KENNEBUNK
Wildfire Awareness Week features Smokey Bear
In promotion of Wildfire Awareness Week across Maine, the Brick Store Museum is exhibiting 19 original paintings by Rudolph Wendelin of Smokey Bear, currently on loan from the USDA National Agricultural Library in Washington, D.C.
The exhibit will run from Friday through May 14, with a Maine Forest Ranger coming the the museum at 10 a.m. on Friday to read the story of Smokey Bear in the exhibition. Smokey will make an appearance for pictures with visitors. Take-home activities will be available.
This event is free. To learn more about the exhibition please visit brickstoremuseum.org/calendar or call 985-4802.

PORTLAND
Concert by ChoralArt and Brass Ensemble
ChoralArt Singers and Brass Ensemble will perform a spring concert in praise of the art that inspires us “To Sing Again: In Praise of Music” at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at Woodfords Congregational Church, 202 Woodfords St.
There will be a pre-concert talk at 3 p.m. by music director Robert Russell on insights into John Dryden’s poem, “A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day.”
The concert features Handel’s celebratory “Coronation Anthem No. 1, Zadok the Priest,” Dello Joio’s “To Saint Cecilia” with a brass decet, and Ramsey’s premiere of “When the Nightingale Sings” with flute. The works of Vaughn Williams, Lowry, Hella Johnson, Barnwell, Hallberg, and poems read by J. Barrie Shepherd also will be featured.
Advance tickets are $25 for adults, $10 for students and free for ages 11 and younger.
For more details, go to choralart.org or call 828-0043.

WELLS
Audubon hosts native plant lecture
York County Audubon will present the talk “Native Plants: Good for What Ails Your Garden” with guest speaker Shawn Jalbert at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Mather Auditorium at the Wells Reserve at Laudholm, 342 Laudholm Farm Road or livestreamed via Zoom.
Native trees, shrubs, and perennials are the glue that holds our ecosystems together and are directly tied to the health of our environment. All of our backyards could use some extra natives planted in them, but sometimes you don’t have to recreate the wheel; recognizing and preserving the natives we already have growing around us is important, too.
Learn how the food web revolves around native plants; the more we have in our yards the richer the biodiversity of our neighborhoods, from the birds to the bees. These actions have tangible results we can see, smell, hear, and even taste. Join us for an empowering evening on how native plants are the best medicine for what ails our landscapes.
Jalbert is the owner and operator of Native Haunts, based in Alfred. He has made it his mission to make native plants, and the knowledge of their critical importance, available to the general public.
To view via Zoom, go to yorkcountyaudubon.org to find the registration link.

SCARBOROUGH
Celebrate Earth Day with a trash clean-up
The Friends of Scarborough Marsh will celebrate Earth Day with a clean-up day at the marsh from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday at the Scarborough Nature Center at 92 Pine Point Road.
Gather your family, friends and classmates to help give wildlife a chance by joining the clean-up effort to remove trash and provide a fresh environment for the fish, birds, animals and plants that beautify the marsh. Also bring nonperishables for a food collection by Project G.R.A.C.E.
To register, go to maineaudubon.org/news/events/spring-clean-up-at-scarborough-marsh-681/
For more information, email smac@maineaudubon.org.

NEW GLOUCESTER
Learn about town’s historic cemeteries
The New Gloucester Historical Society will host the talk “New Gloucester’s Historic Cemeteries” at 7 p.m. Thursday at the New Gloucester Meetinghouse, at 389 Intervale Road (next to Town Hall).
The talk is free and open to the public.
For more details, call Leonard L, Brooks at 926-3188.

NORWAY
Guided Nordic walk open to all ages
Western Foothills Land Trust and Stephens Memorial Hospital will launch their new weekly spring Nordic walking program with a guided walk through scenic Roberts Farm Preserve, and on the new Farm-to-Town trails linking Roberts Farm to downtown Norway from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Wednesday.
Nordic walking is a low-impact exercise that combines walking with the use of poles to engage the upper body. It’s a great way to improve cardiovascular fitness, strength and balance while enjoying the outdoors.
The program will run at the same time every Wednesday through June and is open to all ages and fitness levels. Participants will be led by experienced instructors who will provide guidance on proper technique and form. A limited supply of poles will be available for participants to borrow if you do not have your own.
This program reflects the partnership between the land trust and the hospital, providing opportunities for healthy outdoor recreation.
For more details or to register, visit wfltmaine.org/programs or email info@wfltmaine.org.

ORONO
Mitchell Center to host talk on philosophical questions in sustainability
The Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions will host the talk, “Field Philosophy as Engaged Research: Practice, History, and Theory,” at 3 p.m. on Wednesday at the University of Maine.
Speaker Adam Briggle, associate professor and director of graduate studies in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at the University of North Texas, will discuss how philosophers have fallen victim to disciplinary capture, which consigns them to irrelevance or, at best, very indirect impacts. Public philosophy, in various ways, seeks to change this situation, and it is having a renaissance. The talk will focus on field philosophy, which is a species of public philosophy that is both a collaborative practice of engaged scholarship and a theory of knowledge that contrasts with the disciplinary model of knowledge production.
The talk is free and offered both remotely via Zoom and in person at 107 Norman Smith Hall. Registration is required to attend remotely. To register and receive connection details, go to hallsworth@maine.edu.
Face coverings are required for all attendees.

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