This fall, Coastal Senior College, which offers lifelong learners enrichment through courses and other activities in Lincoln and Knox counties, will hold classes and activities right in the Boothbay region. CSC President Jayne Gordon will teach a course six Tuesday mornings from 9:30 to 11:30 (Sept. 17-Oct. 22) at the Congregational Church of Boothbay Harbor on the practice of walking: why we walk, when we walk, where we walk, how we walk, and with whom we walk. Walking as a pastime or purposeful venture has always benefited those who have allowed their feet to carry them out into the world around them.

Gordon’s course is one of 15 being offered by CSC this fall, at locations throughout the two-county area and on Zoom. Registration for all courses and activities began online on Aug. 13; classes start in mid-September.

Gordon, a resident of Damariscotta, is the former executive director of the Thoreau Society and the retired director of education of the Massachusetts Historical Society. She notes, “We will read selections from some of the greatest minds pondering these aspects of walking from Thoreau to the present: nature writers, travel writers, philosophers, psychologists, poets, scientists, historians, educators, and explorers. We will discuss the myriad ways and genres in which wide-ranging experts have worked to chronicle their thoughts and surroundings on excursions by foot. Finally, we will share our own walking experiences, methods of capturing our impressions, and suggestions for good walking places in Midcoast Maine.”

Though actual walking excursions are not part of the course, they are a popular activity offered as a benefit of CSC membership. Jayne Gordon works with East Boothbay resident and CSC board member Nancy Rowe Adams to coordinate a full schedule of fall and spring walks. 

In the two years since the Senior College walks began, volunteers have led ambles through villages and natural areas in 15 different locations — from the tips of peninsulas to beautiful inland locations. The first fall walk of 2024 is at Boothbay Region Land Trust’s Oak Point Farm on Sept. 9 — part of CSC’s Homecoming Picnic to celebrate both going “back to school” and the beauty of our local landscapes.   

For information on membership, course registration, or teaching for CSC, and for detailed descriptions of all the courses and activities, visit the Coastal Senior College website at: www.coastalseniorcollege.org.