Creative Nature Programs
Summer camps, family-friendly walks, and artist-led workshops that spark creativity through accessible art activities inspired by our local nature. These experiences foster inter-generational learning and comfort in the outdoors, and encourage wonder, curiosity, and care for the environment.
Creative Nature Club Summer Camp
Two weeks only!
August 3–7 & August 17–21, 2026 9 AM–1 PM
Calling all junior adventurers, artists, observers, and problem solvers!
At Creative Nature Club Summer Camp, kids become ecological explorers through creative play and hands-on making. Each session revolves around an ecological topic designed to nurture young people’s inherent curiosity and connection to nature. With time spent roving the preserve, making art, and having fun outdoors, kids will build a unique understanding of the dynamic factors at play in the natural world around us.
$225 per session. Scholarships are available, please inquire at langlais@grlt.org
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Meant to Bee!
Bugs and their botanical besties
August 3–7 | Ages 5–7 9 AM-1 PM; drop-off begins at 8:45 AM
You knew that some bugs have a favorite plant, but did you know that some plants have a favorite bug too? Come explore the world of kinship between plants, insects, and the rest of the more-than-human world. All week long, we’ll take an ant’s-eye view of the preserve to get to know more about the hidden friendships and alliances amongst our local ecology.
Registration opens on February 1.
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Detectives of Nature
Uncovering the story of the land
August 17–21 | Ages 7–10 9 AM-1 PM; drop-off begins at 8:45 AM
Things are not as they seem at the Langlais Art Preserve, and the land is trying to tell us a story about its history, and what it needs in order to thrive. We will tune in as investigators, fact finders, naturalists, and artists, uncovering clues about how human-caused disturbance has impacted the preserve, and what we can do to help.
Registration opens on February 1.
Creative Nature Club
Recommended for ages 6–10
Monthly on Saturdays September 2025–May 2026 (no February session)
9:30 AM—12:30 PM
What amazing things can we discover when we slow down and really look closely? How can art help us feel connected to the more-than-human world?
At Creative Nature Club, kids become explorers and artists—finding wonders in the forest, fields, and ponds of the Langlais Preserve, then creating art that deepens their discoveries. Each month brings a new seasonal theme and a fun hands-on project. Healthy snacks are provided.
Registration is required to reserve your child’s spot. Sign up for five or more sessions and get a Creative Nature Club Field Kit!
Creative Nature Club is free.
Donations are appreciated and directly support the Langlais Art Preserve’s operations and programs.
Note: Caregivers will be asked to sign a photo-release and health waiver before each session. Because space is limited, families who miss more than two sessions without notice may be unable to continue in the program.
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Disturbance Detectives - March 14
Piecing together clues from the land about the recent past
Guest artist: Joan Sommers
The Preserve is whispering a story about the past. We’ll become detectives, gathering clues from the land about the long history of human activity here. Using a variety of materials, we'll make our own maps, part factual, part fiction, fully imaginative.
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Spring Awakening - April 11
Tracking the signs of spring at the preserve
Guest artist: Allison Cekala
Our friends at the Preserve are waking up, sending out new shoots and preparing for Spring babies. Join us as we observe the changes in the land and practice a series of close-looking exercises and drawing prompts at our individual "sit spots."
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Perfect Union - May 9
Symbiotic relationships between plants, insects, and other animals
As the first bumble bees visit the first spring flowers, join us to learn about the special relationships between plants and animals, and how deeply tied they are to each other’s flourishing. Using a range of colorful and whimsical materials, we'll create flower and pollinator puppets and act out pollination stories on a real garden stage.
Creative Nature Club is made possible with support from the Nellie Leaman Taft Foundation
Watershed Workshops
for ages 12–adult
Watershed Workshops will resume in April 2026.
What creative activities can help us reconnect with the non-human members of our watershed —from red oaks to asters to ospreys? How can imagination inspire us to become better stewards of our local nature?
Join regional artists engaged with ecological themes for monthly workshops featuring artist talks, guided nature walks, hands-on art projects, and group discussions. No art experience is needed—just curiosity and a willingness to explore.
Wonder Walks
for ages 0–5 +caregiver
Wonder Walks will resume in June 2026.
Wonder Walks are a child-centered meander through the Langlais Art Preserve. Rain or shine, each walk offers new discoveries as the landscape shifts and evolves over the season. Our staff gently facilitate each walk, creating a safe environment for children and their caregivers to engage with trailside wonders. Will your child be drawn to the way mica catches the sun, the shape of a flower, a beetle scurrying? Together, we will share in the joy and discovery of being within the natural world we belong to.
Children may choose to borrow a backpack containing simple tools to help them explore! And as the goal of Wonder Walks is not the destination but the journey, the group dynamic will dictate the distance traveled.
Events
Watershed Workshop: Tree Withness with Gina Siepel
“Witness trees” are trees recognized for their presence at significant human events. While they connect us to history on an arboreal clock, this concept remains human-centered. What if we shifted focus to the trees themselves —witnessing their long, quietly dramatic lives? Led by interdisciplinary artist and woodworker Gina Siepel, this workshop begins with a presentation on witness trees, followed by playful activities that turn our attention tree-ward. We'll meet the Langlais Preserve’s charismatic trees, exploring who they are, how they live, and imagining their past, present, and future through walking, writing, and discussion.
This workshop will include about 60 minutes of slow-paced walking on the Langlais Woodland Trail.
