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2026 Winter Lecture Series

Tuesday, January 6  •  1:00 PM
Let’s Take a Wildflower Walk
Presenter: Nina Mollicone

This presentation will lift your spirits during the winter doldrums and keep you moving forward until winter gives way, again, to spring. Our walk will focus on wildflowers as they come into bloom from April through September along the trails at the Augusta Nature Education Center. The presentation will emphasize beauty and appreciation of nature rather than “hard” botanical knowledge. Sit back, put your feet up, and enjoy!

Nina Mollicone grew up in Winthrop and graduated from UMaine with a BA in Zoology. Seeking a career in which she could get a job virtually anywhere in the world, Nina returned to school for a nursing degree and went on to have a very successful 42 year career as a Registered Nurse. In retirement, she has returned to her roots, exploring and studying almost anything nature related.

Tuesday, January 13  •  1:00 PM
Becoming a Hospice Volunteer: Informational Session
Presenter : Loretta McNeil

Hospice volunteers are essential members of the hospice team. Some patients don’t have loved ones who are able to visit. Volunteers help reduce those feelings of loneliness by providing social connections. Companionship can greatly improve a patient’s quality of life. Volunteers hear stories of times passed, meet new people, and create meaningful relationships. Volunteers also fill the critical job of providing respite for caregivers. Caring for someone who is terminally ill can be physically and emotionally exhausting, and volunteers can help caregivers have time to take care of their own needs and get a much-deserved break. By becoming a hospice volunteer, you can gain great personal satisfaction from knowing that you have made an impact in another person’s life and have contributed to your community in a compassionate and caring way. Hospice care in the U.S. was founded by volunteers and there is continued commitment to volunteer service!

Tuesday, January 20  •  1:00 PM
Parkinson’s Disease: What Is It and How Can It Be Evaluated and Treated?
Presenter: James Schneid

Parkinson’s Disease is  a movement disorder of the nervous system that worsens over time.  We will discuss how it presents clinically, testing and  treatment

James Schneid is Board Certified in Family Medicine as well as Hospice and Palliative Medicine. He is the previous Program Director and Chair of the Maine Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency and is an Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine at the Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine. Jim has a lifelong interest in End of Life issues and in 2017 helped develop the first Hospice and Palliative Care Fellowship for physicians at the Togus V.A. Hospital and Maine Medical Center. As the VA Hospice Medical Director, he enjoyed teaching nurses, chaplains, social workers, medical students, resident physicians, fellows, and attendings the art of Palliative Medicine. Jim is still a faculty member preceptor at the Family Medicine Institute in Augusta and on the active staff of Androscoggin Home Healthcare and Hospice.

Tuesday, January 27  •  1:00 PM
Five Amazing Places and Their Bumble Bees
Presenter : Dave Hobbins

This is an overview of my 2024 trip out west to hike and hunt bumble bees, with stops in Ohio, Illinois, South Dakota, and Wyoming. It examines the state parks and wilderness areas visited and some biology of the bumble bees found.

Dave is retired from the UMFK forestry program who got involved as a citizen scientist for the Maine Bumble Bee Atlas in 2017. He has been hooked on bumble bees ever since. He lives with his wife in Fort Kent and is a member of the St John Valley Senior College.

Tuesday, February 3  •  1:00 PM
Ghost Stories of My Maine Childhood
Presenter: Liz Champeon

My childhood was spent both in Massachusetts and in Jonesboro. Some people read to their children at bedtime. My two sisters and I shared a bedroom, and almost every night, my father sat on the edge of one of the beds and told stories of the family. When one of my sisters reached adulthood, she researched the stories, and told me, “Liz, it’s all there.” Some of the stories have been published in recent years. This lecture tells some of the more ghostly ones.

Liz Champeon is a Professional Geologist who has been mostly retired for some time. She enjoys history, both human and geological.

Tuesday, February 10  •  1:00 PM
Gender and Causing Good Trouble: Embracing Gender Non-Conforming and Transgender Identities
Presenter: Jennie Woodard

This presentation is part of UMASC’s celebration of UMA’s 60th Anniversary.

The late Senator John Lewis once described the act of “getting in good trouble” as a way to encourage people to reject oppression and injustice in order to bring about positive social change. While many attribute this idea to Sen. Lewis’ radical work for Civil Rights, “good trouble” is in reference to all types of social injustice, including those who exist outside the construct of gender as male and female. The rigor of living in accordance with the strict societal rules of gender has the potential to harm many in society, but for those who identify outside of this binary, the effects can have detrimental psychological, social, emotional, and physical ramifications. Suicide ideation is common among transgender and non-binary youth while many adults are denied health care, job security, housing, and more due to prejudices and preconceived notions about their gender. This lecture will provide insight to these issues as well as ways to support those who embody these identities, including ourselves and those around us.

Jennie Woodard is a Lecturer of Communication at the University of Maine Augusta. Her background in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies as well as Cultural History form her teaching and research at UMA. She lives with her spouse, teenager, and cat (with hopes for a dog in the new year) and loves gardening, hiking, puzzles, baking and crafts.

Tuesday, February 17  •  1:00 PM
Fortress of Louisbourg: Failed Sentry of New France
Presenter: Cheryl and Louis Fontaine

Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site is located on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the largest colonial reconstruction on the Atlantic coast. This lecture will present the historical importance of the fortress to the French Empire in North America and how it failed to protect New France (Canada) against the British Empire. The second part of the lecture will present the site as it is today. Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site recreates a quarter of town and fortress as it existed in the 1740s and attracts over 75 thousand visitors in a year. The site is populated by interpreters who recreate many aspects of French colonial society.

Cape Breton Island and Louisbourg are favorite vacation destinations of Louis and Cheryl Fontaine. They have visited the fortress several times, most recently in 2023.

Tuesday, February 24  •  1:00 PM
Scotland: North of Hadrian’s Wall
Presenter: Elizabeth Reinsborough

Mountains and glens, bagpipes and castles, lochs and tarns, Highlands and Lowlands, crofts and moorlands, the list goes on! Scotland on the northern fringe of Europe has stunning scenery, one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and generous hospitality. We will explore from Gretna Green to John O’ Groats and on to the Orkney Islands. We’ll climb Ben Nevis, ferry to Historical Iona and wander around the windswept Gaelic speaking, romantic western Isles.

Elizabeth Reinsborough was born in Northern Ireland. She was educated at Queens University, Belfast and University College, London. She has worked in a plant breeding program in Tanzania and taught biology in Maine for 20 years. Elizabeth has traveled widely both in the United States and around the world. She enjoys hiking and for 20 years was a maintainer on the Appalachian Trail in the 100 mile wilderness.