Remembering our friend, Margaret

It’s my honor to recognize and remember a longtime volunteer, supporter, and one of KELT’s inaugural Board members, Margaret Totten of West Bath, who passed away in late March. For over thirty years, she and her husband, Richard, gave their time to support KELT’s mission, particularly to our stewardship program. They shared their love of the land and valued KELT’s work to conserve and care for the natural places they treasure most.

In my tenure at KELT, I always enjoyed seeing Margaret and Richard at KELT’s Annual Meeting and have a moment to catch up on the latest, whether it was how their gardens were growing or on neighborhood news. Considerably and for decades, Margaret and Richard were stalwart volunteers for trails and monitoring of conservation easements in West Bath. These easement visits require training and experience, and I was grateful to rely on the dependability and knowledge of Margaret and Richard to accomplish this important annual task. Usually, Margaret would take the role of photographer, while Richard took on the task of writing observations and tracking progress on a map. The images Margaret captured each year are important records -- indicators marking small changes over time, such as treefall and signs of wildlife, and showing how the overall habitat remained protected. A joyful reminder of why conservation matters and why KELT’s volunteers are vital to our mission!

Reading Margaret’s obituary (https://www.funeralalternatives.net/2026/margaret-totten-2?highlight=WyJtYXJnYXJldCJd), she was a woman of so many interests and talents. I am immensely grateful that for so many years of her life, her skills and generosity of spirit were shared with KELT.