A New Home in Cumberland County

University of Maine Cooperative Extension in Cumberland County engages 600 community volunteers to help people of all ages develop the practical knowledge and skills. Through the combined efforts of dedicated volunteer leaders, UMaine Extension is an organization with close ties to the people, the landscape and the future of Southern Maine's economy. UMaine Extension plays an important role in strengthening Maine's economy - through applied research and relevant programming.

As the educational arm of County Government, Cumberland County Extension Association is the citizens advisory group for University of Maine Cooperative Extension in Cumberland County. UMaine Extension’s successful educational programs result from a federal, state and county partnership that address the issues of Cumberland County residents. Since 1919, when the Maine Legislature passed the County Extension Act, the University of Maine has been in all Maine communities with a local county office that is funded by county government. CCEA oversees the funding allocated by the County Commissioners, that provides housing, support staff and basic operations for UMaine Extension in Cumberland County.

CCEA has been engaged in a search to provide new housing for UMaine Extension In Cumberland County for more then 30 years, because the current facility is leased. The future is unclear with space limitations, possible increased expenses and increasing populations demanding the high-quality programs the public has come to expect from UMaine Extension. These require appropriate accessible space. The plan for the Regional Learning Center is to provide that space and that the funding for lease payments is secured indefinitely without additional cost to the taxpayer. Today UMaine Extension in Cumberland County has run out of room and pushed the limits of its current offices in Portland.

With the support of the town of Falmouth, a unique public-private partnership has united forces around the goal of constructing a new facility: the Regional Learning Center at Tidewater Farm. University of Maine Cooperative Extension, the Cumberland County Extension Association, and the Tidewater Conservation Foundation -- a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit group -- are collaborating to raise the resources to make this new Regional Learning Center a reality.