The University of Maine at Fort Kent academic outreach division will launch a new outdoor skills series consisting of workshops and short courses designed to provide basic and intermediate skills in activities such as canoeing, map and compass, backcountry ethics and wilderness travel.

The course offerings beginning this summer are map and compass navigation and river paddling, as well as a short canoe trip that will include preparing meals outdoors.

In the fall, workshops will include low-impact camping and a certification class in wilderness first aid.

Prices for the courses vary, depending on time and equipment. Some sessions will include trips to the university’s new Elmer Violette Wilderness Camp in the Allagash.

For more information, call Donald Eno, coordinator of academic outreach, at 834-7835.