AUBURN – A special fall workshop for learning how to improve urban backyards as places of beauty and peace and as habitats for birds and other wildlife will be held Saturday, Sept. 11, at the Auburn Land Lab.

“The Urban Forest in Your Backyard” will be a professionally led workshop of information-packed sessions aimed at providing practical knowledge about designing and maintaining yards for bird and wildlife habitat, about identifying and dealing with insects and diseases of urban yards and about planting and pruning trees and shrubs.

The workshop is sponsored by the Lewiston Auburn Community Forest Board as an activity for celebrating the Twin Cities’ recent designation by the Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree City USA.

The workshop will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. Advanced registration is required, and there is a $10 charge. The fee provides morning coffee, lunch, written information to take home and a chance to win a 5- to 6-foot tree.

Deadline for registration is Sept. 1, although if space allows, registration at the door is possible, but no lunch will be available. The workshop is limited to 50, so early registration is encouraged by the sponsoring board.

Registration forms are available at the following locations: Lewiston, Provencher’s Nursery on River Road, Clerk’s Office in City Hall and at the Public Works’ office where water bills are paid; Auburn, Gammon’s Nursery on Route 4, at the information desk in Auburn City Hall and at the Recreation Department at 48 Pettengill St. Forms can also be accessed through Auburn’s Web site: www.auburnmaine.org. Click the Community Forest Workshop link and print out the form.

The workshop leaders have extensive experience in the field. Bonnie Lounsbury and Brian Pfohl, who will lead the wildlife habitat session, are habitat stewards, certified by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension and the National Wildlife Federation. Lounsbury is also a nationally and regionally recognized leader of local efforts to conserve diverse natural habitats.

One of the state’s recognized leaders in urban forest insects and diseases will lead the second session. Charlene Donahue, state forest entomologist, has 30 years of experience in the field and is involved in critical research at the Maine Forest Service’s Insect and Disease Laboratory in Augusta.

The Lewiston and Auburn city arborists, Steve Murch and Mike Morin, experts in urban plantings, will give hands-on demonstrations.

Questions can be addressed to the Auburn recreation superintendent at 786-2829, ext. 2. To reach the Land Lab, take Center Street in Auburn past Lake Auburn. Turn left onto Lake Shore Drive (across from St. Philips Church), go to the end. Then turn left onto North Auburn Road. The lab is on the right about 200 yards down. Look for signs.