Activism, nature focus of forum

ORONO – A public forum to explore nature writing as a form of environmental activism is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, at the University of Maine Page Farm and Home Museum.

Participants in the free workshop are invited to come and discuss the work of some major authors whose work advocates for the protection of wildlife and wild lands. Writers David James Duncan, Richard Nelson, Rachel Carson, Bill McKibben and Terry Tempest Williams will be among those discussed.

The program is part of a monthly series sponsored during the academic year by the Dr. Edith Marion Patch Center at UMaine. The forums feature topics relevant to the life and work of entomologist, environmentalist and educator Edith Marion Patch, 1876-1954. Patch was the first woman scientist hired by the University of Maine and one of the first women in America to hold a university specialization in entomology.

Cheryl Daigle, a graduate of the University of Maine, will lead the forum. She has worked with several organizations in Maine to promote land conservation and stewardship, and her writing has appeared in such publications as Orion, The Maine Scholar, Puckerbrush Review and Echoes. Daigle currently works for the Penobscot River Restoration Trust.

The presentation will be followed by refreshments and a discussion at 2 p.m.

Mary Bird, instructor of science and environmental education, coordinator of the Maine School Garden Network and vice chairwoman of the Friends of Dr. Edith Marion Patch, said everyone with an interest in nature writing is welcome to attend.

“We will explore how these writers transform their own sense of wonder and love of place into writing that inspires in others a deeper awareness of self and the environment that sustains us,” she said.

Patch arrived in Orono in 1903 to establish an entomology department for the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station. She worked for a year without salary to prove her capability. The following year, she was granted the paid position as head of the entomology department, a post she held for the remainder of her career.

Patch Center Forums are sponsored by the Friends of Dr. Edith Marion Patch. Further information can be obtained by calling Bird at 581-2434.