WINTHROP — The Kennebec Land Trust has scheduled the dates and speakers for its annual conservation lecture series. This year’s program is “Maine’s State Parks & Public Lands: Conserving Nature, Managing People, and Embracing the Future.”

The land trust’s 2023 Lyceum will take place from 6-7:30 p.m. Thursdays, March 16, 23 and 30, at the Winthrop High School Performing Arts Center on 212 Rambler Way.

• Thursday, March 16

Topic: The Recreational and Cultural Importance of Maine’s State Parks and Public Lands

Speakers: Jocelyn Hubbell, interpretive specialist, and Rex Turner, outdoor recreation planner, both with the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands.

Hubbell and Turner will talk about exploring the value visitors place on Maine’s parks and lands; the cultural importance of the lands and recreation, and recreation now and in the future.

• Thursday, March 23

Topic: The Conservation of Wildlife and Biodiversity in Maine’s State Parks and Public Lands

Speakers: Justin Schlawin, forest ecologist; and Maine Natural Areas Program Sarah Spencer, senior resource biologist, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Schlawin and Spencer will present about the contribution of parks and public lands to the state’s biodiversity, BPL management for common and at-risk species and habitats, and what BPL and partners are doing to monitor and assess ecological changes over time as a result of climate change and other stressors.

• Thursday, March 30

Topic: Looking Forward: Land Acquisition Progress and Priorities

Speaker: Bill Patterson, deputy director, Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands.

Patterson will speak about conservation needs, opportunities and recent and pending projects.

Kennebec Land Trust will also offer fall field workshops with Laura Suomi-Lecker, statewide grassland bird program manager for Ag Allies, U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist Hannah Mullally, and Readfield Historian Dale Potter-Clark.

The series is modeled after the early New England lyceums that began in 1826 in Massachusetts. For many years New England lyceums hosted lectures, debates, and concerts for public audiences.

The trust’s annual Lyceum lecture series is supported by Gloria Williams Ladd. All programs are free and open to the public, according to a news releases from Marie Ring, director of membership and programming at the trust.

For more information, contact the Kennebec Land Trust, 331 Main St., P.O. Box 261 Winthrop, ME 04364, 207-377-2848 or tklt.org.

 

 

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