Dr. Bernd Heinrich of Perkins Plantation will speak at the Wilton Historical Society’s August, 2019 meeting. Submitted photo

WILTON — Noted naturalist Bernd Heinrich will be the featured speaker at the Wilton Historical Society’s meeting Thursday night, Audust 8. Heinrich will talk of his connection to the western Maine woods, cultivated over the last 70 years.

“We look forward to hosting Dr. Heinrich,” said Richard Corey of the Wilton Historical Society Board of Directors. “His work in various elements of the natural world have created a valuable historical record for our community.”

Heinrich was born in 1940 in Bad Polzin, Germany, during World War II. The community fell into Russian hands, becoming a part of communist Poland following the war. His parents immigrated to the United States in 1951 and settled in Wilton. Despite his education and career taking him as far away as Los Angeles before ultimately joining the University of Vermont Burlington’s Zoology department, Heinrich was always strongly connected to western Maine. He continues to research all aspects of nature from his homestead in Perkins Plantation, an unorganized territory near Weld, Maine.

Heinrich has written a variety of books focusing on zoology and physiology, including species’ seasonal survival, wildlife migration, ornithology, forests, insects, and bees. An avid endurance runner, Heinrich has also researched animals that rely on the ability to run.

A sampling of books written by Bernd Heinrich, professor emeritus of University of Vermont Burdlington. Dr. Heinrich is a resident of Perkins Plantation, Maine. Livermore Falls Advertiser photo by Nicole Carter

The event is one of several programs Wilton Historical Society holds on the second Thursday of the month, April through November. Meetings are open to the public, and new members are welcomed.