AUBURN – Holly Ewing, a scientist in the Environmental Studies Program at Bates College, presented the Stanton Bird Club’s first program of 2006 at 7 p.m. Monday at the High Street Congregational Church.

In her talk on “Things We Learn Playing in the Dirt and Mud,” Ewing will lead an exploration of some of the underworld. It will include characteristics of soils and lake sediments and what can be learned from them. She said those attending can bring a bag of dirt for hands-on exploration.

Ewing teaches classes in soils, water, ecosystems and traditional ecological knowledge. Her research investigates ecosystem development and linkages among atmospheric, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. She is particularly interested in fog-inundated ecosystems and in combining approaches from modern ecology and paleoecology in the investigation of ecosystem history.

In keeping with the dirt theme, there will be four bags of Jolly Farmer potting soil, donated by Bates College senior Jon Doucette, given as door prizes.

The Stanton Bird Club is a nonprofit conservation organization, founded in 1919. It has a regular series of free public meetings with speakers on topics of natural history presented on the first Monday of every month at the High Street Congregational Church.

The club runs field trips led by member volunteers. It has an active junior naturalist program and conducts educational programs for children of all ages in the Androscoggin County area.

The club owns and manages three wildlife sanctuaries: Thorncrag in Lewiston (312 acres), Woodbury in Monmouth (160 acres) and Applesass in Lewiston (2 acres).