Leppold volunteered on Orono Bog Boardwalk

It took seven years for 120 volunteers, who worked more than 4,000 hours, to replace the original wooden sections of the Orono Bog Boardwalk with more durable plastic composite one at a cost of $1.56 million.

The final section, number 349 of 509, was installed on July 3, according to Director Jim Bird. An open house was held Saturday and Sunday to thank donors and volunteers for their financial support and labor.

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[Fellow] Adrienne Leppold, 40, of Bangor began volunteering at the boardwalk 11 years ago when she moved to the ares to attend graduate school at the University of Maine. She is now the songbird specialist for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife but still spent a lot of time working on the replacement of the original boardwalk.

“I like to get dirty, play in the muck and be with nature,” Leppold, who had binoculars hung around her neck, said Saturday. “This is one of my favorites places to bird in the state because it’s close and there are so many kinds of songbirds here. It’s just a little gem of a place.”