In the fall of 1971, Bowdoin’s newly established Environmental Studies Program offered its first course, The Androscoggin River: A Case History. The class provided students with the opportunity to explore the historical, ecological, economic and political dimensions of a river that had seen dramatic declines in water quality and fish species throughout the 20th century to a point it was once labeled as the fifth most polluted river in the country.

Forty years later, the College is hosting the symposium, “Many Rivers, One Estuary: Translating Knowledge into Action.” Developed collaboratively with a stakeholder organization, the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust, and through support by Maine’s EPSCoR program, Merrymeeting Bay Trust, McKeen Center for the Common Good and Environmental Studies Program, the symposium will convene stakeholders from throughout the two watersheds as a way of sharing research results, understanding emerging issues, and continuing to seek ways to effectively move “knowledge into action.” Read more.