Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions

Note: A previous version of this story did not clarify that the research project described below is not yet complete and has not undergone peer review. This version of the story includes this clarification. Forest certification was created 20 years ago to accomplish a noble, but market-minded goal: foster environmental stewardship in the nation’s privately-owned […]

A Senator George J. Mitchell Center researcher was part of a team that discovered lakes in the Northeast U.S. are recovering from the effects of acid rain more rapidly now than they did in the 1980s and 1990s. Sarah Nelson, assistant research professor with the Mitchell Center and cooperating assistant research professor in Watershed Biogeochemistry in […]

A news piece on the Maine Futures Community Mapper (MFCM) is featured on Forests for Maine’s Future website. MFCM, a project of  Sustainability Solutions Initiative’s (SSI) Alternative Futures Team, is a cutting edge online tool that allows town planners, conservationists, developers, and the general public to visualize what the landscape in their area may look like […]

Research being conducted through the University of Maine’s Sustainability Solutions Initiative (SSI) was highlighted in the National Climate Assessment report recently released by President Barack Obama, which found global warming is directly affecting life in Maine and other New England states. See full UMaine News post…

Cusk don’t have much charisma. The cod-like intruders slide out of lobster traps with bubbling skin, regurgitated stomachs and bulging eyes. They have no real commercial viability and virtually no name recognition. But in the Gulf of Maine, these bottom feeders are bellying into the klieg lights. Cusk, which are hauled to the surface offshore […]

When tourists visit Monhegan Island this summer, they may get a trip to the virtual future. Armed with digital tablets and headphones, a group of UMaine student researchers will offer willing participants a chance to immerse themselves in the sights and sounds of a scenario that could impact their experience of the island: the proposed […]

This winter, teams of Maine high school students trudged through harsh conditions to measure snow depths at different sites around the state. It wasn’t a typical science class exercise. The students and their teachers were engaged in serious research, scientific inquiries that could have real impact in the state. Guided by their teachers, the students […]

Bridie McGreavy’s doctoral work at UMaine’s Sustainability Solutions Initiative, a program of the Senator George J. Mitchell Center, extended far beyond the constructs of her discipline and far beyond the boundaries of the university. A research fellow on SSI’s Knowledge-to-Action team, her work focused on building more resilient partnerships between stakeholders – such as communities or […]

Ten University of New England (UNE) undergraduate researchers and four graduate students participated in the New England Estuarine Research Society (NEERS) conference held May 1-3, 2014 in Salem, Mass. The conference focused on the science and management of tidal waters. The students gave talks and presented posters based on research funded by UMaine’s Sustainability Solutions Initiative, […]

In the recently published DownEast articles, SSI postdoctoral researcher Bridie McGreavy discusses “Big Night” – the first warm, rainy spring night that triggers the migration of Maine frogs and salamanders from their winter hibernation spots to the vernal pools where they breed.  Also featured is SSI researcher Aram Calhoun, leader of SSI’s Protecting Natural Resources […]