Teaching And Learning For People And The Earth

WASHINGTON GREEN — On Wednesday, October 3, at 7 pm, Dr W. Donald Hudson, Jr, president of The Chewonki Foundation, will initiate The Gunnery’s 2007-08 Speaker Series with a lecture titled “Teaching and Learning for People and for the Earth.” The public is invited to the presentation and admission is free. The lecture will be in the meeting house on Washington Green.

Having done graduate work at the University of Vermont (where he earned his master’s) and Indiana University (PhD) in botany, ecology, and evolutionary biology, Dr Hudson began early with his passion for exploring the relationships of man, nature, and the earth. In 1982, his interests drew him back to the Chewonki Foundation in Wiscasset, Maine, where he had worked after his graduation from Dartmouth in 1972. Since that time, he has served the foundation, whose principle work is environmental education, in numerous capacities, including as wilderness trip leader, as head naturalist, as teacher, and as executive director. He has also been a working member, advisor, or director for numerous Maine state and regional boards.

The Chewonki Foundation’s recent efforts in environmental education include Pathways to a Sustainable Future, a waste management curriculum guide written for the former Maine Waste Management Agency, and Teaching for the Environment — The Promise of the Earth Charter, a collaboration with the Center for Respect of Life and Environment to convene a symposium that explored environmental teaching in the academy through invited papers, responding papers, and discussion among participants. The Earth Charter is a declaration of fundamental principles for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st Century. 

The Gunnery has scheduled four events during the school year 2007-08 as part of its annual series, building on the Distinguished Author Lectures. These lectures have been chosen to enhance different aspects of the school’s curriculum: Joe Beck will bring a jazz trio on February 15; and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Debby Applegate is scheduled to lecture on April 11.

The performance for the commemoration of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday on Friday, January 18, considered the fourth lecture of the series, has not yet been confirmed.

The Gunnery invites interested members of the community to attend the lecture series. Call Paula Krimsky at 860-868-7334, extension 251, for additional information.