The Maine Edge reported registration is open for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s annual Maine Grain Conference. The conference will be held Saturday, March 15 at the Spectacular Event Center in Bangor and is designed for farmers, crop advisers and others involved in the agricultural community.
Archive for the ‘Outreach’ Category
Registration Open for Grain Conference, Maine Edge Reports
Tuesday, March 11th, 2014Faulkner, Moutevelis-Burgess Receive 2014 PEAC Awards
Tuesday, March 11th, 2014Gretchen Faulkner, director of the Hudson Museum, and Polly Moutevelis-Burgess, director of the Employee Assistance Program, are the recipients of the 2014 Outstanding Professional Employee Award of the University of Maine Professional Employees Advisory Council (PEAC).
The annual PEAC award recognizes UMaine professional employees who demonstrate a dedication to serving others, maintain the highest level of professional services and standards in their disciplines or areas of responsibility, help create a better campus environment and demonstrate public service through significant contributions.
Faulkner, a UMaine alumna, has been affiliated with the Hudson Museum since 1986 — the last 11 as director of the Hudson Museum in the Collins Center for the Arts. In her multiple nominations for the award, Faulkner was cited for her “highly ethical and visionary approach” that has advanced the museum’s programming and collections to a worldwide audience. Through her leadership, thousands of Maine schoolchildren have visited the CCA to learn about history, culture and diversity. This year will mark the 20th annual Maine Indian Basketmakers Sale and Demonstration at the Hudson Museum — one of Faulkner’s many collaborations with the state’s Native American communities.
Faulkner serves on the board of directors of Maine Archives and Museums, and the Deer Isle Historical Society. She actively participates in the collaboration among the Hudson Museum, Page Farm and Home Museum, and Maine Folklife Center that has resulted in UMaine’s longstanding presence at the American Folk Festival and publishes a twice-yearly newsletter, “Artifacts,” for Maine schools that promotes UMaine field trip destinations.
Moutevelis-Burgess has directed the Employee Assistance Program for the past three decades. In her nomination for the award, Moutevelis-Burgess is described as “uniformly responsive, compassionate, committed to providing UMaine employees with comprehensive and high-quality counseling services, as well as enthusiastic about her role in making UMaine a compelling place to live, work and learn.” Her many nominations cite her caring and commitment to UMaine employees, and her work ethic and professionalism. One colleague characterized Moutevelis-Burgess as “a champion of people grappling with challenging life circumstances.”
Moutevelis-Burgess was the founder and first president of the International Association of Employee Assistance Professionals in Education and served eight years on the Maine Board of Counseling Professionals Licensure. Her many community service activities include fundraising for the St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Bangor by establishing a Greek food booth at the American Folk Festival, which has since become a mainstay at the event.
WABI, WLBZ Report on Sportsmen’s Show Held in New Balance Field House
Monday, March 10th, 2014WABI (Channel 5) and WLBZ (Channel 2) covered the 76th annual Eastern Maine Sportsmen’s Show held in the newly renovated New Balance Field House at the University of Maine. Lois Ann Holmes, an official with the Penobscot County Conservation Association that puts on the show, told WLBZ, “We needed space, and the University of Maine has been so cooperative with us and very helpful to let us grow here.” WLBZ (Channel 2) also reported on children getting a chance to kayak during the show in UMaine’s Stanley Wallace Pool.
Free Press Previews University Singers Concerts
Monday, March 10th, 2014The Free Press of Rockland advanced the March 11 University of Maine Singers concert that will take place at the Owls Head Transportation Museum. The show is one of five free public concerts the group is performing in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts over spring break.
From Recipe to Market: Learn to Cash in on Opportunities
Monday, March 10th, 2014University of Maine Cooperative Extension is offering a six-session course that covers moving a specialty food product to market.
The class, which meets 5:30–9 p.m. each Tuesday, April 8–29, will be held in two locations — 7 County Drive, Skowhegan, and 165 East Main St., Dover-Foxcroft. Two May class sessions will include individual business consultations and a tour of the Dr. Matthew Highlands Pilot Plant, a state-of-the-art UMaine facility that assists food processors, entrepreneurs, farmers, researchers and students in the food industry.
Topics to be covered include licensing, safe preparation and packaging of food, assessing potential profits and locating resources to support a developing business. The class is for people operating a value-added business and those seriously considering one; participants must have a specific food product or recipe in mind and are expected to attend all sessions. Presenters include: Beth Calder, UMaine Extension food science specialist; James McConnon, UMaine Extension business and economics specialist; and Kathy Hopkins, Debra Kantor and Donna Coffin, UMaine Extension educators.
