A top Acadia National Park scientist will speak at Unity College about managing park resources in an era of climate change, as part of Unity’s annual partnership in the Maine Woods Forever Roundtable.

In his talk, Dr. Abe Miller-Rushing, chief of science and stewardship for Acadia National Park, will address Acadia National Park’s efforts to combat climate change — at the park and in Maine in general. The forum is 11 a.m. Friday, April 15, at the Unity College Center for the Performing Arts.

Miller-Rushing will also address the National Park Service’s climate change strategy nationally, and how Acadia is leading the nation in this effort. On hand to introduce him and to provide opening remarks will be newly installed Acadia National Park Superintendent Kevin Schneider.

The discussion is part of the annual Maine Woods Forever Roundtable and is free and open to the Unity College community and the media.

“Unity College is recognized as a convenor for nonpartisan conversation around the most important sustainability issues in our state,” Unity College President Dr. Melik Peter Khoury said. “As an event center crafted from a New England farmhouse and barn, the Unity College Center for the Performing Arts is a natural meeting place for important statewide environmental organizations such as Maine Woods Forever. Our faculty and staff understand the importance of opening the Unity College campus to make space for informed and constructive dialogue.”

Khoury will be on hand to welcome attendees who represent more than 60 environmental and natural resource organizations and agencies across the state. A special silent auction will be available to help support the educational and outreach efforts of the roundtable. And Maine Woods Forever will present its Theodore Roosevelt Award for Youth Leadership.

Networking and social gatherings begin at 9:15 a.m. The official roundtable begins around 10 a.m. Miller-Rushing’s talk starts at 11 a.m.

Unity College and Maine Woods Forever have been partnering to present these educational roundtables at the Unity College Center for the Performing Arts since the fall of 2014. For more information about the organization and its programs, click here.

Acadia National Park — the nation’s first East Coast national park — is poised to celebrate its centennial year.

For more information about National Park Service climate change efforts, check out the NPS Climate Change Response page on Facebook and the NPS Climate Change Webpage. For a summary of issues about Acadia and climate change, click here.

Friday, April 08, 2016