STORIES OF ACADIA: The next generation

Matt Lambert and Rosie Avila

Favorite spots: Schoolhouse Ledge (Avila), The Bubbles and the Gorge Path (Matt)

At Mount Desert Island High School, students were working on a documentary about Acadia. For senior Matt Lambert of Bar Harbor and sophomore Rosie Avila of Northeast Harbor, the park known worldwide for its natural splendors is right in their backyard.

“I’ve been going into the park since I was born, really. My mom had a backpack, and she used to go on hikes with me,” Avila said. “We have a friend who lives on Long Pond in the summer, and she used to put me in the stroller and walk me out there. So I’ve been in the park since, really, as long as I can remember.”

Avila pointed out that when you grow up on MDI, the park is always there.

“Even here at the school, we can walk out into the woods and get right onto the trails within five minutes,” Avila said. “So [Acadia is] really everywhere.”

Lambert said he and his peers have such a familiarity with the park, they sometimes forget how special it is.

“Next year I’m going off to college — not that far away — but I’m definitely going to miss having the park in my backyard, and only driving 15 minutes, or less, to get to the top of Cadillac, to get to Sand Beach, places like that,” he said.