LeClair wins 2022 Brookie Award from the Natural Resources Council of Maine
The Natural Resources Council of Maine awarded University of Maine Ph.D. student Greg LeClair with a 2022 Brookie Award for his environmental leadership. The Brookie Awards honors Maine’s young environmental changemakers for their leadership, creativity and positive impact for Maine’s environment.
LeClair is the founder and lead organizer of Maine Big Night (MBN), a citizen science project focused on collecting data on road-crossing amphibians in Maine. LeClair recruits and trains volunteers of all ages and backgrounds statewide to participate in data collection and assisting amphibians across roadways, especially during spring migration season. Over the years, he has recruited more than 400 volunteers and monitored 200 survey sites statewide to help move and save thousands of amphibians across roadways annually. LeClair’s findings and research derived from Maine Big Night have been published and the project is helping to identify amphibian road mortality hot spots and prioritizing infrastructure solutions.
When the Covid pandemic hit just weeks before the big spring migration, LeClair’s quick problem-solving ensured volunteers could participate safely. He is assisting similar efforts in New Jersey and New Hampshire and is collaborating with the Maine Department of Transportation to secure funding for wildlife crossings from the federal infrastructure bill. LeClair is putting his passion for science and conservation into practice by mobilizing Mainers to protect Maine wildlife.