Tuesday, Jan. 11  •  1:00 PM

TRACKING MAINE’S GREAT BLUE HERONS BEYOND STATE LINES

Did you ever wonder where Maine’s Great Blue Herons go in winter? Since 2016, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife has deployed lightweight GPS tracking devices on Great Blue Herons to follow their movements during nesting, migration, and wintering. This technology has revealed impressive migrations sometimes over long stretches of open ocean and for over 60 hours non-stop to Florida, the Bahamas, Cuba, and Haiti! Hear all about these majestic birds, how over 100 volunteers have been monitoring their colonies for the past 13 years, and how students are integral to tracking their movements within and beyond state lines.

Presenter: Danielle D’Auria

Danielle D’Auria is a wildlife biologist working in the Wildlife Research and Assessment Section of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in Bangor. Her education began with a bachelor’s degree in biology from State University of New York at Geneseo, followed by a master’s degree in wildlife science from New Mexico State University. Her professional career began with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Wildlife Refuge System where she focused on threatened and endangered species, habitat restoration, conservation planning, invasive plant management, and a variety of wildlife and habitat monitoring. As a biologist for MDIFW, Danielle now focuses on statewide populations of colonial wading birds, secretive marsh birds, black terns, and loons, as well as land management issues affecting wetland habitats.

Tuesday, Jan. 18  •  1:00 PM

THE ANCIENT PUEBLO –
Builders and Astronomers of the American Southwest

Over 1,000 years ago, Pueblo peoples constructed stone buildings that stand today throughout the southwest. In a few sites, massive stone structures that cover as much as 3 acres appear to have been ceremonial sites for gatherings of people from throughout the region. Ancient trade routes, 5-story structures, and astronomically aligned buildings demonstrate a people with advanced engineering skills and an intimate knowledge of astronomy. This talk examines these sites and the skills of the Ancient Pueblo people.

Presenter: Dave Hobbins

Tuesday, Jan. 25  •  1:00 PM

EXPLORING THE KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA

The Kingdom of Cambodia is a country in Southeast Asia still recovering from the US bombings during the Vietnam War and from the Pol Pot years from 1970-1975. Join me in exploring some of the history, the geography, the places and the people of this beautiful country.

Presenter: Alice Smith

Alice Smith is a mostly retired Speech Pathologist/Professor who grew up in North Carolina. She got the travel bug early, starting in first grade in London, UK. She has lived all around the US (NC, VA, AK, MT, IA, PA, AZ and ME), and has traveled through Europe, Australia and Asia. She first went to Cambodia to adopt two children in 2000 and 2001 and then volunteered with Operation Smile as their Speech Pathology Chair for about 8 years, doing 30 medical missions in Cambodia, Laos and China. She ran a speech clinic and trained hospital and special education staff in Cambodia for 6 years and continues to serve on the Boards of Cambodian NGOs which provide services for people with communication disorders. Alice holds multiple degrees culminating in a PhD in Speech Science from the University of Iowa where she specialized in cleft/craniofacial disorders. She moved to Maine with her children in 2010 and lives in Hallowell. She is a gardener, a reader, a poet, a pet lover, and a great Mom.

Tuesday, Feb. 1  •  1:00 PM

THE ERGOT FUNGUS AND SAINT ANTHONY’S FIRE

Ergot of rye is a plant disease that has been with us for centuries. Caused by the fungus Claviceps purpurea, it has caused problems not only for the rye plant, but also for people who ingest the fungus and experience a malady called St. Anthony’s Fire. We’ll consider the biology of the fungus, the history and nature of the malady, and the use of the fungus’s ergot alkaloids, which are found in drugs both pharmaceutical and recreational.

Presenter: Andrea Ostrofsky

Andrea Ostrofsky lived in New Jersey, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Nebraska, and in Maine for 38 years.  Her background is in the biological sciences.  She has worked in laboratories studying wood decay fungi for the USDA Forest Service and for the University of Maine.  After moving to Augusta in 2006, Andrea began volunteer work at the Maine State Museum and worked in the library at Cony High School for 9 years before retiring. Currently she is enjoying UMA Senior College.

Tuesday, Feb. 8  •  1:00 PM

A STORY OF MAINE IN 112 OBJECTS

Founded in 1836, the Maine State Museum is America’s oldest state museum and is known to many as “Maine’s Smithsonian” because of the breadth and diversity of its holdings—nearly a million objects covering every aspect of the state’s cultural, biological, and geological history—and the thousands of stories its collections tell. The museum selected and photographed 112 artifacts and specimens that, together, tell an epic story of the land and its people from prehistoric times to the present.

Presenter: Bernard Fishman, Maine State Museum Director

Bernard Fishman was born in New York City and educated at Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania. For three years he was an Egyptologist in Luxor, Egypt, working at Chicago House, the University of Chicago’s research center there. Since then he has directed five museums. He has been the director of the Maine State Museum since 2012.

