FARMINGTON — During the second annual 350.org event planned for Sunday, people around the world will do something creative to demonstrate their interest in reducing carbon emissions.

The University of Maine Farmington Sustainable Campus Coalition has planned Warming Our Community to increase awareness of heating needs in Franklin County, Valerie Huebner, UMF sustainability coordinator, said.

The local 10-10-10 Global Work Party begins at 1 p.m. Sunday in Room 217 of Ricker Addition on the UMF campus. The public is invited to a panel discussion on the increasing need of heating assistance in the area and suggestions for savings through building weatherization.

Demonstrations of retrofits will be given and children’s fall activities will be available. A raffle and silent auction will raise funds for ECU-Heat, an ecumenical emergency heating fund sponsored by local churches and administered by Western Maine Community Action.

People around the world are holding a variety of events, from planting trees to bike tours, conferences and talks based on promoting energy efficiency and slowing climate change, she said.

Started last year by environmentalist Bill McKibben, 350.org is a campaign to reduce the present limit of carbon emissions, nearly 390 parts per million, to 350 ppm, which scientists believe is the limit for a healthy planet. According to the 350.org website, more than 6,000 events will take place Sunday in more than 180 countries.

After hearing a presentation by the Rev. Susan Crane, pastor of Henderson Memorial Baptist Church, and recent UMF graduate Nancy Teel on increasing needs for fuel assistance and ways to reduce the need with handmade window panels, Huebner brought the idea to the campus coalition.

“Pastor Crane gave a compelling description of people who are cold but have no heating assistance until December. People are calling already,” she said of a lack of funding to help those in need.

“The students were taken by this. It connects them to our local community. It seems like they understand where they live and how they can help,” she said of the coalition members who have enthusiastically planned the event.

Sunday’s panel includes Crane, Pam Green, a UMF student involved in retrofitting a campus building and Teel, Western Maine Community Action coordinator of weatherization.

With a $25,000 grant from the University of Maine System, a physics class has completed a study and plans to make an older brick campus building at Main and South streets more energy efficient, Huebner said. Green has documented the project with before and after photos of the building, which will not look different but will be much tighter, she said.

The university will now have two models to showcase methods of energy conservation, she said. Future tours will be held in the building formerly known as the Alumni House, in addition to the energy-efficient Education Center.

A second 10-10-10 event will take place in Farmington. An action table will be set up from 4 to 6 p.m. during the celebration dinner for the Tour de Farmington bike ride and local farm tour, she said.

The event is catered for tour participants, but registrations for a veggie Mexican meal may be made through the Western Mountains Alliance. The Sandy River Ramblers will provide musical entertainment, according to the 350.org website.

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