Friends of Sears Island has three educational offerings happening in the last week of September: an art workshop, a "Patterns in Nature" activity kit for kids, and a fall migratory bird walk.

FOSI has provided the following descriptions of those activities:

Metal Embossing in Nature Art Workshop on Sears Island

Our metal embossing in nature art workshop was canceled in August, and so we are attempting to offer it one more time! This program will be held on Monday, September 23, from 10:00am - 12:00pm with Sandi Cirillo and Ashley Megquier. Attendees will be given time to roam on Sears Island and collect leaves and flowers, which will then be used to make embossed prints on two different types of aluminum. The printed metal pieces can be made into hanging ornaments, mobiles, stand alone art pieces, or used to decorate the front of a journal.

Sandi Cirillo has been a fiber/mixed media artist for over 25 years and is a retired art educator who gives many different fiber workshops. Visit her website, especially-for-ewe.com to see examples of Sandi’s work and a list of available workshops. Ashley Megquier is the outreach coordinator for Friends of Sears Island, and a mixed media artist whose work can be viewed at ashleyalice.art.

This program is geared toward adults, but interested children ages 12 and up are welcome to attend. A materials fee of $10 per person will be collected at the start of the workshop. Participants must pre-register by emailing outreach@friendsofsearsisland.org. Registration is complete upon receiving a confirmation email.

Patterns in Nature Activity Kits for Kids

Friends of Sears Island will be offering free “Patterns in Nature” grab-and-go activity kits for children this month. This kit will include materials to make a suncatcher inspired by designs in nature, a mandala decoration, and a pattern walk scavenger hunt. Educational handouts about math in nature will also be included, covering concepts such as symmetry, Fibonacci numbers, and fractals!

The kits are free and intended for children ages 5-12. Donations to Friends of Sears Island are always gratefully accepted to allow the organization to continue to offer programming to all at no cost. Activity kit quantities are limited and will be distributed to families on a first-come, first-served basis. To request a kit for your child, please email outreach@friendsofsearsisland.org.

After receiving a confirmation email, families can pick up their kits at the Carver Memorial Library in Searsport between September 25 - October 4.

Friends of Sears Island’s children’s programs and activity kits are sponsored by First National Bank.

Fall Migratory Birding on Sears Island

Fall migration along the eastern seaboard brings tens of thousands of birds through midcoast Maine. Sears Island offers the best, easily accessible, day to day opportunities to witness this phenomenon. Join Seth Benz, local birding enthusiast and Bird Ecology Program Director for the Schoodic Institute, for this slow-paced walk to document the variety of birdlife to be found along the island’s forest edges and surrounding waters. Bring binoculars and dress for the weather. Use of a spotting scope will be shared.

This program is free and open to all, but donations to Friends of Sears Island are encouraged and welcomed. No registration is necessary for this event. Sears Island is located at the end of Sears Island Road off Route 1, just east of Searsport. Participants should park along the causeway at the end of the road and meet at the picnic tables just beyond the island gate by 7:30am. This event will be canceled in the event of rain. Pets are not permitted at this program.