ORONO — The Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions at the University of Maine is set to host a talk, “From Home, to Homestead, to Woodlot, to Park: Nature-Based Recreation as a Contemporary Link Between Society and the Natural Environment,” at 3 p.m. Monday, March 18.
All talks are free and offered both remotely via Zoom and in person at 107 Norman Smith Hall on the UMaine campus.
Nature interaction plays crucial roles in human health and well-being and emotion. The time people spend outdoors, however, has diminished due to new cultural and technological trends and changes in methods of production. Once central to daily livelihood, interaction with nature is, for many, now limited to recreation and leisure activities, according to a news release from Ruth Hallsworth with the center.
In this talk, Charlie Howe from Butler Conservation describes the development of new nature-based recreation facilities, considering how siting, design and program activities can help connect people with the natural environment and create memorable outdoor experiences.
Howe is a design professional with 15 years of experience in ecological assessment, mapping and landscape design. In 2017, he joined Butler Conservation, a charitable foundation that develops large parks focused on family friendly outdoor recreation.
Butler Conservation operates two new large-scale parks in Maine, Penobscot River Trails and the Cobscook Shores Park System, and owns/collaborates on six other parks in New York, South Carolina, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile. In addition to public visitation, these parks host 20,000 students per year for guided outdoor recreation including, hiking, biking, kayaking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.
Registration is required to attend remotely; to register and receive connection information, see the event webpage at umaine.edu/mitchellcenter.
To request a reasonable accommodation, contact Hallsworth at 207-581-3196 or hallsworth@maine.edu.
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