Tools for Great Communities!
The Community Institute - Session #5
Register for Farms, Foods and The Conservation Connection to Economically Healthy Communities.
Maine communities have jumped on the band wagon to improve opportunities for farmers and farming, to support conservation efforts and to promote these initiatives. What are the numbers behind these efforts? How much does farmland, conservation and open space really cost us? How are communities and community members benefitting from these growth patterns?

Learn about
  • the economic value of conservation, farms and locally grown foods
  • the costs and benefits of conservation
  • the farm to table movement
  • the small farm movement
  • the balance between rural land and town centers
  • do we have sprawl in Maine? How does it help or hurt our communities?

This workshop incudes hands-on, outdoor field work on parks, places and open spaces. The session also includes extensive networking time to share information, resources, experiences. This session is sponsored by Bangor Savings Bank, Maine Farmland Trust, Coastal Enterprises Inc., and others. Don't miss this important session. The $125 registration fee includes light breakfast, lunch, and all materials. Some scholarships are also available.

 
Midcoast Farm
The Community Institute - Final Report
Almost 60 people from all over Maine and northern New England attended Community Economics in downtown Brunswick. This program attracted community members, planners developers, architects, business owners, realtors, citizen planners and many others. Featured faculty members were Joe Minicozzi from Urban 3LLC and Chuck Marohn from Strong Towns. Read Final Report here...

Heart & Soul Planning Grows in Maine

Friends of Midcoast Maine staff Jane Lafleur is a coach for the Heart & Soul program of the Orton Family Foundation. Bucksport Maine is the most recent community to embark on this transformational planning process to be guided by what matters most to their community.

If you would like to learn more about how Heart & Soul Planning can transform your community, visit the Orton Family Foundation website at Heart & Soul. Be sure to give us a call at Friends of Midcoast Maine to schedule a presentation, technical assistance or a phone call for your community. Please call (207) 236-1077 for more information.

Design Assistance

 

The Citizens' Institute on Rural Design™
2016-2017 Request for Proposals is now open for rural communities facing design challenges, from Main Street revitalization to art-based community development.CIRD will select up to six communities, with populations 50,000 or less, to host a two-and-a-half-day design workshop aimed at solving local design challenges and planning for the future. Selected communities receive a CIRD stipend of $10,000 dollars and in-kind professional assistance to organize the workshop and follow up activities. The workshops are interdisciplinary and feature a wide range of design, planning, and creative placemaking professionals, bringing together local leaders from non-profits, community organizations, and government agencies to develop actionable solutions to a community's pressing design challenges.  To apply and learn more, click here. The application deadline is January 12, 2016.

Active Community Environment Workshops
Check out these 2 opportunities in 2016 to learn how to create active, livable community environments. Sessions are available in Lisbon Falls and Rockport Maine in March 2016. Register for one or more and bring colleagues from your community for the best results. Sponsored by the Active Communities Workgroup and in collaboration with the Maine Downtown Center and Friends of Midcoast Maine.
Articles of Interest
Check out the following articles recently in the news:
 

Protected Intersections For Bicyclists
Protected Intersections For Bicyclists

  
 

Thank you for your generous donations to Friends of Midcoast Maine. Your support makes our work possible. There is still time to make a difference by giving generously before the end of 2015. Thank you for your support. 
Jane Lafleur, Executive Director | Friends of Midcoast Maine and The Community Institute | (207) 236-1077 | info@friendsmidcoast.org | www.friendsmidcoast.org and www.communityinstitute.org
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