Cost is $35 per person. Partial scholarships are available. Registrations must be received by April 1 to reserve a space. More information, including online registration is online. For questions, or to request a disability accommodation at the Skowhegan site, call 207.474.9622 or email tammy.bodge@maine.edu. For questions, or to request a disability accommodation at the Dover-Foxcroft site, call 207.564.3301 or email amanda.miles@maine.edu.
DMC’s Work with Damariscotta River Association Mentioned in Boothbay Register Article
Friday, March 7th, 2014The Darling Marine Center and its resources were mentioned in a Boothbay Register article about the Damariscotta River Association’s Estuarine Monitoring Program. The program offers community members a chance to get out on the water and become part of a data-gathering effort that will help determine the health of the estuary. Water samples collected during the program are taken from seven locations beginning at the DMC. The salinity, temperature and other data from the samples are then entered into a DRA database at the DMC. “We’re grateful to the Darling Marine Center for their expert partnership and continued technical consultation on this project,” said DRA Executive Director Steven Hufnagel.
Registration Underway for Grain Conference
Friday, March 7th, 2014Registration is open for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s annual Maine Grain Conference, which will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 15, at the Spectacular Event Center, 395 Griffin Road, Bangor. The conference is designed for farmers, crop advisers and others involved in the agricultural community.
Featured speakers Klaas Martens and Mary-Howell Martens from Lakeview Organic Farm in Penn Yan, N.Y., will talk about organic grain rotations, production considerations for alternative grains, growing grain for seed and protecting grain quality with proper harvesting, drying, cleaning and storage. The Martens farm 1,400 acres of corn, wheat, barley, oats and legumes. They also operate a feed mill and sell organic feed, crop seed and food-grade grains.
Dorn Cox of the four-generation Tuckaway Farm in Lee, N.H. will discuss grain equipment options for all scales of operation. The grain grower will also give an overview of his 250-acre farm, as well as of the Great Bay Grain Cooperative that shares equipment and expertise.
Ellen Mallory, UMaine Extension sustainable agriculture specialist and conference organizer, will update attendees on UMaine grain research results with graduate students Aaron Englander and Erin Roche. An open question-and-discussion session will be held so participants can tap into available expertise.
Participants will receive two pesticide certification credits and six Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) credits.
Registration is required by Thursday, March 13. Cost is $20 if registered by March 10, $30 after. The fee covers lunch and a snack. Registration is available online. For more information, to register by phone, or to request a disability accommodation, call Meghan Dill at 207.581.3878.
Categories: Campus Announcements; Cooperative Extension; Economic Development; Penobscot County; Statewide; Outreach
Students Talk to WABI About Touring Spring Break Performance
Thursday, March 6th, 2014University of Maine School of Performing Arts’ students Christian Giddings, Megan Rounds and Sydney Walker spoke with WABI (Channel 5) about the school’s spring break production of the child-friendly folktale “Baba Yaga and the Black Sunflower.” The students are performing the play on campus March 22, as well as at several schools around the state. Walker said performing the play is a nice way to be able to give back to the community. Carol Korty, professor emerita at Emerson College and a guest artist at UMaine, wrote and directs the play about a young girl who doesn’t fit in, and a witch that lives in a walking house. Korty told WABI the tour is a good learning experience for the students to see what it’s like to be on the road.
Students to Tackle Monster Piano
Thursday, March 6th, 2014The Maine Music Teachers Association and the University of Maine School of Performing Arts announce the second biennial Monster Piano Festival on Saturday, March 8, at Minsky Recital Hall on the Orono campus.
What is a monster piano? It’s 113 students in grades 4 through 12 and several adults simultaneously playing 11 pianos. That’s 226 hands, or 1,130 fingers tickling 968 keys.
After a day of rehearsals with UMaine music instructor and conductor Ginger Yang Hwalek, the 113 people from 18 piano studios in Maine will perform in concert at 5 p.m. Donations will be accepted at the door.
Two or three pianists will be seated at each of the 11 pianos on stage during the concert, which will include a mix of classical and jazz and pieces written by composers who specialize in creating music for emerging pianists. Music teachers will also play a selection.
DMC Student ‘Pays it Forward’ at Ocean Sciences Meeting, Hawaii News Now Reports
Wednesday, March 5th, 2014University of Maine graduate student Noah Oppenheim was interviewed for a Hawaii News Now story about marine scientists and students attending the 2014 Ocean Sciences Meeting in Honolulu who participated in dives to clean up debris littering a coral reef. Oppenheim, who is pursuing dual degrees in marine biology and marine policy at the Darling Marine Center in Walpole, helped remove trash from the reef, including fast food containers, bits of plastic, aluminum cans, a car battery, an outboard motor and an automobile tire.
