Maine sustainability issues focus of annual conference
From sessions on climate change and extreme weather events to dams, safe beaches and shellfish, and building sustainable food systems, the 2016 Maine Sustainability & Water Conference will feature an expanded agenda on topics affecting the state, region, country and globe.
The Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions at the University of Maine will host this year’s event from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 29 at the Augusta Civic Center.
The conference will feature 16 sessions on sustainability and water resource topics, a poster exhibition, and a plenary session featuring keynote speaker Carol Collier, Senior Advisor for Watershed Management and Policy at Drexel University’s Academy of Natural Sciences.
During her talk, “Bridging the Gap Between Science and Policy: Lessons Learned from the Delaware River Watershed,” Collier will share her experiences from more than 15 years at the Delaware River Basin Commission and her current work on the Delaware River Watershed Initiative.
“This is a great opportunity to take stock of the many challenges facing Maine,” says David Hart, director of the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions. “It is at gatherings like these where great ideas are born and where creative partnerships are formed in the search for sustainable solutions.”
One of the largest environmentally related conferences in Maine, the event draws presenters from universities, all levels of government, private companies, national organizations and nonprofit agencies.
The annual event was founded in 1994 by the Mitchell Center as a forum for the exchange of information and presentation of new findings on water resource issues in Maine. In 2014, the conference expanded its focus to become the Maine Sustainability & Water Conference, creating a joint spotlight on water resources and sustainability.
More information about the conference is available online or by contacting David Sims, 581.3244, david.sims@umit.maine.edu.