Bernard had some strong roots in Maine before he came to the Maine State Museum. Before the 1980s, under the name of the M.H. Fishman Co., his family operated Five-and–Ten-Cent stores in Calais, Houlton, Waterville and Biddeford. Bernard spent 11 summers in summer camps in Maine when he was growing up. He is married to Elizabeth and has a son, Philip, who works in Augusta.

He is the author or editor of numerous articles and publications, most recently ‘A Story of Maine in 112 Objects’ (The Maine State Museum and Tilbury House Publishers). He is also a co-founder of Photarchive3D, an archive of 35,000 historic stereoview images that are made available for educational image projections in 3D.

Tuesday, Feb. 15  •  1:00 PM

TURKEY TO EGYPT BY LAND

Here is an area of our world where three continents meet and where “History lives and breathes”. This PowerPoint program will include geography as well as history – ancient, Roman, crusader, 1st World War and current.

Presenter: Elizabeth Reinsborough

Elizabeth Reinsborough was born in Northern Ireland. She has a Bachelor of science degree from Queens University, Belfast, a Masters of science from London University and teaching credentials from the University of Maine. She has worked in a plant breeding program in Tanzania and taught biology in Maine for 20 years. Elizabeth has traveled extensively both in this country and abroad. She enjoys hiking and for 20 years was a maintainer on the Appalachian Trail in the 100 mile wilderness. She teaches the National Park course for Senior College and often contributes to the lecture series.

Tuesday, Feb. 22  •  1:00 PM

VOTING RIGHTS

Secretary of State Bellows is “working on a vision of a future where every voter is able to register and cast their vote at a time and place that works for them.”

On January 4th, 2021 Shenna Bellows was sworn in as Maine’s 50th Secretary of State . She is the first woman to serve as Maine’s Secretary of State, a role that involves overseeing elections as well as the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and the Maine State Archives.

Shenna will speak on all three of these areas with special emphasis on elections and voting rights. There will be time allotted for questions and answers at the end of the lecture.

Presenter: Shenna Bellows, Secretary of State

Secretary Bellows previously served two terms in the Maine Senate from 2016-2020, representing 11 towns in southern Kennebec County. In the Maine Senate, she served as Senate Chair of the Labor and Housing Committee and served on the Judiciary Committee.  She was a 2020 presidential elector in the Electoral College.

Secretary Bellows most recently led the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine as executive director from 2018 to 2020. Previously, she owned Bellows & Company, a non-profit consulting business, where she worked with organizations such as the Sierra Club’s Maine Chapter, Consumers for Affordable Healthcare and the Maine Women’s Lobby. She also served as interim executive director of LearningWorks. In 2014, Secretary Bellows was the Democratic nominee for United States Senate in Maine.

Tuesday, Mar. 1  •  1:00 PM

THE AMAZING MS. TUBMAN

Harriet Tubman’s story is one that every American should know. Many know of her guidance of the Underground Railroad. But there is much more to her life. Her compassion and integrity were unmatched. Her bravery and strength are the stuff of legend. But her amazing true story of freedom and dignity have much to teach us as a country.

Presenter: Mike Bell

Mike Bell loves American history! With a master’s degree in both history and teaching and an undergrad degree in political science, he has enjoyed a varied career in teaching and historical interpretation. Mike appeared on a History Channel special about PT 109, and for over 20 years portrayed many historical figures, including Butch Cassidy and Sam Houston.

Tuesday, Mar. 8 •  1:00 PM

THE LYRICIST VERSUS THE COMPOSER

For the age of Tin Pan Alley and for the age of the well made Musical Theater I have given a few lectures on famous lyric writers. This list includes Irving Berlin, Lorenz Hart, Oscar Hammerstein and Yip Harburg. This coming lecture will focus on the lyrics of Ira Gershwin. The composer always gets the credit for the song. Shouldn’t the writer of the lyrics get half the credit? You will enjoy this discussion.

Presenter: Peter Rosenberg

Peter Rosenberg is a retired Otolaryngologist who was educated at Clinton Grade School, Poughkeepsie High School, Princeton University, Tufts Medical School and Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He practiced ENT at Fort Bragg, solo in Norwich CT, and at the Togus Veterans Administration Hospital. His wide range of activities include playing piano, golf, tennis, bridge, model boats, stained glass and teaching at UMASC.

Tuesday, Mar. 15  •  1:00 PM

HELPING MAINE’S GRASSLAND BIRDS

Bobolinks are one of the most charismatic and iconic species of our grasslands.  They, along with other grassland species have suffered the steepest losses of North American birds in recent decades, facing threats on several fronts simultaneously.  The upcoming presentation will cover Maine’s grassland-dependent bird species and their conservation status, as well as threats to their populations and best management practices to provide nesting habitat.

​Presenter: Laura Suomi-Lecker

Laura Suomi-Lecker is the education and outreach coordinator and long-time volunteer with Avian Haven and also the Technical Director at Somerset County Soil and Water Conservation District where she has managed the Ag Allies statewide grassland bird habitat project since 2016.