Volunteers congregated on Maine State pier just before 10 am on Saturday morning. We wore equal parts optimism and rain gear.

Our destination: Cow Island.

Saturday was cleanup day on the island, and eight or so of us ready-to-work folks met up with Mike Lyle of Rippleffect to travel over for the day.

In case you aren't privy, Rippleffect is a youth and community development organization operating outdoor adventure programming on Cow Island. They're also the org behind the annual Velvet fundraiser each November.

So into the Rippleffect boat we piled for the short journey across Casco Bay.

And while I sighed at the overcast sky and fall-like wind, I still couldn't ignore the stellar bay views - even in inclement weather.

Once on island, Rippleffect's Anna Cynar gave us a tour of 26-acre joint. Most notable are the former military installations that have been repurposed for the island's newfound mission. This battery became office and equipment storage space.

Where once stood military artillery, now sits benches and a campfire. Such reuse is popular on the island, and thoughts are always on self-sustaining.

The newest of the island's inhabitants are the family of chickens. A few people ducked into the coop to say hello. I decided I was most comfortable on the outside, where a tragic chicken pecking situation could be avoided.

And soon we were off, transforming the island gardens for the season. Several of us stuck to prepping the gardening beds, where fruits, veggies and herbs would soon find a home. Some hearty folks laid rocks along the paths to keep the mud at bay.

A handful of Americorps volunteers had spent Friday night on Cow and got elbow-deep into the spring clean. Here, two volunteers sift piles from the compost, separating the rich soil from the larger twigs, rocks and whatnots.

Rippleffect's new executive director, Anna Marie Klein-Christie, took to the weeds.

As we dug in the dirt, we also happened upon a good number of "natives": spiders, ants, worms, grubs and potato bugs (or so the small roly-poly bugs were called where I grew up).

But the slugs take the prize as the most enthralling of finds. Anna gave a young helper an up-close look at one before she redeposited the feller in a safer place.

Once the rock-removing, compost adding and soil turning work was complete, it was time for some seeds. That there, my friends, is some future echinacea.

With a day's work of solid effort under our belts, a few of us took on a more creative task: sculpting. With all the buoys, bottles and tossed items turning up on shore, there's a decent pile of found objects on the island. Visiting groups are welcome to pick out what speaks to them and make an island sculpture.

Our fabulous team effort (a horse man, complete with rope rein) now stands as lookout over the large vegetable garden.

And sure, the weather erred on the side of cold. Our hands got cold - and Sydney's legs (because she optimistically wore shorts) were cold too. But you know what was warm? Our HEARTS, folks. Yup, our hearts were feeling a solid 80 degrees and sunny.

Rippleffect is always looking for volunteers - and some hearty helping effort is an excellent excuse to get out to the island.

Check out the volunteer opportunities page

Keep your eyes peeled for more details on the July 11 Pirate Party on Cow Island