Collaborating with New Hampshire on engagement

As the Sea Grant extension associate who covers Maine’s deep south, I collaborate routinely with my partners on the other side of the border – New Hampshire. One such partnership is with University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension’s Community Development specialists.

Southern Maine shares many common social, economic, and ecological opportunities and challenges with the neighboring region of Seacoast New Hampshire. As such, both our programs  identified the need to build the capacity of communities to engage their members in planning for their future. This shared vision has resulted in the development of a new, joint program – the Community Engagement Academy.

The three-session course is being piloted this spring in three locations: Berwick, Maine on April 7, Dover, NH on April 21, and Portsmouth, NH on May 5. Each session will include educators from the Universities of Maine and New Hampshire Cooperative Extension to teach the fundamentals of community engagement. Local practitioners will also join us to share their experiences, and participants will gain hands-on experience using various engagement tools. We hope you’ll join us.