Augusta conference to spotlight Maine sustainability issues

From sessions on climate action and solid waste to ocean acidification and green infrastructure, the 2017 Maine Sustainability & Water Conference will feature an expanded agenda on topics affecting Maine, New England, the country and the globe.

The event will be held Thursday, March 30 at the Augusta Civic Center and will include two concurrent sessions — a student poster session and a keynote talk.

Aram Calhoun, a professor of wetland ecology at the University of Maine, will deliver the keynote presentation, “Conserving Vulnerable Wetlands and Watersheds: A Portfolio Approach.”

The conference will feature a poster competition with more than 40 high school, undergraduate and graduate students participating from across Maine. Presentations will represent research on topics such as lead and arsenic in drinking water, native pollinator gardens, pollution closures in the clam fishery, solutions for waste management reduction, and sustainability in Maine’s lobster fishery.

Founded in 1994 by the Senator George J. Mitchell Center at the University of Maine, the event is the largest conference in Maine focused on issues at the intersection of economic development and environmental stewardship.

Registration and more information is online. For additional questions, contact David Sims at 581.3244, david.sims@umit.maine.edu.