Wild Blueberry Heritage Center hires new executive director

COLUMBIA FALLS — The Wild Blueberry Heritage Center in Columbia Falls hired its first executive director just in time for the wild blueberry harvest. Since 2017, the organization has been governed by a volunteer Board of Directors with support from AmeriCorps VISTA. In their inaugural years as a grassroots organization, the Wild Blueberry Heritage Center developed more than 11 educational and cultural exhibits with community support, inducted eight industry workers into the Maine Wild Blueberry Hall of Honor, and fostered partnerships with five local schools and more than 10 community businesses and organizations. This August the Center welcomed Elizabeth “Liz” Olcott of Harrington to steer the organization into the next phase.

Raised in Maine, Olcott graduated with a B.A. in English literature from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York and served as vice president of a marine 501c3 for six years. In the 2024 school year, she taught junior high ELA at Narraguagus High School, and substituted in the elementary schools in Addison, Harrington, and Milbridge.

In her new role as executive director, with support from the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine and Maine Agriculture in the Classroom, Olcott will be working closely with the Center’s Board of Directors to develop a place-based education program that encourages local students to learn about the wild blueberry industry, heritage, and ecology through field trips, classroom presentations, and community projects. Other priorities include fundraising, expanding and creating new exhibits, collecting and presenting stories from the local community, and broadening partnerships with local businesses and organizations to enhance community impacts.

If you would like to discuss future collaborations, tours, or workshops, please contact Olcott at liz@wildblueberryheritagecenter.org .

The Wild Blueberry Heritage Center is located at 1067 U.S. 1, Columbia Falls, ME 04623, and is open seven days a week, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., until Oct. 14.