UMaine Extension Offers Master Gardener Volunteer Training in Lisbon Falls

LISBON FALLS, Me. – University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s Lisbon Falls-based staff will offer an eight-week Master Gardener volunteers course starting March 23, 2010.

The deadline to request an application is Nov. 13, 2009 and completed applications are due by Jan. 8, 2010.

UMaine Extension Educator Tori Jackson will collaborate with experts from around the state to present basic horticulture and volunteer training.

The course fee is based on a sliding scale from $110-$330, with a limited number of scholarships available. For more information or to request an application contact Dana Rickman at (207) 353-5550.

UMaine Extension programs are open and accessible to all in accordance with program goals.

UMaine Extension Watershed Survey Training

MILO, Me.—University of Maine Cooperative Extension will prove Watershed Survey training on Monday Oct. 19 at the Milo town office. The training will run from 6-8 p.m. and regirstration is free.

Participants will learn to identify and document erosion in the Schoodic Lake watershed. This watershed survey will take place within two weeks of the training. This survey will not be used for enforcement, but to gather information needed to plan long-term protection strategies for Schoodic Lake.

Schoodic Lake area landowners who do not want trained volunteers looking for erosion problems on their property should contact Laura Wilson prior to the event. UMaine Extension programs are open and accessible to all in accordance with program goals.

For more information or registration, contact Laura Wilson at (207) 581-2971, e-mail lwilson@umext.maine.edu. Those who are interested may also visit the events calendar at extension.umaine.edu.

UMaine Extension Schedules Sheep and Goat Nutrition Seminar

Fairfield, ME — University of Maine Cooperative Extension will present a day-long sheep and goat nutrition seminar on Saturday, October 24. The session is scheduled for 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at Kennebec Valley Community College’s Carter Hall Auditorium in Fairfield.

Sheep and goat numbers are increasing as small farms spring up all over Maine. Sheep or goat producers can learn how proper nutrition affects animals’ performance and value. Participants will gain knowledge and skills in livestock feeds and feeding.

The seminar instructors will be UMaine Extension faculty members Donna Coffin, Dee Potter, Richard Kersbergen, Richard Brzozowski, David Marcinkowski, Gary Anderson and Anne Lichtenwalner, DVM. State veterinarian Beth McEvoy will also participate.

The deadline to register for the seminar is October 16. The cost will $25 per person/business, then $15.00 for additional people. Active members of sponsoring sheep and goat associations will receive a $5 discount per farm. The fee covers a reference notebook on small ruminant nutrition, a ration balancer program, refreshments and a lunch featuring Maine goat meat. The seminar is designed for adults but would be appropriate for people at least 12 years of age.

For more information, contact UMaine Extension at 207-780-4205, 1-800-287-1471 (toll-free in Maine only) or www.extension.umaine.edu.