The Wild & Scenic Film Festival on Nov. 14 will include eight films that cover a broad range of topics and address issues from climate change to rare birds and orchids to finding common ground among tribes, ranchers and government agencies. The audience will learn about unconventional activists and follow a father-and-son canoe trip in the Slate Islands of Ontario. What all of the films share is a passion for the natural world, and examples of the lengths to which people and communities will go to protect the places and inhabitants of our wild places.

Coastal Mountains Land Trust and Midcoast Conservancy are co-hosting this virtual event, which will be available to ticket holders for five days after its premiere from 4-6 p.m. Nov. 14. Hosting the festival was a natural fit for each of the organizations, as stewardship and action on behalf of the environment are core values of both.

Coastal Mountains Land Trust owns over 5,000 acres of the mountainous region west of Penobscot Bay as permanent conservation land. These Preserves include many of the natural highlights of this area, and are managed to protect wildlife habitat and biodiversity, while providing a natural laboratory for environmental education and opportunities for low-impact outdoor recreation. CMLT’s priorities are conserving lands that support and contain key wildlife habitat supporting biological diversity; rivers, lakes, wetlands, and the bay; working farms and forests that support the community; scenic landscapes essential to a sense of place; public access to natural areas for outdoor enjoyment; trails and connectivity between people and nature; and opportunities for building community.

Midcoast Conservancy cares for lands from Westport Island to Freedom, and from Washington to Friendship, including the watersheds of the Sheepscot River, Damariscotta Lake and the Medomak River. Among its 55 preserves are nearly 100 miles of trails on which hikers, bikers, skiers and snowshoers can explore and immerse themselves in the wonders of Midcoast Maine. Programs like wild mushroom identification and foraging, bog ecology, forestry for Maine birds and full moon paddles offer people ways to engage and fall in love with the abundance of resources here. Volunteers who take to the rivers and lakes to do water quality monitoring, and spend work days eradicating invasive plants on the preserves are taking action on behalf of the natural world that offers so much to so many.

To learn more about Coastal Mountains Land Trust and the film festival, go to https://www.coastalmountains.org/. To learn more about Midcoast Conservancy and the film festival, go to https://www.midcoastconservancy.org/.