Get Involved!
Interested in sustainability at UMaine? From student clubs to courses and events, there are plenty of ways to make a difference.
Student Clubs and Campus Initiatives
- Sustainability and Environment Action Division (SEAD) is a representative board whose purpose is to represent the environmental groups on campus and support changes that make our campus more sustainable.
- Terrell House Permaculture Living & Learning Center is a sustainability-focused intentional community that is home to educational events and a community garden.
- Permaculture and Gardening Club is an organization where members gain hands-on gardening experience, learn how to plan and design a garden landscape, and learn about permaculture principles.
- UMaine Green Team is an organization working to increase awareness, create action, and take action with regard to efficiency and sustainability on campus and in the community.
- UMaine Climate Action (formerly known as Divest UMS) is a student organization dedicated to advocating for intersectional climate justice on the UMaine campus. They led a successful student-led initiative to divest the UMS endowments from fossil fuels.
- Green Campus Initiative hires students to help educate other students about sustainability-related initiatives that pertain to campus housing, dining facilities, and other Auxiliary Services operations.
- Black Bear Food Guild runs an organic vegetable farm that provides hands-on sustainable farming experiences for students.
- UMaine Greens is a student group that grows organic greens for the UMaine campus.
- SPIRE: The Maine Journal of Conservation and Sustainability is an online journal is run by graduate and undergraduate students at UMaine, that seeks to increase engagement with environmental issues by including voices from diverse fields in the global conversation about conservation and sustainability.
- Black Bear Exchange is a food pantry and clothing exchange right on campus.
Education and Research Opportunities
- Sustainability-focused courses can be found in almost every department.
- Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions is a leading research center working to find solutions to urgent sustainability challenges.
Other ways to get involved
- The Engaged Black Bear – Environmental Stewardship Badge is awarded to students who learn about and become involved in social and environmental issues on campus, in Maine, and in the larger community.
- The local community supports tons of projects focused on sustainability in Orono, Maine, and beyond.