Best selling author, scientist, and conservationist Rachel Carson was an unlikely individual to become the spark that ignited the environmental movement of today. In an online talk hosted by Lincoln County Historical Association and the Old Bristol Historical Society, Barbara Vickery will explain how this shy, retiring, and humble person who lacked the usual scientific credentials, would later become recognized as a major force in national scientific debates.

In the talk, scheduled for Jan. 25 at 5:30 p.m., Vickery will discuss Carson’s ties to Lincoln County and the role of her writings in the growth of the environmental movement. She will suggest ways in which Carson’s work can inform our current debates on climate and conservation and answer many of our questions about one of our region’s most influential figures.

The talk is free, but pre-registration is required. Please visit lincolncountyhistory.org or http://bit.ly/48dxPo5.

Barbara St. John Vickery, a rare plant botanist, joined the staff of The Nature Conservancy Maine in 1983 as director of science and stewardship. She later served as director of conservation programs until her retirement in 2017. After the death her husband, Peter Vickery, she worked with a team to edit his life work, “Birds of Maine,” which was published in 2020.

Vickery currently serves on the Maine Board of Environmental Protection and the board of the Forest Society of Maine, is an active member of the Citizen’s Climate Lobby, Midcoast Maine chapter, and is a member of six local organizations whose trails she uses regularly, including the trails at Lincoln County Historical Association’s Pownalborough Court House across the Kennebec from her home in Richmond.

Lincoln County Historical Association is a non-profit organization that provides stewardship for the 1754 Chapman-Hall House in Damariscotta, the 1761 Pownalborough Court House in Dresden, and the 1811 Old Jail and Museum in Wiscasset. For more information, please visit www.lincolncountyhistory.org or Facebook at Lincoln County Historical Association (Maine).

The Old Bristol Historical Society (OBHS), collects, preserves and shares the Bristol region’s rich history and prehistory for present and future generations.The OBHS hosts a summer lecture series, organizes history tours for schoolchildren, and publishes a semi-annual newsletter. In 2020, the society established the Bristol History Center at 2089 Bristol Road, which includes the historic Mill at Pemaquid Falls. The OBHS is currently in the process of raising funds to restore the mill, create exhibit spaces, and establish a research center and office headquarters in the former retail space located on the property. For more information, please visit www.oldbristolhistoricalsociety.org.