By Dan Aceto

Staff Writer

As the former director of the Scarborough Land Conservation Trust, Laurene Sedgeley knows the importance of giving back to the community.

“Scarborough is special because there is really a lot to do outside in the community and a lot of people interested in being outside. The history of this place is pretty neat,” said Sedgeley, who recently changed her last name from Swaney.

Sedgeley has been awarded the Scarborough Leader’s Great Person award for her efforts to help preserve land throughout town from future development.

However, Sedgeley admits she wasn’t always as familiar with the lay of the land.

“When I first started I didn’t even know a land trust existed,” said Sedgeley. “Elaine Warren (former member of the trust) called me up and I said, ‘what’s that?’ The rest is history.”

Sedgeley first began work with the trust in 1993 after learning a dump was going to be built near a neighborhood on Maple Avenue where she planned to move. The land trust was ultimately successful in preventing sale of the land for development.

“All I knew at the time was it had to do with the potential situation of a dump,” Sedgeley said. “But I liked the group, they had a really good vision.”

Soon, Sedgeley became more involved and eventually grew accustomed to her surroundings.

“I got to walk about every inch of this town. There are some pretty neat spots and many that are still left to preserve,” she said.

Sedgeley said she remembers some of the trust’s early struggles to acquire land for preservation.

“I remember asking Steve Ross (former member), ‘how do you get your land?’ and he said, ‘Well, land owners usually approach us,’” Sedgeley said. “Soon I came to find out that wasn’t a real active step.”

So Swaney said she brainstormed her own ideas about what could be done.

 “Eventually I started meeting people whose family land was going to change hands and started doing work,” Sedgeley said.

As years passed, Sedgeley and others in the trust secured the preservation of many parcels of land, including the Libby River Farm, Fuller Farm and Broadturn Farm  then known as Meserve Farm, among others.

“Each experience was memorable and no deal is ever the same,” said Sedgeley. “They’re all gut-wrenching and filled with moments where you say, ‘Oh my God, is this going to happen?’”

Sedgeley said although discussions between potential developers of land and those in the trust have been “adversarial” in the past, she believes tensions have slowly settled over time.

“Now there is good cooperative energy between those once opposing factions. Many builders now want to incorporate open spaces into their designs,” Sedgeley said. “I think Scarborough could be the model for a good balance between development and conservation.”

However, Sedgeley said sometimes “doing the deal” is actually easier than owning the land.

“There’s a whole different set of things you have to be concerned with, such as maintaining the land, keeping in mind the multiple uses of the land and working toward improvements so people don’t trash something you spent so much money to protect,” Sedgeley said.

But Sedgeley doesn’t just help preserve land for conservation – she enjoys it as well.

Sedgeley said one of her favorite places to visit in town is the falls in the woods at Fuller Farm during spring. She also enjoys kayaking up the Nonesuch River and walking along it when it’s frozen. “When you go up the Nonesuch, it’s a little different wildlife and topography. People need to know these places are out there and that they can do it,” she said.

Others share her enthusiasm

Scarborough resident Eddie Woodin nominated Sedgeley for the Great Person award and said it was great to see others recognize her for her efforts.

“I’m delighted that she did win. Laurene for those 10 years as director set the table for Friends of Scarborough Marsh and other environmental groups in town. She stuck with the land trust and worked in developing and establishing a network that later became a network for greater things,” Woodin said.

 Woodin said he believes strongly in the importance of preserving land.

“Conserving for nature is important, but also for human beings to be able to appreciate the natural woods and be able to enjoy the changes in season. This land is so important, it makes us all more aware of our natural surroundings and the value of trees, farmland and nature,” Woodin said.

Scarborough resident Dan Warren was equally proud of Sedgeley.

“My first reaction when I heard the news was that trees and marshlands all over Scarborough are standing up and applauding,” Warren said.

He said his sister, Becky, was one of the first people to start the trust

“We used to joke that we have a land trust in Maine that didn’t have any land in trust,” Warren said.

The trust, which was established in 1977, now protects more than 1,000 acres of land, most of which is open for public access.

“In the early ’90s, (Sedgeley) got it revved back up and took it to another level, was able to get grants – three or four properties that came into land trust,” Warren said.

However, Sedgeley will be the first to admit she wasn’t the only one responsible for the preservation of land in the trust.

“It really was not a one-man outfit. I had a full team that was supportive at times in many blind-faith efforts,” Sedgeley said. “I think one of the things I was best at was managing many different personalities with different viewpoints and bringing those people together.”

Sedgeley, who has a degree in business and plant and soil sciences, said she credits her education and fascination with the outdoors for her success as trust director.

“Where I grew up was a very traditional dairy farm. I always loved being outside, but I never considered it as a career opportunity,” Sedgeley said.

Sedgeley said she left the trust in 2009 to focus on her primary occupation, offering business services such as bookkeeping and website maintenance for business owners. 

“It was hard to leave, but I needed to,” Sedgeley said. “It’s a really awful feeling when you feel like you can’t do your job to the best of your ability.”

Sedgeley said she would like to see the land trust secure and develop more community-supported agriculture, such as the Broadturn Farm,  which enable the growth of more local foods.

“It’s viewed as a novelty now, not a way to make a living and I think there definitely is a way to make a living,” Sedgeley said. “Every neighborhood in Scarborough could have a CSA and do well. The land would be protected, there would be traditional economics, people would be eating good and they would also be getting outside. It can happen.”

Although Sedgeley is no longer active with the trust, she said she still receives calls from time to time because of her experience with the history of the land.

“I still support them, they have done a lot of good for the community,” Sedgeley said.

She said whether she is actively involved in the land trust or not, the preservation and conservation of natural wildlife is always something that will interest her.

“I know everybody gets caught up in life, but this is important and there will always be opportunities to do more,” Sedgeley said.

“Many people don’t know, but in Scarborough we have cranberry bogs, peat bogs and some really interesting tributaries to explore. There’s a lot here, you’ve just got to be a little adventurous.”

Staff Writer Dan Aceto can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 237.