submitting work week photos!
We want to especially thank our volunteers that came for multiple weeks this year, and our Desperados (the local FOHIs who are our rapid-response team) for always being on call. We see you, and appreciate all that you do!
Where we're needed next...
There is always work to do at Hog Island—managing a nearly 90-year-old camp on an island in Maine threatened by climate change certainly isn’t easy. We’re grateful for the partnership with Eric Snyder, Audubon’s long-time Hog Island Facilities Manager, who always has the camp’s longevity at the forefront of his mind. He recently shared with us several short- and long-term projects on the horizon, some of which will need support from the Friends of Hog Island.
There are few storm repairs still left to do, most importantly securing the Queen Mary Pier, which could be impacted by another storm. This, along with finishing the ramp to the mainland boathouse, will be covered by Audubon’s remaining insurance settlement from last winter but might need a few winter helpers.
Audubon also received a generous donation dedicated to electrical enhancements both on the island and the mainland. A nice perk for visitors is that now they can charge electric vehicles on-site! Eric will also be hiring an electrician to assess the breaker panels and main lines running out to the Foc’s’le, Quarterdeck, Crows Nest, and Binnacle. With some luck we might even see a few additional outlets in the rooms next year!
You may have heard that the septic system is aging; well, Eric is on top of that, too. Audubon is in the process of assessing the long term needs of the system but addressing the areas most endangered by rising seas and storms is the short term priority, possibly with some work happening as early as next spring.
Eric also mentioned that he and the new center director, Laurie Bragg, will be collaborating this winter to create a formalized facilities plan that will look out to the next five to 10 years. The Friends of Hog Island will be a part of consulting on this plan so that we have a clear vision of what to expect down the road. Through this plan, National Audubon is seeking federal funding to address shoreline erosion, which of course is a major concern on the Hog Island peninsula.
As always, FOHI will be ready to help in any way possible to ensure that the camp thrives into the future.
Let's finish 2024 strong!
We have almost reached our fundraising goals this year, thanks to all of you. However, we hope that those of you who are waiting to send in your donation will do so before the end of the year to make sure we meet our budget. Please remember that even small donations are appreciated. It’s easy to make those online through our website. We recommend sending a check for larger gifts.
You may consider sending in a donation earmarked for the Juanita Roushdy Scholarship Fund, honoring our recently retired founding president. We are still a bit short on fully endowing the fund, which will recognize her contribution to the camp in perpetuity. In addition to Juanita’s scholarship, which is intended to support Indigenous attendance at camp, FOHI will (as it has for many years) provide a scholarship for a teen from the Maine Youth Birders Club.
This year, registration for the 2025 camp season will not be opening until early December. Audubon Program Manager Rosy Tucker has been busy developing the schedule, which will include three new programs—Mindful Birding with Holly Merker; a small Teen Arts session that will overlap adult Arts and Birding, and an LGBTQIA+ camp for queer birders in September. We will open up our volunteer application period in conjunction with camp registration. So expect an email reminder about that the first week of December. We’ll need extra volunteers next summer with these newly added sessions!
‘Til then, please keep the FOHI engine rolling with an end-of-year donation or purchase one of our 2025 calendars below…
