Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions

2018 Maine Sustainability and Water Conference: Session Overview: Protecting Waters in Forest Operations One of the major impacts from any forest operation is related to sedimentation of water bodies. Even though the risk of sedimentation is comparatively less than other land uses, forest operations can have detrimental effects if not properly executed. Over the years, […]

Mitchell Center director David Hart will join a group of 20 global leaders for the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) workshop “Interdisciplinary Research Matters: Pathways to Successful Organizational Models” from March 5-8, 2018 in Annapolis, Maryland. The leaders will discuss strategies used to foster interdisciplinary research, especially in the context of sustainability challenges. SESYNC identified […]

John Hagan will be the 2018 Sustainability and Water Conference Keynote Speaker Why does society make such painfully slow progress on issues that have such huge consequences, like climate change? The science is overwhelming. But until most of society participates, problems this big won’t be solved. Conservatives, liberals, North, South, urban, rural, religious, areligious, etc., will all […]

Sarah Vogel investigates the human dimensions of dam relicensing Master’s student Sarah Vogel graduated from Tennessee Technological University with  dual degrees in Environmental Biology and Wildlife and Fishery Sciences, which gave her some of the skills needed for her work on the Mitchell Center’s Future of Dams (FoD) project. But it was her two years […]

Deborah Saber works to bring sustainable practices to hospital waste disposal In 2016, registered nurse Deborah Saber came to the University of Maine from Miami, Florida where she worked on problems related to the disposal of solid waste materials from infectious hospitalized patients. Now a UMaine assistant professor of nursing, Saber found her way to […]

Undergraduate Michaela Murray found her academic path on the road to sustainability UMaine ecology and environmental science major Michaela Murray had always been interested in doing student research but it wasn’t until the end of her sophomore year that she acted on that desire. Hoping to begin a research project that summer, Murray—who is an […]

Rivers and Their Fish will be one of the focus sessions at this year’s Maine Sustainability & Water Conference. The first part of this session will concentrate on some of the lesser known rivers in Maine, drawing out challenges and opportunities for water quality, fisheries restoration, energy production, ecosystem health and recreational values. Speakers will […]

A new theory explains how societies can achieve environmental sustainability by nurturing cooperation. It is detailed in a series of articles recently published in a special issue of the journal Sustainability Science. The theory was developed by Tim Waring, associate professor in the School of Economics and the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability […]

Mitchell Center Sustainability Awards are presented annually and are designed to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of Mitchell Center members, researchers, students and external stakeholders who have helped advance the values and principles at the heart of the Mitchell Center’s stakeholder-engaged, solutions-focused, interdisciplinary projects and partnerships. The 2017 Sustainability Award winners were announced recently as […]

In November, Mitchell Center faculty member Bridie McGreavy and doctoral student Tyler Quiring attended the National Communication Association Convention in Dallas, Texas. They shared their research connected with the Mitchell Center and learned from a variety of other scholars doing important theoretical and applied work on communication. On November 17, Quiring presented collaborative research as […]