BATH — With a goal of raising $20,000 this year, the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust is holding its third and final “Summertime Shindig” Thursday, Sept. 28.

The 5:30 p.m. event will take place at the historic Bath Freight Shed, 27 Commercial St. Hors d’oeuvres, wine and local beer will be available, and a silent auction will be held.

Proceeds from the auction and tickets go toward stewardship, education, land and water quality programs in KELT’s nine area communities. Down East Magazine readers named KELT Maine’s best land trust for 2017.

The Shindigs are KELT’s sole fundraising events this year, and mark the first time the land trust has held such a series.

The first two events were held at the Derecktor Robinhood Marine Center in Georgetown in July, and at Squam Creek Farm on Westport Island last month. The land trust is more than halfway to its goal, Program Director Becky Kolak reported Sept. 14.

“We felt it was important to hold events in locations throughout the Kennebec Estuary because the communities we serve are different and dynamic,” she noted.

The Shindigs are for everyone – those familiar with KELT, and those new to the organization, Kolak added.

Tickets cost $60 and are available at kennebecestuary.org/summertime-shindigs. Contact Kolak at bkolak@kennebecestuary.org or 442-8400 for more details.

“Guests may discover something new about us, like our water quality programs or our management of a community garden,” she explained. “Beyond just being a good time among people who value local natural places, it’s our major fundraising events for the year. The proceeds from these events directly support KELT’s work to protect new and existing preserves, build and manage trails, and get folks of all ages outside.”

Since KELT was founded in 1989, it has protected more than 3,500 acres of key scenic, wild, historic, cultural and agricultural resources, according to the organization. It also oversees 23 miles of trails on 11 public preserves, offers nature programs to more than 1,200 area students, organizes residents to monitor quality of water and count alewives along the Nequasset Fish Ladder, and protects local farmland.

Alex Lear can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 113 or alear@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @learics.

The Kennebec Estuary Land Trust is holding its third and final “Summertime Shindig” at the Bath Freight Shed Thursday, Sept. 28. The organization aims to raise $20,000 toward its missions and programming.