It was the great outdoors that lured Boothbay Region Land Trust Environmental Educator Tracey Hall to the Boothbay region 13 years ago, and it’s the great outdoors that keeps her and her family here.

On the Boothbay peninsula, Hall has found a perfect niche in a career and region where unspoiled nature is in easy reach.

Hall had an unusual introduction to the region. For her first seven years here she spent most of her time “in Boothbay Harbor” on Damariscove Island, fives miles offshore.

Hall and her husband, Nick Ullo, were college students in Pennsylvania, when she found a posting for a summer job as a caretaker on an island off the coast of Maine.

Although once populated by early settlers and Native Americans, Damariscove Island is a now a nature preserve, whose only regular inhabitants are birds, insects and a few mammals.

In 2002, Hall and Ullo became the Boothbay Region Land Trust’s first Damariscove Island caretakers, a gig they would happily return to for seven years.

Hall said their time on Damariscove Island was a life-changing experience. 

“We felt like we had won the lottery,” she said.

Hall and Ullo completed their education and then moved to California.

But the Boothbay region had won their hearts. When a year-round position became available at the land trust, Ullo and Hall returned to live in the region year-round.

“This community was so desirable because of all the recreational opportunities and the land trust,” Hall said.

These days, Hall enjoys the great outdoors with her family, friends, visitors and year-round residents.

As the land trust’s environmental educator, she can be found outdoors any time of year, connecting adults and children with the natural world.

“It’s an amazing job; I feel very blessed,” she said. “I get people outdoors and enjoying the preserves through classes, group hikes and kayak paddles. My job is to introduce people to the preserve, and it’s a job I love doing year-round.”

Not surprisingly, it is the land trust’s 30 miles of hiking trails that are Hall’s number one favorite outdoor destination.

“We have trails all over the peninsula and also offshore. There are so many habitats to explore that hiking is my number one past time,” she said. “But I also like to paddle, enjoy dog walks, snow shoeing and cross country skiing in the preserves. And I love to share all of it with visitors and year-round residents.”