The Maine Journal of Conservation and Sustainability

By Clea Harrelson   This poem is a reflection on my experiences at the 29th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP29), held in Baku, Azerbaijan in November 2024. Over 50,000 people attended this event, and each conference of parties (COP) since the inaugural event in 1995 has served […]

By Andrea Tirrell   Plant communities can often tell stories of past events. Such events, as a result of climate, weather, species interactions, extinctions, colonizations, and changes in land-use, to name a few, can drive the assemblage of species across landscapes. Strange coastal-plain dwelling shrubs and alpine herbs cohabit the open granitic ledges of Schoodic […]

By Alyssa Arscott   Maine has cast its spell on me these past three years, opening my eyes to the importance of beauty in the preservation of our natural world. Throughout my classes as an ecology and environmental science major I have become aware of the ecology and earth processes I walk through when I […]

By Kaleigh Kogler, Katie Simmons, Marissa Wood, Noah Bruns University of Maine; School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences   UMaine’s average recycling rate has plummeted from 36% in 2019 to 10% in 2023. This is partially due to the introduction of China’s National Sword policy in 2018, which set major restrictions on the quality, type, and […]

By Harsha Elizabeth James   That it is transient and resilient is nature for me. Can I be one too? One that is subject to seasonal and temporal variations Yet, it gets it back together every single time.  Time? Wait, do I have it? I am late, as always, testing the patience of nature again […]

By Ella McDonald   Sometimes you will come across a dead tree,a skeletal landmark in the spring forest–its whitegrey trunk exaggerated with agenext to the new growth of the nearby maple If you are quiet enough, you’ll watch the forestcome to visit—pick up their gifts and pay their respects. Hidden from view you’ll hear the […]

By Madeline Hunter   I’m from Australia, so the drastic changes of the Maine seasons is completely foreign and absolutely enthralling to me. I am studying organic dry beans for my thesis project and last year I spent a lot of time out in the field watching the seasonal progressions of my cropping system in […]

By Nico Durkee   As I embarked on this artistic journey to navigate the possible narratives for this piece, I began to think about my deeper passions to represent a narrative I hold closer to me as a person. One of my passions is conservation, aligning with the mission of Spire through the means of […]

By Olivia Olson Candidate for the M.S. in Quaternary and Climate StudiesUniversity of Maine Welcome to the ninth issue of Spire: The Maine Journal of Conservation and Sustainability. We are delighted to announce that the winner of this year’s cover art contest is Madeline Hunter. Madeline’s “Planting” is the first installment in her series of […]

By Jacqueline Knirnschild