Alaskan author and conservationist Hank Lentfer wonders if humans can balance their individual consumerist tendencies with globally-beneficial efforts at environmental preservation.

During two April 11 appearances, sponsored by Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust and The Nature Conservancy, Lentfer will offer a multimedia discussion hoping to inspire people with a sense of place. The first will be at 4 p.m. at Bowdoin College, in the Visual Arts Center’s Beam classroom, and a second at Frontier Café at 6:30 p.m.

The 6:30 p.m. appearance will feature a reading from Lentfer’s book “Faith of Cranes,” which he wrote to help “balance the despair” of watching urbanization swallow the wilderness of his beloved Alaskan frontier.

Both appearances are free and open to the public, although a $2 donation is suggested for the Frontier event.