New Mitchell Center member: Rachel Schattman

Mitchell Center members share a passion for tackling complex sustainability problems that matter to people and communities through collaboration with diverse stakeholders and across many different areas of expertise. They come from a wide range of disciplines—from engineering and economics to fisheries and agriculture to business and communication—and take an interdisciplinary approach because that’s what’s needed to meet today’s challenges. They seek to connect knowledge with action to create a brighter social, environmental, and economic future in Maine and beyond.

Learn more about who they are and what they do in this ongoing series of profiles.

Dr. Rachel Schattman is assistant professor of sustainable agriculture in the School of Food and Agriculture at UMaine. In addition to her role as a new Mitchell Center faculty fellow, she is an associate of UMaine’s Climate Change Institute. She came to UMaine in 2020 and leads the Agroecology Lab, bringing a background in sustainable management in vegetable production systems, sociology, community food security, and farm-based adaptive responses to climate change.

What problem/s are you working to solve?

My work centers around climate change and agriculture. Specifically, I am interested in how actors within agricultural systems adapt to and mitigate climate change when- and wherever possible. This means I work not only with farmers, but also with a diverse community of agricultural advisors and service providers. I’m interested in harnessing the power of community and social learning to advance our progress towards agricultural sustainability in a changing climate. In addition, I have a specialty in on-farm water use and northeast water policy. My focus in this arena is working on realistic ways that farms can address having too much and too little water, since this is one of the biggest challenges that climate change poses for northeast agriculture.

What progress are you making toward solutions?

Working with a great community of partners that includes other researchers, outreach professionals, educators and practitioners, I am working on figuring out how to improve water use efficiency in diversified vegetable operations. Our team’s work to date is pointing towards some pretty low-tech and easily accessible methods that farmers can use to dial in their irrigation practices, which is good news. I am also coordinating (along with some great colleagues from the USDA Northeast Climate Hub and the Rutgers Climate Change Institute) a year-long Fellowship program for farmers and agricultural service providers called the Climate Adaptation Fellowship. In this program, a 40-person cohort is working together to explore on-the-ground adaptation practices, which I find inspiring and very exciting. Are we making progress toward a solution? I would say absolutely, yes. And it’s very much a community effort.

“The Mitchell Center is a natural fit for someone like me, and makes space for a rich community of like-minded thinkers and doers.”

How could your work contribute to a more sustainable future in Maine and beyond?

Maine agriculture has a long and rich history. However, we cannot rely on our past experiences and successes to guide us through upcoming climate-related challenges. Conditions will become more difficult for crop producers, and really all natural resource managers. To maintain our agricultural sectors, I believe we need to work together to develop creative solutions and support one another. I am happy to be a part of that effort, and bring my experiences as a commercial vegetable producer, a former Extension professional, and a researcher to the table. I am also excited to be mentoring new scientists, activists, and farmers. The students in my classes and the Agroecology Lab (my graduate-student group) have great ideas and lots of passion. Supporting them to be part of a solutions-oriented community is a real pleasure.

Why did you decide to join the Mitchell Center?

Two things drew me to the Mitchell Center community: First, I believe strongly that the most effective solutions grow from collaborations between diverse groups. I like the Mitchell Center’s inclusive ethos, that we all bring valuable insights and experiences to the conversation. The attitude is very much that collaboration gets us further than working in isolation, which has always been my experience (both as a farmer and an academic). When I heard that a wide variety of community partners attended the Mitchell Center’s Sustainability Talks, I realized that this was a place where diverse perspectives were being used to shape the work. Second, I appreciate the warm welcome that the Mitchell Center gives to interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research. As an interdisciplinary scientist, who has one foot in plant and soil science and one foot in social science, I believe that there are many cases where we need this boundary-spanning approach to address difficult and complicated problems. The Mitchell Center is a natural fit for someone like me, and makes space for a rich community of like-minded thinkers and doers.

What’s the best part about collaborating with other researchers, and with stakeholders?

The best part is learning new things, and making a tangible difference. Staying connected with the farming and agricultural services community helps keep my research action-oriented. I work with collaborators from a wide variety of disciplines, and I am always learning new things from them. This year, I am working with colleagues at the US Geological Survey New England Water Center, the Environmental Protection Agency, the US Department of Agriculture, and the University of Maine on evaluating a novel design for shallow wells. Hart Farm, in Holden Maine, is graciously allowing us to monitor a new well at their farm, from both a biophysical and economic perspective. Through this project, I’m learning a ton about arsenic, hydrogeology, well performance assessments, and more. That is stemming from what I think is a very important question: “Can this new shallow well design help farmers mitigate the negative effects of agricultural droughts?” If our assessment shows that this technology can help farmers buffer their operations against drought, it could be an inexpensive and relatively easy thing for growers to implement. Projects like this keep me on my toes, and make an observable impact.

Where’s your favorite place in Maine?

My family and I moved to Orono just before COVID-19, so we still have a lot of exploring to do. With a small kiddo, many of our adventures have been relatively close to home. It’s been a wonderful gift to live so close to the Stillwater River, and to spend time swimming and kayaking there. I’ve really enjoyed cross-country skiing on the Penobscot River Trails and the trails maintained by the Penobscot Valley Ski Club. I can’t wait to get out this summer and see more of this magical state.

What sustains you?

Time with my family, a long day of work outside, a good meal, a good book, and a good night’s sleep.