Acadia Senior College

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We create healthy communities through norms but often grow when challenged through protest. We value island ways that bond us. We respect shared commitment to common purpose – schools, government, public service. We support organizations that enrich our commons – libraries, small businesses, churches, and myriad volunteer groups. Without these ways of working together, life would mean less. We also, at times, disagree and argue. Protest by a few who perceive a wrong can compel attention, reflection, resolution, and, so, stronger community. Composing our need for protest and community is a challenge – perhaps especially on an island of 110 square miles where 10,000 souls pursue happiness. We make some rules to govern protest but these very rules can become the object of protest. Can we and should we seek to compose protest and community? These are matters we should discuss and on which we may even productively clash.

This event is open to the public, but registration is required. The cost to attend in person at Havana is $10 per person, payable at the door by cash or check, and includes coffee, tea, and pastries. 

Doors open at 8:30 a.m. and the discussion starts at 9:00 a.m.

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After years as an occasional tourist, Annlinn Kruger moved to MDI. Civic engagement is her way of giving back. Kruger has long participated in public protest. She has a degree in Anthropology and worked preserving historic, artistic, and scientific materials in private and public institutions. All of which experience informs her perspective on protest and community.

Earl D. Brechlin of Bar Harbor was the founding editor of the award-winning Mount Desert Islander and is the recipient of more than 100 awards for news and featuring writing, and photography. After more than 44 years covering Mount Desert Island he was inducted into the Maine Press Association Hall of Fame in October of 2022.

A Registered Maine Guide, Brechlin is a former Maine Journalist of the Year and is the author of eight books published by Islandport Press, Down East Books and Hunter Publishing.

He served as an adjunct faculty member in Journalism at College of the Atlantic for 17 years and is a former board member and instructor for the Acadia Senior College. He is the recent past President of the Bar Harbor Historical Society and currently serves on the Bar Harbor Planning Board.

Please note - the March 16th outing is FULL, but we have added a second outing on March 23rd. Please call or email if you are interested.

Explore and learn about the winter birds on Mount Desert Island with Seth Benz and up to 15 ASC members. Watch for common eiders, black-capped chickadees, buffleheads, eagles, downy woodpeckers, harlequin ducks, and more while learning about their habitats, migration patterns, and bird phenology. 

Participants will meet at a location on MDI such as Seawall, and possibly carpool to a second viewing area. 

The cost for the outing is $12 per person. Grab a friend and sign up now - space is limited. To register, please call 207-288-9500.

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Seth Benz has nearly 30 years of experience in conservation science and environmental education leadership. He has guided Road Scholar birding trips in Maine, directed Hog Island Audubon Camp (1999-2008), worked as an island supervisor for Project Puffin, served as Education Director of the Audubon Expedition Institute and as Assistant Curator of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Pennsylvania. He is now the director of the Schoodic Bird Ecology Lab, a collaborative field station focused on bird migration, phenology studies, and public participation in scientific research at Acadia National Park.

Seth's hands-on work includes raptor and songbird migration research, hawk watching, tern restoration efforts, bird flight altitude and wind energy studies, telemetry of wintering bald eagles, catching migratory peregrine falcons at Assateague Island National Seashore, next box monitoring projects with American kestrel, eastern screech owl, and eastern bluebird, and, ecotourism scouting trips to Peru and Mexico.

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Kate McBrien, Maine State Archivist explores the true history of the community who lived on Malaga Island, off the coast of Phippsburg, in the late 1800s. Her engaging presentation and discussion examine the individuals who were part of this community and the state’s actions to evict them from their homes through the complex history of racism and eugenics in Maine.

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The luncheon, at Birch Bay Village in Hulls Cove, begins at 11:30 and costs $15, payable by cash or check at the door; the lecture is from noon to 1:00.

The Zoom presentation begins at noon. If you register for the online talk you will receive the link the day before. There is no charge for the Zoom presentation.

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Kate McBrien currently serves as Maine State Archivist, overseeing Maine State Government’s archives and records management programs. As curator of the award winning exhibition “Malaga Island, Fragmented Lives”, Kate is also an historian for the Malaga Island community. She previously held positions as Chief Curator and Director of Public Engagement at the Maine Historical Society and as the Curator of Historic Collections for the Maine State Museum.

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Click to register for this event, or email learn@acadiaseniorcollege.org.