Donation to provide 97 new sections for Orono Bog Boardwalk

Boardwalk donation
From left are James Bird, Orono Bog Boardwalk director; Jeff Mills, University of Maine Foundation president; and Jerry Longcore, Orono Land Trust representative.

Katharine Kirkpatrick was an avid community member, adventurer and dedicated volunteer. After her 2016 death, the Katharine M. Kirkpatrick 2002 Trust gifted $141,826 to the Orono Bog Boardwalk Campaign Fund held at the University of Maine Foundation.

Her donation will provide 97 new boardwalk sections — including two interpretive stations and two wheelchair turnouts. In October, volunteers will remove old sections and install the new ones, which will increase the boardwalk’s longevity by about 30 years.

In 2010, the Orono Bog Boardwalk reconstruction campaign began with the goal of replacing the entire wooden boardwalk with composite decking, stainless steel footings and aluminum sidings.

After sections made possible by Kirkpatrick’s donation are installed, there will be 114 sections remaining to be replaced, at a cost of $226,148.

Fundraising efforts are ongoing and boardwalk volunteers are committed to raising the money necessary to complete reconstruction by the end of 2018.