Arts
Concerts, theater, and writing workshops on the dunes, centering artists too long excluded from the canon.
See programs
A living classroom in the dunes.
A nonprofit arts & ecology center at the Desert of Maine, where concerts, theater, and ecology walks meet a landscape in recovery.
Our mission
Inspiring people to engage with the history of the land, the resilience of nature, and the power of a present and engaged community.
Three ways in.
Arts, ecology, and community are the three threads of everything we do.
Ecology
A living classroom in a recovering landscape: the Queen Oak, native bees, moss and lichen rebuilding the soil.
Explore the landCommunity
Field trips, summer camp, and free events that welcome families, schools, and neighbors of every age.
Come visit
A desert that was never supposed to be here.
For millennia this was unceded Abenaki territory. European-style farming in the 1800s stripped the soil and uncovered a landscape of sand dunes, now slowly regenerating into forest again.
The Desert is vibrating with life and stories that span thousands of years. We help continue the story of this place in a way that is healing and enlivening for everyone.
The plants have so much to teach us.
Three residents of a landscape teaching itself how to be a forest again.
Succession
The Queen Oak
Grown wide and regal in the open dunes, likely planted by a blue jay eighty years ago.
Pollinators
Gentle Bees
Docile native bees that nest in the spring sand, vital to the health of the whole system.
Recovery
The Magic of Moss
Ancient plants rebuilding the topsoil stripped away long ago, a nursery for the forest to come.
What's on.
Concerts, theater, workshops, and camp across the season.
Jun15
Feb10
Sep08
Jul06
The Little Prince
Portland Children's Museum & Theatre
Family TheaterGuided Star Gazing
John Meader · Northern Stars Planetarium
AstronomyTruth, Fantasy, or Consequence
A writing workshop with Irene Drago
Woven SeriesArt & Ecology Summer Camp
Ages 8 to 12 · two weeks on the dunes
Summer CampThank you for a wonderful season.
Dozens of concerts and performances, in partnership with some of the region's most esteemed cultural organizations.
In partnership with
Help keep the dunes a living classroom for everyone.
Members and donors make free ecology programming possible.
Become a member from $30 a year.
Individual
$30
One adult
Family
$45
Two adults & children
Free monthly ecology events, discounted arts tickets, and early camp registration.
Keep in touch.
Ecology programs, arts events, summer camp, and field trips, now and then.
Donations are tax-deductible. EIN 86-3917461