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Announcing Maine Audubon’s Spring 2025 Webinar Series: Preparing for EAB

Since the earliest documented occurrences of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) in Maine in 2013, Maine Audubon has been working with federal, state, and municipal forestry staff, as well as with indigenous scholars, cultural knowledge sharers, and basketmakers to better understand and plan our response to the ecological, cultural, and economic threats this invasive insect poses for the three species of Ash (Fraxinus spp.) native to Maine.

During May and June, Maine Audubon and partners will host a four-part series of evening webinars, each of which will focus on a specific aspect of the looming EAB crisis. Leaders from government, research, and cultural organizations will educate and inspire us about ash trees and what can be done to conserve them. The webinars will take place at 6 pm on select Thursdays.

Register for these free webinars:

May 8: 
Maine Forest Service entomologist Allison Kanoti will introduce us to the importance of Fraxinus (all three species) to forests, developed landscapes, and the economy. Allison will also cover the history of EAB presence and impacts in Maine to date, the state response, and how we all can get involved to help.  

May 22: 
Tony D’Amato is a regionally esteemed forest ecologist who will share the natural history of Fraxinus and present for us the innumerable benefits of having Ash in our forests and in our neighborhoods. 

June 5: 
A panel of Wabanaki and non-Wabanaki researchers at the Ash Protection Collaboration Across Waponahkik lab will share and discuss the benefits of a blended, multicultural approach to protecting our ash, as well as how people can get involved to support this work. 

June 12: 
Theresa Secord is a traditional Penobscot basket maker and the founding director of the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance (MIBA). In 2025, she was honored with a $100,000 Ruth Arts Fellowship, a United States Artist Fellowship and a Cultural Capital Fellow (First Peoples Fund). Theresa lives and works in Maine teaching apprentices to ensure the basketry tradition continues. She will offer a culminating presentation on the cultural and community implications of conserving Brown Ash, and share her craft and connections related to the tree at the center of Wabanaki origins.