Located seven miles southeast of Bangor, Fields Pond Audubon Center features a modern visitor center, an 85-acre pond, and a 192-acre sanctuary with trails winding through field, wetland, forest, and lakeshore.

The center offers dozens of year-round public programs, a Maine Audubon Nature Store, and day camps for children.

The variety of habitats and trails at Fields Pond Audubon Center are ideal for nature study, wildlife-watching, walking, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing.

There's plenty to do at Fields Pond!

Upcoming programs and activities at Fields Pond
View, print or download the latest edition of the Fields Pond Journal. (PDF)
Paddle on Fields Pond or take a walk on our trails.
Join one of dozens of nature programs for adults, children, and families.
Shop at the Maine Audubon Nature Store for books, toys, Maine-made gifts, bird feeders, and binoculars.
Rent the visitor center for a meeting or wedding.
Explore, play, and learn at our summer day camps and day-long adventure programs.
Rent snowshoes to explore the sanctuary in the snow.

Programs for Schools & Educators

Choose the options that best serve your teaching & your students, from professional development workshops to Maine Audubon-led programs to our new Maine Audubon On Call service that lets you customize how you use our educators!

The Center provides a variety of guided and self-guided walks, exhibits, and nature trails. All guided programs are led by trained naturalists. Walking tours and specially designed programs are available for groups at a discounted price.

Volunteer Opportunities

Choose something you'd enjoy doing, then please call 207-989-2591 or e-mail fieldspond@maineaudubon.org

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteers are needed to:

Greet visitors at the reception desk at the Fields Pond Audubon Center on Thursday afternoons from 1:00-5:00 p.m., and every OTHER Saturday OR every OTHER Sunday afternoon 1-4p.m., greeting people, answering the phone, answering questions, doing light office work.
Make phone calls to schools. Our mailing list of over 600 teachers needs to be updated with the new academic year. Every year we have new teachers who come to the Nature Center for exploratory walks and educational programs with their students. These are motivated, Nature loving teachers who believe in the conservation ethic and we want to keep them coming. However, teachers retire, move away or change schools and we need to know which teachers are still at the addresses we have on record. A simple phone call to the school secretary will verify that our mailing is getting to the right person. Can you help by spending a few afternoons making telephone calls?
Staff indoor evening programs such as setting up chairs for the Penobscot Valley Chapter talks, dinners, etc.
Go to local nursing homes and present Nature-related topics to residents, bringing Nature to shut-ins on request. All that's needed is an interest in Nature and a willingness to share your interest with older people. Training and coaching, Audubon materials and visuals will be provided.
Be a Maine Audubon Naturalist, leading schoolchildren on "Secrets of the Forest" and "Wonders of Wetlands" Nature walks. Each naturalist takes 8-10 at a time with a chaperone for a quality small group experience. Call 207-989-2591 to volunteer and for dates and times of the next orientation.
Write press releases for the Fields Pond Audubon Center and Penobscot Valley Chapter, and e-mail these to local press and other media.
Staff Audubon booths at fairs year-round.

To volunteer for any of these tasks, please call 207-989-2591 or e-mail fieldspond@maineaudubon.org Your help counts in our community!

Nature Explorations for Groups

Nature walks, seasonally-appropriate tours, and specially designed programs are available for groups at a discounted price. Open to groups of all ages including school classes, community groups, families, and Scout troops, all guided programs are led by trained naturalists and introduce participants to the environment around them. Teachers receive a packet including pre- and post-trip activities, natural history information, and resources. Please contact us for more information.

Trails and Location Map

View Larger Map

History

Maine Audubon acquired 192 acres by bequest from the estate of the late Katherine Curran in 1994.

The Curran family kept cows, harvested ice from the pond in winter, and cut wood from the forest. Their gift of land included 1600 feet of lakeshore, a stream and ravine, several wetlands, fields, forest, and a 22-acre island in Fields Pond.

In the winter of 1998, Maine Audubon opened the L. Robert Rolde Nature Center, named after the Bangor- born, nature-loving father of a lead donor. To create a "green" building, Maine Audubon staff and volunteers worked with the architects to reduce waste, conserve energy, reuse natural resources, and use products that don't pollute the earth and atmosphere.

216 Fields Pond Rd
Holden, ME 04429
207-989-2591
fieldspond@
maineaudubon.org

Fields Pond Journal Winter 2011-12

Hours

Property open free of charge every day from dawn to dusk.

Nature Center building open Thurs.-Sat.: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Closed Sundays
Monday-Wednesday: open for groups, by appointment

Directions

Easiest directions: At Exit 5 from I-395, go RIGHT on Parkway South for 0.3 mile. Go RIGHT on Dirigo Drive 0.5 mile. Go RIGHT on Green Point Road 0.8 mile. Go LEFT on Wiswell Road 1.5 miles. At Fields Pond Road, go RIGHT 1 mile. Audubon Center is on LEFT.

From the North or South via I-95: Take Exit 182A to I-395, direction of Brewer. Proceed about 3 miles (crossing over the Penobscot River) then take the "Parkway South" exit from I-395. Turn left from the exit, continue on Parkway South to a four-way junction. Turn left on Elm Street, which becomes Wiswell Road in about a mile. Continue on Wiswell Road to Fields Pond Road (on right). Nature Center is well marked on Fields Pond Road.
From the East and the Coast: from Route 1A take a left onto either Copeland Hill Road (in Holden) or Green Point Road (near McDonald's in Brewer). Turn onto Wiswell Road, follow to Fields Pond Road. Audubon Center is well marked on Fields Pond Road.

Stewardship

Our sanctuaries and centers are a tribute to the generosity, commitment and active involvement of private individuals, foundations and corporations.

You, too, can become a steward - from clearing trails and leading nature walks, to donating land and funding - and by doing your part to help protect wildlife and wildlife habitat.

To ensure an enjoyable visit for all as well as to protect wildlife and wildlife habitat:

Please,

stay on trails
carry out all litter

Please, NO:

pets
hunting, trapping, collecting
fires
camping
alcoholic beverages
off-road vehicles

Thank you!

More Information

Barred Owls and Butterflies: On the Trail at Fields Pond

Penobscot Valley Maine Audubon Chapter

A Bridge at Fields Pond: L. Robert Rolde Memorial Nature Center

The Green Architecture of the L. Robert Rolde Memorial Nature Center

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