Mousam Way Land Trust President Dr. Al Pollard, right, presents an award to Dr. Bud Johnston.
Photo: Lawrence Furbish
By Lawrence Furbish
Dr. Gordon “Bud” Johnston was recently named the Mousam Way Land Trust’s director emeritus in honor of his 23 years as its chairman. Johnston was one of the three founders of the land trust back in 1999 and was a key figure helping to preserve open space in Sanford and Springvale.
He was born in Arlington, MA, just outside of Boston. Despite the proximity to the city, he remembers a childhood filled with the outdoors, with a pond and woods to explore. That is all gone now, a victim of development, and he credits that experience in forging his desire to preserve our outdoors. He also remembers the wartime victory gardens from his childhood that triggered his longtime love of gardening.
Johnston received a PhD from Harvard University and taught botany and ecology for many years at Nasson College in Springvale. He still teaches today, as anyone who takes a walk in the woods with him can attest. He can discuss in detail the geology, wildlife, flora and fauna along the trail, and can recite the proper Latin names of countless trees, shrubs, and plants. He has worked with the Boy Scouts to write and install interpretive signs on some of the land trust’s trails to enrich the experience of walking on them.
Johnston’s interests and activities are wide ranging. He has been a master gardener for 40 years and frequently gives workshops and informal classes on plants and gardening. For many years, he was the master gardener director of the child discovery garden at the annual Maine Flower Show in Portland. He is currently the manager of the land trust’s Community Garden and greenhouse on Blanchard Road in Springvale.
The Goodall Memorial Library has also been a significant interest in his life. He served as the president of the Sanford Library Association, which governs the Goodall Library board, until term limits ended his tenure. He has also given talks and programs over the years in the library’s community room.
The post Honoring ‘Dr. Bud’ appeared first on Sanford Springvale News.
