DEAR SUN SPOTS: The Annual Androscoggin Watershed Conference will be held at the Auburn Community Center on Tuesday, May 5, from 8:30 a.m. to  2:30 p.m. We will be discussing the Western Maine Energy Project, also called pumped storage, planned for the Dixfield-Canton area. 

We will also discuss PFAS, the forever chemicals, in drinking water, including information on how they can be treated. Other sessions include planning for drinking water protection, shoreline stabilization, and impacts of climate change on water resources, including those from droughts, like we are currently experiencing. More information and registration is available at https://www.androscogginwatershedcouncil.org/, or by calling me at 240-3143.

The Androscoggin River Watershed Council is also seeking a few additional volunteers to help sample the rivers in the Androscoggin River Watershed. Volunteers will have a brief training session and be loaned meters to monitor dissolved oxygen, specific conductance, measure how well electricity passes through the water, and temperature. Monitoring must be done before 8 a.m. twice a month for the summer months. 

If interested or if you would like more information, please me at 240-3143 or email [email protected]. The results are compiled by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and published on its website and included in their water quality reports. — Ferg, no town

ANSWER: This is very important work for our area, and really, for the state as well. I do hope some Sun Spotters will attend the conference and/or also participate in the sampling and monitoring our rivers’ water. It’s interesting to review the data and this is a great reason to get yourselves out in nature and be helpful all at the same time. 

DEAR SUN SPOTS: The Friends of the Lewiston Public Library Annual Meeting will be held at Callahan Hall, 200 Lisbon St., on Thursday, May 14, at 1:30 p.m. After a short meeting to conduct the annual business of the Friends, all are welcome to hear from our featured guest, Rachel Ferrante, the head of the Maine Mill Museum. Rachel has been the executive director of the museum since September 2021, and oversees all aspects of the museum, including exhibitions and programming, fundraising, finance, human resources, visitor services, communications, and board development. — no name, no town

ANSWER: This sounds interesting and is a great opportunity to connect with our wonderful library and hear about what’s going on at the museum. The library and the museum need you so get involved if you can! 

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I’m wondering if there is someone out there who could rototill a small 10- by 5-foot garden patch in my backyard? I know it’s a small area but I want to add some plants to my backyard and I am too old to try to do this myself. Please call Lucy at 689-4394 or email [email protected]. — Lucy, no town

ANSWER: You may want to contact the garden center nearest you and ask for a recommendation. And please remember Sun Spotters, to include your location when you are looking for a service, an item, or want to give something away. 

This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name. We won’t use it if you ask us not to. Please include your phone number. Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be emailed to [email protected].