Empowering the Future of Maine’s Forests
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Empowering the Future of Maine’s Forests

Old Town Elementary third-graders at NELA Logging Expo in Bangor Written by: Gavriela Mallory Investment in green workforce development in Maine is growing. As the baby boomer generation reaches retirement age, there is an increasing need for young adults across natural resource industries. In the forestry sector, in particular, 37% of the 2020 workforce will…

Telstar Middle School Students Collect Data for FERN
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Telstar Middle School Students Collect Data for FERN

Maine Forest Service District Forester, Shane Duigan introduces students to the FERN Program By: Logan Johnson On a sunny day in May, 56 students from Miss Hali Andrews’ 7th grade science classes at Telstar Middle School in Bethel collected data for the first time at their newly established research plot.  Established in 2005, The Forest…

The Importance of Maine’s Family Forest Owners
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The Importance of Maine’s Family Forest Owners

Forestry 101 participants at Blue Hill Mountain. Written by Gavi Mallory Family-owned woodlots comprise over 30% of Maine’s forest, more than a quarter of the state’s total area. As climate change, a growing population, and a shifting forest economy feed conversations about the future of the Maine woods, family forests are a significant piece of…

Remembering Steve Laweryson (1951-2023)

Remembering Steve Laweryson (1951-2023)

Steve Laweryson working with CLP professionals Steve Laweryson from Solon Maine, passed on March 11th, 2023, at Togus Veterans Hospital after a short illness. After serving his country valiantly in Viet Nam, he worked in the forest products industry his entire career which spanned over 45 years.  His career started with Scott Paper/SD Warren as…

Collaborating Towards Brown Ash Resilience in Maine
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Collaborating Towards Brown Ash Resilience in Maine

Mike Parisio, Amanda Mahaffey, Tom Newell, and Tyler Everett discuss brown ash and identifying signs of emerald ash borer. Written by Gavi Mallory At the beginning of March, Maine TREE Foundation co-hosted a field tour at Carleton Pond forest, a Greater Augusta Utility District Tree Farm. The program was part of Maine’s Forest Climate Change…

Edna Drinkwater School Climate Activity Follow Up

Edna Drinkwater School Climate Activity Follow Up

As highlighted in previous seedlings and OverSTORY articles, Maine TREE Programs and Outreach Coordinator Kelly French worked on a research investigation during the spring semester with the 6th-grade science class at Edna Drinkwater School in Northport. First, the students collected tree cores from trees found on their school’s campus. They then looked at the ring widths and local climate…

Sanford High School Wildlife Biology Class Visits Maine Wildlife Park

Sanford High School Wildlife Biology Class Visits Maine Wildlife Park

by Lindsay Strout – Wildlife Biology Teacher, Sanford High School I want to give a huge thank you to Maine TREE for helping fund Sanford High Schools’ Wildlife Biology field trip to the Maine Wildlife Park.  Twenty-four of my students got to see all the animals that we’ve been studying all year long. From huge…

LD 1902: A Resolve To Establish a Pilot Program To Encourage Climate Education in Maine Public Schools

LD 1902: A Resolve To Establish a Pilot Program To Encourage Climate Education in Maine Public Schools

Since 2020, the Nature Based Education Consortium’s (NBEC) Climate Education (Advocacy Working Group has been committed to expanding the access to outdoor and environmental learning for all of Maine’s students. One of their early successes came in the inclusion of climate education in the Maine Climate Council Climate Action Plan. To create a state of…

Trees & Me: Activities for Exploring Nature with Young Children

Trees & Me: Activities for Exploring Nature with Young Children

With the continuous evolution of education pedagogy, Project Learning Tree (PLT) is consistently creating and revising curriculum for all ages of students to create captivating activities for students and educators. PLT’s newest addition, Trees & Me, was released this March contains hundreds of ideas for fun, easy-to-do, hands-on experiences to connect young children to nature,…

Edna Drinkwater School Students Research Climate Change Effects on Local Tree Species
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Edna Drinkwater School Students Research Climate Change Effects on Local Tree Species

This winter, a 6th-grade science class at Edna Drinkwater School (EDS) in Northport, ME, is diligently investigating the impacts of climate change on their school campus’ trees. Their research question is one that many academics and professional researchers still seek to answer, as many tree species respond very differently to disturbances and differences brought on…