2022 Programs
February 17, 2022
Stephanie Watson
Title of Talk: The Maine Offshore Wind Initiative--How Maine is Chartering Our Own Course
Synopsis: In this presentation, Watson will provide an overview of the Maine Offshore Wind Initiative established by Governor Mills in 2019, with a focus on the Maine Offshore Wind Roadmap. The Roadmap is an economic development plan currently underway with broad stakeholder engagement. The goal of the Roadmap is to identify the best course for Maine to maximize benefits of the rapidly growing offshore wind sector to meet clean energy and economic goals, while sustaining existing ocean users and the environment.
Born on Mount Desert Island, Maine, Stephanie Watson has dedicated her career to protecting the ocean, as well as the communities and economies that depend upon it. Watson has worked at the interface of the ocean and economy along the U.S. Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf of Mexico coasts for the last 25 years in roles with both the public and private sector. She currently serves as Maine Offshore Wind Program Manager in the Governor’s Energy Office. Watson has M.S. degrees in Ecology and Environmental Science (marine focus) and in Spatial Information Science & Engineering from the University of Maine. She lives in the Casco Bay area with her husband and two children.
March 17, 2022
Cyrene Slegona
Title of Talk: Monarchs
Synopsis:
Maine Master Naturalist ,has studied monarch since a child. Belongs to the Maine Entomological Society. Went to the Monarch overwintering site. Presented monarch projects to middle school and elementary school children while a teacher. She continues to rear and release monarchs.
April 21, 2022
David Wessels
Title of Talk: THMS Seed Program
Synopsis:
David Wessels is the garden coordinator at Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast where he and his students manage a 1/3 acre garden and year-round greenhouse. The garden provides fresh veggies to the cafeteria and serves as a living laboratory for ecological inquiry. Each year, students take on the responsibility of stewarding an extensive seed collection, growing out beloved heirlooms, forgotten food crops, bumblebee curated gene pools and other wonders. These seeds are carefully cleaned and packed by students and offered to the public each year through the Troy Howard Seed Co. In recent years, David and his students have been exploring the possibilities of classical plant breeding, crossing vegetable, flower and herb varieties with paintbrushes, hummingbird moths and wind and watching new possibilities emerge from ancient stories.
David Wessels is the garden coordinator at Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast where he and his students manage a 1/3 acre garden and year-round greenhouse.