From left to right, AJay Beaudoin, Ryan Eldridge, Clarke LeBlanc, Ashley Morrill and Ethan Landry on the site of a Maine Cabin Masters project at the Adaptive Outdoor Education Center campus in Brunswick. Courtesy of Annemarie Albiston

As Annemarie Albiston walked down a trail toward the new clubhouse on the Adaptive Outdoor Education Center’s Brunswick campus, her eyes welled with tears.

The wait to see Maine Cabin Masters’ finished project had been long, but worth it.

“All I could think of is that it’s another experience for the population we adore and love working with. There are no barriers to get to it,” said Albiston, who started the nonprofit with her husband, Bruce.

The team of celebrity Maine builders spent last fall building a new facility for the Adaptive Outdoor Education Center, which offers a range of activities and programs for people with disabilities.

The “Maine Cabin Masters” episode featuring the project and the nonprofit will air at 9 p.m. Feb. 13 on Magnolia.

Until the episode airs, Albiston can’t say much about the project other than that it’s a fully accessible building overlooking a pond. The clubhouse allows the organization to offer more nature education programs and activities to people with disabilities who might otherwise not have the opportunity to be in nature.

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“It’s just a beautiful addition to our campus in Brunswick,” she said.

Clarke LeBlanc, left, and AJay Beaudoin, right, work on a project with Ryan Eldridge of Maine Cabin Masters. LeBlanc and Beaudoin participate in program at the Adaptive Outdoor Education Center in Brunswick, where the Maine Cabin Masters built a new clubhouse last year. Courtesy of Annemarie Albiston

While the builders worked on the project, three participants from the Adaptive Outdoor Education Center were brought in to do a special project with Ashley Morrill and Ryan Eldridge.

AJay Beaudoin, 24, a skier on the adaptive race team, was already a fan of the show and loved meeting the builders.

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he said. “They seemed really ecstatic to have me onboard doing the project with them.”

The cabin masters incorporated several of his ideas in the building, said Beaudoin, who lives in Lewiston and was born with a rare cognitive condition.

“It was really a blessing to have the cabin masters come in and actually do that for AOEC,” Beaudoin said. “AOEC does a lot for the community and it’s nice to see them getting stuff in return.”

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As for exactly what that project is, Chase Morrill said, it won’t be revealed until the episode airs.

The nonprofit’s first adaptive outdoor campus opened in Carrabassett Valley in 2015. Two years ago, it expanded to Brunswick. They renovated and expanded the main building, updated two additional buildings and later bought an adjacent 15-acre lot.

Ethan Landry, right, works with Ashley Morrill and Ryan Eldridge from Maine Cabin Masters on a special project at the Adaptive Outdoor Education Center in Brunswick. Courtesy of Annemarie Albiston

The organization offers a wide range of programs across the state, including skiing, Nordic skiing, snowshoeing, climbing and waterskiing. In Brunswick, the 20-acre campus includes fully accessible trails and the organization is working on an adaptive campsite.

“It’s pretty much nonstop, never-ending fun,” Albiston said. “A lot of our folks have never experienced these things so we try to give them the best experience we can.”

And that’s where the Maine Cabin Masters come in.

When the Albistons heard about the show and the projects the cabin masters have done across the state, they reached out to see if they’d be interested in doing one on the Brunswick campus. The show usually features renovations of privately owned cabins, but they try to do a couple of community projects each season, said master builder Chase Morrill.

“We’re extremely fortunate and have great opportunities,” he said. “We want to showcase the beauty of the state, but we also want to help out local nonprofit organizations. Giving back to the community is very important to us.”

It’s unusual to do a new build instead of a renovation, but when Morrill and a show producer scouted the Brunswick location and met the Albistons, the decision to move forward with the project was “a no-brainer for everybody,” Morrill said.

“Annemarie and Bruce are doing amazing work,” he said. “You can tell how dedicated they are. It makes everyone want to be a part of what they’re doing.”

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