Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions

The Northeastern States Research Cooperative (NSRC) has awarded nearly $500K to PI John Daigle and Co-PI Darren Ranco in support of their project Sustaining basketmaking in Waponahkik through increased accessibility, processing, and storage opportunities. Daigle is a professor of forest recreation management at UMaine and leader of the Ash Protection Collaboration Across Waponahkik (APCAW) Lab. Ranco […]

Every year, Maine throws away around 361,000 tons of food—nearly 40% of production—with about 4,200 tons lost in K-12 schools alone. To tackle this, the Maine Department of Education, Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and UMaine’s Mitchell Center have rolled out a “No More Wasted Food” DIY toolkit in time for Maine Wasted Food […]

Oct 8th: Community Collaboration in ResearchPips Veazey, Portland GatewaySharon Klein, Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions Join UMaine’s Office of Research Development for a special presentation on increasing the broader impacts of your research through community partnerships with special guests from UMaine’s Portland Gateway and the Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions. Learn more about their mission, […]

PFAS, the so-called “forever chemicals,” don’t behave the same way in every crop, according to new research from UMaine. Graduate student Alex Scearce, Mitchell Center faculty fellow Rachel Schattman, and their colleagues grew lettuce, tomatoes, and tall fescue in PFAS-contaminated soil and measured how much of the chemicals each plant absorbed — and where they […]

Jean MacRae, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Maine and Mitchell Center faculty fellow, spoke with WGME (Channel 13 in Portland) about the environmental impact of ongoing water quality issues at Willard Beach in South Portland. “Wildlife are a little more at risk than humans,” she said.

Susanne Lee, a faculty fellow at the Mitchell Center, with lead a discussion on ‘Wasted Food in Maine: An Overview’ as part of a series of talks led by the Nativity Lutheran Church around ‘Wasted Food: Challenges and Community Solutions’. Susanne’s talk will take place on Tuesday, September 30 from 3-4:30 p.m. at the Camden […]

We are excited to announce that Governor Mills has officially proclaimed the last week of September 2025 (Sept. 29 – Oct. 5, 2025) as “Maine Wasted Food Awareness Week”. Please check the Mitchell Center and Food Rescue Maine websites for events celebrating the proclamation.

The Maine Morning Star interviewed Mitchell Center faculty fellow and Food Rescue MAINE team leader Susanne Lee, on Maine’s newly enacted food waste ban. Lee participated in a first-of-its-kind study in 2024, that provided concrete data showing more than 360,000 tons — or about 520 pounds for every person in the state — of food […]

Earlier this year, the Mitchell Center funded three projects focused on increasing UMaine’s capacity for transdisciplinary research. Awards included two, 2-year research projects; one led by Heather Leslie titled, River Stories: Voices of the Damariscotta River Estuary, the other by Reed Miller titled, Uncovering Opportunities for Industrial Circular Economy Exchanges in Maine. The third award […]

The Ellsworth American interviewed Shaleen Jain, professor of civil engineering at the University of Maine and a Mitchell Center Faculty Fellow, on concerns dams can pose to communities and his research, which looked at how historical data on river flow and rainfall is considered in dam design and whether more expansive records could better predict […]