This is a live, online Zoom session:

Bringing home a new puppy or adopting a dog requires some preparation and forethought to help everyone transition smoothly to new routines.

During this class Devina will be sharing my top tips to help guide your decision if you haven't brought the dog home yet, and if you have, we'll talk about the quickest way to achieve harmony and get everyone on the same routine.

We will be going over housetraining for both puppies and adult dogs, and how to identify and work with behavior issues early on to prevent them from becoming a problem in the future.

Devina Iyer (she/they) is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer - Knowledge Assessed with the Council for Certification of Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT), as well as an Accredited Dog Trainer with the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC). They have several years of experience working with street dogs and shelter dogs, as well as puppies and family dogs of various breeds. They also serve as a Board Member for The Ark - Pope Memorial Animal Shelter in Cherryfield, and live with their own two rescue dogs in Trenton.

This is a live, online ZOOM class.

With the world, and even Downeast, Maine, increasingly at-risk in experiencing natural, technological and human-caused catastrophes, this presentation offers a realistic, no nonsense approach to emergency preparedness for individuals, households and businesses. This workshop will look at the risks we face both as individuals and as communities, and discuss how we best mitigate these risks to remain safe, alive and whole.

Free upon request. 

This is a live, online Zoom session: 

Does your dog or puppy show signs of fear at the Vet's office? Perhaps they turn around and try to leave as soon as they realize where they are, or maybe they growl, snap and try to bite the Vet staff. Maybe you would like your dog to wear a muzzle comfortably for everyone's safety, but now they won't let you put it on them?

In this class I will be going over what to do if you have a dog who struggles at the vet, how to get started teaching them to enjoy wearing a muzzle and having a better time with the Vet or groomer.

There will be time for questions at the end of class as well!

Devina Iyer (she/they) is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer - Knowledge Assessed with the Council for Certification of Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT), as well as an Accredited Dog Trainer with the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC). They have several years of experience working with street dogs and shelter dogs, as well as puppies and family dogs of various breeds. They also serve as a Board Member for The Ark - Pope Memorial Animal Shelter in Cherryfield, and live with their own two rescue dogs in Trenton.

Join FAME's College Savings Counselor, Maire Pelletier, in dissecting Erin Lowery's Broke Millennial Takes on Investing. This book club is great for someone looking for an introduction to different investment-related topics, In Lowery's second edition of the Broke Millennial financial book series, she addresses some of the biggest questions early investors have, such as: 

- Should I invest while paying down student loans? 

- How do I invest in a socially responsible way?

- What about robo-advisors and apps-- are any of them any good? 

- Where can I look onlin for investment advice? 

Students will need to purchase their own copy of the book to participate. 

DATES: Feb 6, Feb 20, March 5, March 19 all at 6pm.

This is an online, Zoom session. 

The public health impact of a school-based citizen science effort to assess well water for arsenic in Maine and New Hampshire.

In Maine and New Hampshire, arsenic contamination of well water is one of the most pressing public health issues. Most people in rural areas of these states derive their drinking water from private wells, which often have arsenic levels above the EPA limit of 10 ppb. Arsenic can cause cancer, cardiovascular, and other health problems. We have been addressing this issue by engaging secondary science teachers and their students as citizen scientists in collecting drinking water samples for analysis of arsenic and other toxic metals.

This project provides context for students to engage in scientific inquiry and motivation for them to construct knowledge and meaning through the process of discovery. After receiving test results for arsenic and other toxic metals, students share their findings with their communities with the aim of moving people to act on this important public health issue.

Since the inception of this project in 2016, over 5000 students have participated in project activities and submitted over 3,500 drinking water samples for analysis; in some communities more than doubling the number of wells that have ever been tested.

We are expanding this effort to other households in Maine in an effort to study the health effects of arsenic exposure over people’s lifetimes.

Dr. Jane Disney is an Associate Professor of Environmental Health at MDI BiologicalLaboratory. In addition, she directs the activities of the Community EnvironmentalHealth Laboratory. She is the co-developer of the citizen science online data portal,Anecdata.org. Since 2000, she has worked with multiple community partners, identifyingand helping to remedy threats to public health and the clean waters on and around MountDesert Island. With a 5-year grant from the National Institutes of Health, she launched“All About Arsenic” in 2018, a project that engages secondary school teachers andstudents as citizen scientists in collecting well water samples for analysis of arsenic andother toxic metals and sharing their findings in their communities. In a collaboration withthe University of New England, Dr. Disney is focused on the health of Mainersthroughout their lifetimes, with research to uncover the connection betweenenvironmental exposures to toxic substances and the aging process.

Maine is known for bad weather. Explore the impacts of some of our worst weather and learn more about how climate change is accelerating storm severity and sea level rise. Bring your curiousity!

Donations to the MDI Historical Society are encouraged on the night of class.

Raney Bench is Executive Director for the Mount Desert Island Historical Society, author, and historian.

This is a live, online Zoom session:

One of the most common issues that dog owners face is their dog showing anxiety-related behaviors when left alone at home. These can include eliminating in the house despite being "house-trained", destruction of furniture, barking and howling or trying to escape. Some dogs behave more intensely than others, often making this dangerous for them.

During this talk Devina will address how to identify if your dog really does have separation anxiety, and how to get started with training them to be more relaxed when left alone. We'll also touch briefly upon the effect of supplements and over-the-counter remedies, as well as the importance of talking to your Vet about this. We will also have some time at the end of class for answering questions!

Devina Iyer (she/they) is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer - Knowledge Assessed with the Council for Certification of Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT), as well as an Accredited Dog Trainer with the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC). They have several years of experience working with street dogs and shelter dogs, as well as puppies and family dogs of various breeds. They also serve as a Board Member for The Ark - Pope Memorial Animal Shelter in Cherryfield, and live with their own two rescue dogs in Trenton.

This is an online, Zoom session. 

Rural Schools as Sources of PFAS Contamination in Neighborhood Wells.

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) or “forever chemicals” are increasingly found in groundwater and soil in many areas of the U.S. They harm human health and have negative consequences for wildlife and ecosystems. Rural Maine residents have been concerned about PFAS exposure since the discovery of contaminated soils on Maine farms where sludge from sewage treatment plants was used as fertilizer over decades.

“Forever chemicals” are showing up in well water in communities surrounding these agricultural areas. These residents have been receiving assistance with well water testing and mitigation from Maine DEP, but other contamination sites in Maine are receiving less attention.

In particular, drinking water in some rural Maine schools has tested positive for PFAS, and some are exceeding the 20 nanograms/liter limit established for public drinking water sources in the state.

We have begun a Community Engaged Research process on Mount Desert Island (MDI), Maine, in the vicinity of two rural schools to determine if contamination of groundwater near schools is impacting surrounding properties. We will share our findings and plans for next steps with school and community stakeholders.

Dr. Jane Disney is an Associate Professor of Environmental Health at MDI BiologicalLaboratory. In addition, she directs the activities of the Community EnvironmentalHealth Laboratory. She is the co-developer of the citizen science online data portal,Anecdata.org. Since 2000, she has worked with multiple community partners, identifyingand helping to remedy threats to public health and the clean waters on and around MountDesert Island. With a 5-year grant from the National Institutes of Health, she launched“All About Arsenic” in 2018, a project that engages secondary school teachers andstudents as citizen scientists in collecting well water samples for analysis of arsenic andother toxic metals and sharing their findings in their communities. In a collaboration withthe University of New England, Dr. Disney is focused on the health of Mainersthroughout their lifetimes, with research to uncover the connection betweenenvironmental exposures to toxic substances and the aging process.