LEWISTON — The Civic Forum Series at Bates College will offer presentations about the Androscoggin River and about social entrepreneurship during October.

Bowdoin College faculty members Michael Kolster, a photographer, and Matthew Klingle, a historian and environmentalist, explore the Androscoggin River’s past, present and future in a presentation at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17.

The following week, a co-founder of the fair-trade coffee importer Equal Exchange is among four of the nation’s leading social entrepreneurs who discuss their work at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24.

Both events take place in the Edmund S. Muskie Archives, 70 Campus Ave.

The series invites audiences to contemplate civic, political and policy issues significant to Maine and beyond. Events are open to the public at no cost. For more information, call 786-6202.

Kolster, an associate professor of visual art at Bowdoin, and Klingle, associate professor of history and environmental studies, are collaborating on “A River Lost and Found: The Androscoggin River in Time and Place.” The project uses photography, oral history, archival research and creative nonfiction writing to examine the hidden past and neglected present of this important New England waterway.

Social entrepreneurs participating in the Oct. 24 forum will be:

Peter Murray, co-founder and president of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Progressive Leadership. He also founded three nonprofit organizations promoting economic mobility for low-income people.

Bethany Robertson, co-founder and former executive director of I Do Foundation, whose mission is to help engaged couples bring a charitable focus to their marriage.

Jonathan Rosenthal, co-founder of Oke USA, North America’s first fair trade fruit company, and of Equal Exchange, the first U.S. fair trade coffee company. He is now a principal in Just Works, a firm that provides innovative consulting services to mission-driven organizations.

Elizabeth Stefanski, chief market maker of Business Innovation Factory of Providence, R.I.. She is also a consultant for the business-strategy firm Bazaar Strategies.