Lucy Martin – Understanding how recreational patterns have shifted in Maine’s state parks and public lands
Lucy is a Masters student in the Ecology & Environmental Sciences Program
What problem/s are you working to solve?
I am working to better understand how recreational patterns have shifted in Maine’s state parks and public lands.
What progress are you making toward solutions?
I am developing a survey to be distributed to state park and public land users to better assess their recreational behaviors.
How could your findings contribute to a sustainable future in Maine and beyond?
My findings could help allocate resources in a more sustainable and meaningful way to different parks and recreational spaces in Maine.
Why did you get involved with this internship project?
My thesis research is about attempting to understand visitor behavioral and risk perception changes as a result of the pandemic. So, the Maine DACF Bureau of Parks and Lands’ interest in visitor use shifts and the likelihood of continued behavioral changes post-pandemic was applicable and interesting.
What do you find rewarding about collaborating with stakeholders? Most challenging?
It is rewarding to have insight into how conservation organizations operate and develop relationships with those partners outside of an educational setting and institution.
The most challenging aspect of collaboration is gaining insight into how conservation organizations operate — organizations can often have time challenges or expectations that must be met in order to attain support/funding/goals.
Where do you hope to be in five years?
Hopefully doing something that I love that is helping people and the planet — in whatever way that might be.
What’s your ultimate Maine experience?
Supporting local farmers, growers, artists, and people by buying used, local, and handcrafted. Oh, and meeting the former mayor of Bangor in a dive bar.