Hirundo Wildlife Refuge

Less than ten miles from the Orono campus, Hirundo Wildlife Refuge is a UMaine Trust and a research and learning destination for all students and faculty.

A photo of the riverbank from Hirundo Wildlife Refuge. The water is low enough so that you can see the roots of the silver maple, along with its reflection in the Dead Stream.
A silver maple shows its roots on the banks of the Dead Stream in the Hirundo Wildlife Refuge.

Hirundo is a historic, information-rich site for studying Maine flora and fauna. Its almost 2,500 acres of woodlands, wetlands, fields, and streams support preservation, education, research, and recreation. These resources serve as a living laboratory for courses ranging from Anthropology, Business, Ecology, Education, Engineering, Forestry, all the way to Zoology.

CITL Instructional Designers collaborate with staff from Fogler Library’s Special Collections and Hirundo to gather and share current and historic aerial photos along with other data sets and samples specific to Hirundo lands. Faculty and students use and contribute their own research to an ever-growing body of interdisciplinary data to facilitate hands-on learning.

An aerial photo taken in 1939 over what will become the Hirundo Wildlife Refuge.
An aerial photo from 1939 of the area that will become the Hirundo Wildlife Refuge from Fogler Library Special Collection’s Sewall aerial photography collection.

Drone footage from Hirundo Wildlife Refuge, Fall 2023

Do you want to learn more? Reach out and we’d be happy to start the conversation with you.