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Bug Light Park
South Portland, ME

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South Portland, ME, the inaugural community, has already begun organic management work at its beloved Bug Light field. Learn more below!

about Bug Light Park

Stonyfields Bug Light Park Kite Flying

Bug Light Park, home to the Portland Breakwater Lighthouse, offers expansive views of Portland Harbor and the skyline of Maine’s largest city. The 8.78 acre park was the site of major shipbuilding activity during WWII. Bug Light Park is a popular destination for picnicking, boating, kite flying and salt water fishing.

The Portland Breakwater Lighthouse was built in 1875 and is one of Maine's most elegant lighthouses. Though modeled on an ancient Greek monument, it was built with plates of cast iron. It was dubbed "Bug Light" due to its small size.

the field day celebration

why Bug Light Park

To create and foster vibrant landscapes that protect the health of people, pets, pollinators, and Maine's critical waterways, the City of South Portland passed a Pesticide Use ordinance in 2016 to restrict the use of  pesticides on all public and private property except in limited circumstances.

  • Under the ordinance, only organic pesticides (approved for use under the USDA’s National Organic Program) or classified as “minimum risk” by the USEPA are allowed for use. All other pesticides are restricted on both public and private property, whether managed by a commercial operator, licensed applicator, business owner or resident.
  • The City's Pesticide Use Ordinance establishes organic land care methods as the primary means to care for and maintain property in South Portland including lawns, gardens, athletic fields, parks, and playgrounds.
  • Since 2017, all of South Portland’s playing fields, parks, and public spaces are managed without pesticides.
  • Some areas have been more actively managed than others. At Bug Light Park, the Parks department has only been mowing. Now Stonyfield Organic and South Portland are working together to make Bug Light Park a demonstration area for how to take a challenging landscape (compacted soil, no irrigation, saltwater ocean spray, etc) and rehab it organically.

meet chip

our commitment

Stonyfield has given the city of South Portland a donation to be used towards the rehabilitation of Bug Light Park. In August of 2018, Chip Osborne, of Osborne Organics who is leading the field maintenance project, visited the park to do a site assessment, collected soil samples, and began to draft his maintenance plans.

Stonyfield will be monitoring the progress of the transition along the way and will communicate any and all updates here on this page.

learn about the Initiative