BETHEL — Dean Bennett, author of “Nature and Renewal: Wild River Valley and Beyond,” will present a PowerPoint program and sign copies of his book from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 27, at the Bethel Historical Society. The event will take place in the exhibit hall of the Dr. Moses Mason House, 14 Broad St.

The program will include the story of the Wild River Valley, a wilderness in a relatively unknown valley, circumscribed by high, steep mountains, and the valley’s river, Wild River. Bennett will bring to life the story of the power of nature to renew.

The book contains 340 pages, maps, photos and many drawings by Bennett. During November and December, members of the Bethel Historical Society are eligible for a 20 percent discount on copies of the book, plus other regularly-priced items available in the society’s Museum Shop, at the Robinson House or through the society’s Web site, www.bethelhistorical.org.

Bennett is professor emeritus at the University of Maine at Farmington. Born and raised in Maine, he received a Ph.D. in resource planning and conservation from the School of Natural Resources at the University of Michigan with special emphasis in environmental education, a master’s degree in science education from the University of Southern Maine and an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Maine at Farmington.

He is a journeyman cabinetmaker, having completed a four-year apprenticeship at the F.O. Bailey Company in Portland, through the Maine State Apprenticeship Council, and after receiving a bachelor’s degree in industrial arts education at Gorham State Teachers College, he taught industrial arts in the Yarmouth school system for several years.

He served as the first environmental education school curriculum specialist in the Maine State Department of Education. He was among 100 educators selected by UNESCO to participate in the first world environmental education conference in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.

He received the Percival Baxter Award for Leadership in Wilderness Preservation from the Maine Chapter of the Sierra Club, the Environmental Activist Award for protection of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway from the Natural Resources Council of Maine and the Teacher of the Year Award from Maine Audubon Society.

This is his ninth book in the nature/environment field.

For further information about the Bethel Historical Society, call 824-2908 or 1-800-824-2910, e-mail [email protected] or visit  www.bethelhistorical.org.