Photos from Maine will appear here after the event

Accessibility fund

Help us bring more people to Maine

$0

At the Guild, we believe stewardship is for all! That’s why we’ve created an "Accessibility Fund" to ensure that stewards who need support with registration fees are able to attend the 30th National Guild Gathering. If you’ve attended a Guild Gathering in the past, you know the powerful sense of community and the richness of the knowledge shared. Can you help us make this experience possible for all?

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Who's coming

Stewards from across the country

Registration is still open.

67
Registrants
18
States represented
61
Cities & towns
Fewer registrants
More registrants Gray = no registrants yet

Full agenda

Three days in coastal Maine

Download the full draft agenda (PDF) ↗ (subject to change)

Optional arrival day. Settle in and meet fellow attendees before the formal program begins.
5:00 – 7:00 pm
Welcome reception
Mast Landing Brewery · Freeport, ME
Optional Drinks on your own
A full day of welcome sessions and three working sessions, followed by an evening reception.
8:00 am
Registration
Wolfe's Neck Center for Agriculture & the Environment · Freeport
9:00 am
Reconnection, gather with friends new and old, Guild introduction circles
Wolfe's Neck Center for Agriculture & the Environment · Freeport
10:00 am
Welcome, Zander Evans, & keynote: "A Perspective on the Future of Forest Stewardship", Laura McCarthy, New Mexico State Forester
Wolfe's Neck Center for Agriculture & the Environment · Freeport
All day
Three concurrent working sessions
Wolfe's Neck Center for Agriculture & the Environment · Freeport
Lunch included Coastal trails for lunchtime stroll
Evening
Reception dinner
Harraseeket Inn · Freeport
Included in registration

Tuesday session tracks

Three concurrent tracks run on Tuesday. Participants may switch tracks each session. Each track concludes with an ideas-to-action synthesis session.

Ecological forestry
  • Indigenous stewardship & ecological forestry
  • Science & policy for ecological integrity
  • Stewarding old forests in a changing climate
  • Markets to support ecological forestry
Stewardship for all
  • Stewardship for land conservation
  • Engaging landowners in stewardship
  • Welcoming all stewards
  • Workforce development
Featuring lessons from Women Owning Woodlands, Fire Adapted Communities, and Forestry for the Birds
Stress & disturbance
  • Forest health updates (HWA, buckthorn, Beech Leaf Disease, Eastern Spruce Budworm, Mountain Pine Beetle)
  • Sustaining Ash Partnership Network (SAP-Ne)
  • Beneficial fire
  • Extreme weather
Choose a half-day field trip in the morning (lunch included), then an afternoon working session and synthesis discussion back at Wolfe's Neck Center.
Morning
Half-day field trip, choice of three
Bliss Woods Preserve - New England Forestry Foundation
Crystal Spring Farm (BTLT) - pending
Wolfe's Neck Woods State Park - pending
Lunch included Transportation provided
1:30 pm
Working Session 4, choice of three tracks
Wolfe's Neck Center for Agriculture & the Environment · Freeport
3:30 pm
Working session action items & synthesis
Wolfe's Neck Center for Agriculture & the Environment · Freeport
Evening
Catered dinner
Wolfe's Neck Center · Freeport
Included in registration

Wednesday session tracks

Ecological forestry
  • Stewarding old forests in a changing climate
Stewardship for all
  • Workforce development
Stress & disturbance
  • Extreme weather

Note: You do not choose field trips in your event registration. We'll be in touch later to arrange field trip choices.

Full-day field trips (bag lunch provided), grouped into a North loop and a South loop.
North
Holt Research Forest - MaineTREE
Mill Pond Reserve or Bald Head Preserve (TNC) – pending
Bag lunch included Transportation provided
South
Gilsland Farm (Maine Audubon)
Massabesic Experimental Forest (USFS)
Falmouth & Alfred/Lyman, ME · Under 40 min from venue
Bag lunch included Transportation provided

More details coming soon.

Note: You do not choose field trips in your event registration. We'll be in touch later to arrange field trip choices.

Evening
Dinner on your own in Portland (optional group reservations available)
Old Port · Portland, ME
Optional Not included in registration

Logistics

Everything you need to know

Main venue
Wolfe's Neck Center
Freeport, Maine
Sessions, meals, and field trip base
Lodging
Harraseeket Inn
Room block available · Breakfast included
Or: camping cabins nearby
Field trips
Transportation provided
All trips within ~1 hr of venue
Field trip details coming soon
What's included
Meals & sessions
All sessions, Tue–Thu lunches, Tue & Wed dinners, field trip transport

More on lodging

To ensure you can book your room successfully at the Harraseeket Inn, please use one of these options:

Option 1 (Recommended): Book online using our special room block link: https://reservations.travelclick.com/116080?groupID=4998067

Option 2: If you prefer to call the hotel, you'll first reach an AI reservation assistant that sounds very much like a person. You'll need to ask to be connected to a human, or the front desk, or the reservations team. A staff member will then be able to access our room block and make your reservation.

If you do not take one of these steps, the system will incorrectly tell you that the hotel is sold out.

If you experience any difficulty booking your room, please let us know right away so we can work directly with the hotel to get your reservation taken care of.

Registration pricing

Type Member Non-member
Standard $430 $530

If you need financial assistance, you can submit an application for waived fees. See the accessibility fund above.