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BIDDEFORD, Maine

Healthy Lawns Forum to feature UNE Moderator, Panelist

The second in a series of "Healthy Lawns, Healthy Kennebunk" public forums hosted by volunteers of the Kennebunk Conservation and Open Space Planning Commission will include two UNE participants, Christine Feurt, Ph.D., Director of the UNE Center for Sustainable Communities, and Timothy Ford, Ph.D., Vice President for Research and Dean of Graduate Studies.

The session on Thursday, September 22 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Kennebunk Town Hall will include a showing of the award-winning movie, "A Chemical Reaction, The Story of a True Green Revolution" produced by best-selling author and filmmaker Paul Tukey.

"The water quality of our rivers, our shore areas, and our aquifer can be affected by the use of pesticides and fertilizers," said Commission spokesman John White. Involved for many years sampling the water quality of Kennebunk's beaches, rivers, and tributaries, White says the forum will present "a free and open discussion of the various methods of lawn and turf care, including both organic/natural and conventional treatments."

Dr. Christine Feurt, who is also Coastal Training Program Coordinator at Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, will moderate the panel of speakers. Gary Fish, coordinator of the Maine Yardscaping Partnership and manager of pesticide programs at the Maine Board of Pesticides Control, will field questions from the audience. Fish recently authored a handbook entitled "Best Management Practices for the Application of Turf Pesticides and Fertilizers."
 
Other panelists include UNE's Dr. Timothy Ford, Jessie O'Brien of Downeast Turf Farms, and turf manager Chris Turmelle of Atlantic Pest Solutions.

Partners in the "Healthy Lawns, Healthy Kennebunk" lawn care program include the Kennebunk Coastal Association, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, and the Kennebunk Land Trust. In addition, Kennebunkport's Lawns for Lobsters group, and the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve will participate in the forum.

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.