UMaine Talk Takes Up Historic Preservation in Orono
Contact: Mary Bird, (207) 581-2434, George Manlove, (207) 581- 3756
ORONO — A public discussion at the UMaine Page Farm and Home Museum on April 3 from 2-4 p.m. will explore ways in which the town of Orono can protect its historic resources while at the same time prepare for inevitable growth.
With Orono’s bicentennial celebration only a year away, citizens are planning heritage gardens, sprucing up old buildings and celebrating the treasures of Orono’s past – as developers are mapping new streets and neighborhoods, and planning new housing for people drawn to town by its cultural and historic character.
The April 3 forum, featuring Mike Johnson of the Maine Historic Preservation Commission and Michael Poulin of the Hampden Historical Society, will explore such questions as how can Orono, or any town, protect its historic resources while welcoming growth, and what role can historic preservation ordinances play in helping to balance the past and the future?
Titled “Planning the Future, Preserving the Past: How can a Historic Preservation Ordinance Help Our Community?” the forum is presented by the Dr. Edith Marion Patch Center for Entomology, the Environment and Education in partnership with the Orono Bicentennial Committee.
The forum is one of a series of monthly gatherings that celebrate the life and legacy of former Orono resident Edith Marion Patch (1876-1954), a UMaine graduate, faculty member and head of the university’s Entomology Department for more than 30 years. Patch became a world-renowned entomologist, pioneer environmentalist and a popular author of children’s books. Her historic home on College Avenue is currently undergoing rehabilitation and will be the site of the Dr. Edith Marion Patch Center for Entomology, the Environment and Education.
For information about the Patch Center Forums or the Friends of Dr. Edith Marion Patch, please contact Mary Bird, 581-2434.
The Patch Center Forums are held at the UMaine Page Farm and Home Museum on the Orono campus. The museum is in the big barn with the silo, south of the Maine Center for the Arts. Ample free parking is available.