Fall 2025 Talks
For many years, the Mitchell Center has hosted an innovative Sustainability Talks series during the fall and spring semesters. The goal of these talks is to provide students, faculty, and interested citizens with opportunities to learn about: 1) the multi-faceted nature of sustainability problems; 2) the value of connecting different forms of knowledge and know-how in efforts to understand and solve such problems; and 3) the ways in which partnerships between universities and diverse stakeholders can facilitate efforts to identify and implement useful solutions.
All talks are Mondays at 3 p.m. and are available via Zoom and in-person at 107 Norman Smith Hall, UMaine. For Zoom attendees, registration is required for each talk. Please go to individual event pages to register. Many talks are recorded and can be found on our YouTube site following the event.
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September 15
Who Do You Choose to Be? Service, Collaboration, and Resilience
Gabe McPhail, Founder, Resilient Communities
A recording of this talk is available
September 22
Hunting for Truth: PFAS Impacts in Maine’s Natural Food Sources
Caroline Noblet, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Maine
Dianne Kopec, Research Fellow, Mitchell Center, University of Maine
A recording of this talk is available
September 29
Whose Knowledge Counts? Trust, Expertise, and the Politics of Sustainability in Rural America
Nicholas Jacobs, Associate Professor of Government, Colby College
A recording of this talk is available
October 6
One Climate Future: From Plan to Progress
Katie Tims, Sustainability Associate, Sustainability Office, City of Portland
A recording of this talk is available
October 20
Why return land to Indigenous Nations without restriction? Discussions on Wáhsehtəkʷ and Wabanaki-Land Trust Partnerships
Panel discussion with Chuck Loring, Penobscot Nation, Betsy Cook, Trust for Public Land, Darren Ranco, University of Maine
A recording of this discussion is available
October 27
The Economics of Nature in Today’s Political Landscape
William Ginn, globally recognized expert on investing and valuing ecosystem services
A recording of this talk is available
November 3
Student Sustainability Lightning Talks
Talks in this session will focus on sustainability research by graduate and undergraduate students
A recording of this event is available
November 10
A Career in Service to Maine: Lessons learned from municipal to state to business
Dana Connors, former President and CEO, Maine State Chamber of Commerce
A recording of this talk is available
November 17
Bridging the worlds of fishing and research: Roles for connectors
Carla Guenther, Chief Scientist, Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries
November 24
Housing as a Sustainability Challenge: Perceptions of risk and the quest for affordable housing in Maine
Sarah Sturtevant, Independent Research Analyst on affordable housing
December 1
Empowering Maine’s Livestock Farms Via Sustainable Reproductive Practices
Colt Knight and Glenda Pereira, University of Maine Cooperative Extension