About Gina: www.ginasiepel.com
Watershed Workshop: Amplifying the Senses: A guided walk with Karen McCoy
Sculptor and land artist Karen McCoy will lead us on a walk designed to heighten our awareness of sound and sharpen our observation of the environment. By slowing our pace, we’ll invite deeper sensory perception. Each participant will carry and learn to use a hand-carved wooden listening and sighting horn and a viewing lens. Engaging in this focused listening and looking becomes a way of assembling sound and sight into a “sensory map,” offering a richer understanding of the landscape.
The entirety of this workshop will involve slow-paced walking on the Langlais Woodland Trail.
About Karen: https://www.karen-mccoy.com/
Sown Sculptures with Rachel Alexandrou
Interdisciplinary artist and forager Rachel Alexandrou will guide a walk around the Langlais Preserve to explore local plant ecology and its connection to landscape change. We'll then shift to a creative session using Presumpscot Formation Clay—the geological foundation of Maine’s landscape—and native seeds. Using simple techniques like molding, modeling, and texturing, participants will create sculptures that can be displayed indoors or planted outdoors to become part of the landscape itself.
About Rachel: https://rachelalexandrou.com/
Watershed Workshop: Practices for Seeing with Allison Cekala
WAIT LIST ONLY
Explore the natural world from a new lens. Inter- disciplinary artist and educator Allison Cekala will begin with a talk about her creative practice. Participants will then head outdoors and be guided through meditative, observational, and artistic prompts, culminating in a series of painted studies inspired by the Langlais Preserve landscape. This workshop invites you to slow down, look closely, and discover new ways of seeing and engaging with the environment.
About Allison: www.allisoncekala.com
Watershed Workshop: How to Fall in Love with a Flower with Bri Bowman
WAIT LIST ONLY
Artist and herbalist Bri Bowman will immerse us in the world of plants through science, sensory awareness, and creative expression. The workshop includes discussions on plant communication, meditative deep listening exercises, formulation of personalized flower essences, and co-creation of a sound performance inspired by the natural world. Participants will leave with a custom essence and a renewed connection to their environment.
This workshop will involve slow-paced walking on the Langlais Woodland Trail.
About Bri: https://waterthroughstone.com
Cushing Community School Little Sprouts Plant & Seedling Sale
Come pick out some brilliant sunflowers, cosmos, or zinnias for your garden, also herbs, cucumbers, and squash. Choose from over fifteen varieties of tomatoes! There will also be perennials, including native plants from Honey Petal Plants, a yummy bake sale, and more.
Hosted by the Cushing Community School Friends & Family Group.
Watershed Workshop: Mapping the Unmappable with Elaine Ng
What does it mean to know a place? Artist Elaine Ng will help us explore different approaches to mapping and how we consider our relationship to our material surroundings. We will begin with an artist talk and brief introduction to different strategies from historic cartography to deep mapping. Participants will then have an opportunity to walk about the Langlais Preserve, apply these ideas and create their own responses with guided exercises using the materials at hand.
About Elaine: www.elainekng.com
River Weaving with Ann McClellan and Billy Ray Sims
This workshop is full.
Ceramicist Ann McClellan and basketmaker Billy Ray Sims will demonstrate willow weaving and show us how to make functional and decorative weavings inspired by the St. George River—birds, fish, bird feeders, and fish traps. We'll discuss sustainable crafting techniques and take a walk to the riverfront to learn about alewives.
This workshop will include 30 minutes of walking on a relatively flat but muddy road.
Please bring along your own craft or pruning shears, if you have them. We’ll also have some to share!
About Ann: https://www.instagram.com/camdenhillsstudio/
About Billy: https://billyraysimsbaskets.com/
Paint the Preserve with the Midcoast Plein Air Painters
Join or observe plein air artists as they work outdoors amid the sculptures, barns, ponds, fields, and forest. Everyone is invited to set up an easel or bring along a sketchpad.
Family Wild Edible Plant Walk
Join local forager Rachel Alexandrou to learn what plants around us are easy and safe to identify and eat from the woods to the shore.
Suggested donation of $20/adult & $10/child under 12
Creative Nature Summer Camp: Capturing Light
Space still available!
Monday–Thursday, 9AM–3PM | Grades K-5 - $240
We’ll uncover the secrets of cyanotype, the captivating photographic art form that uses sunlight to create printed images.
Paint the Preserve with the Cushing Collaborative
Join or observe plein air artists as they work outdoors amid the sculptures, barns, ponds, fields, and forest. Everyone is invited to set up an easel or bring along a sketchpad.
Paint the Preserve with Elizabeth O’Reilly Summer Painting Workshop
Join or observe plein air artists as they work outdoors amid the sculptures, barns, ponds, fields, and forest. Everyone is invited to set up an easel or bring along a sketchpad.
Evening Nature Walk & Gel Printing Workshop with Wild Rosie
$50/person | BYOB, light snacks provided
Join Nina Devenney of Wild Rosie for an evening nature walk and gel-printing workshop in our Teaching Studio.
Barn Studio & Workshop Opening Day
Extend your visit with some nature-inspired creativity in our new community art-making space, explore Langlais’s workshop, and watch an historic film of the art environment.
Cushing Community School Little Sprouts Plant & Seedling Sale
It’s now a tradition! Pick out your season’s vegetable and flower seedlings, herbs, and perennials, a baked good or two, and more.
Hosted by the Cushing Community School Friends & Family Group.