This fall Coastal Senior College is offering “From the Mountains to the Sea: The Ecology of Maine’s Freshwater Streams.” Registration is now open for this and the 13 other fall courses.

Instructor Dan Boward points out that a network of 30,000 miles of freshwater streams meanders through Maine, intimately connected with the land around them and harboring fascinating plants and animals. Class participants will learn the basics of stream ecology, how our lifestyles affect them, and stream restoration and protection techniques. The course will include at least one field trip.

His class will meet in person at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Newcastle, from 10 a.m. to noon on Thursdays, Sept. 17 through Oct. 15.

For more information about this course and the others, to join Coastal Senior College, and to register for classes, visit coastalseniorcollege.org.

Boward holds a bachelor’s degree in zoology from the University of Maryland and a master’s in environmental science and policy from Johns Hopkins University. He has taught at the graduate level and spent 34 years with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, focusing on aquatic ecology, environmental assessment, stream monitoring and environmental education.

Coastal Senior College, which serves Lincoln and Knox counties, currently offers classes in literature, history, writing, math, science, and human behavior. Nine classes meet in person, four on Zoom.

The organization is among a statewide network of 17 Senior Colleges, run by volunteers, that offer daytime classes and other educational activities primarily for people 50 and over. They provide an opportunity to learn in a congenial, informal atmosphere and to meet fellow learners. Members of one College may take courses in any of the others.