TIMES RECORD • September 15, 2020
The Desert of Maine, which receives too much rainfall to actually be classified as such, consists of a 20-30-acre “desert” of silt – not sand– that functioned as a successful farm until overgrazing sheep caused widespread erosion, exposing the silt beneath the topsoil. Marketed as a tourist attraction for nearly 100 years, Mela Heestand, who bought the property with her husband Doug Heestand in December 2018, is hoping to showcase instead the wide educational opportunities in the “desert.” Students will work with Heestand as well as with a geologist and ecologist to provide expert-led lessons as they seek to answer questions like “why is there a desert in the middle of a Maine forest?”