Pullen Hall Renovation Project Underway - University of Maine at ...

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UMPI garners $75,000 as part ofEPSCoR Sustainability GrantA Team of UMPI professors received $75,000 in National Science Foundationgrant monies from the Experimental Program to Stimulate CompetitiveResearch [EPSCoR] in order to conduct a wide range of research related tothe sustainable development of the Aroostook River Watershed.The UMPI team, which is beingled by Dr. Jason Johnston,Assistant Professor of WildlifeEcology, includes Professor DavidPutnam, Lecturer of Science; Dr.Kimberly Sebold, AssociateProfessor of History; Dr.Chunzeng Wang, AssociateProfessor of Earth andEnvironmental Science; and Dr.Anja Whittington, AssistantProfessor of Recreation andLeisure Services.The research team is using thegrant funding for their projectModeling Evolving Ecological,Cultural, and Economic Systemsof the Aroostook River Watershedof Northern Maine forSustainable Development. TheAroostook River Watershed,which is the most populatedregion in northern Maine, spanscentral Aroostook County andencompasses Presque Isle,Caribou and Fort Fairfield.The work involves studying thehistorical and present uses of thewatershed area – and the impactsthose uses have had on the region– and compiling that data intoGIS map and database form. Theproject also focuses on the area’sexisting environmental resourcesin two ways: through developingmaterials that promote theregion’s non-motorized trails, andthrough studying the region’sgrassland habitats to identify andpromote the use of currentlyunderutilized lands for bio-fuelproduction in a way that leastimpacts wildlife.The researchers are collaboratingwith more than a dozen stateand regional stakeholders andare hiring seven undergraduatestudents and one high school studentto help in conducting thisresearch. Members of the teamwill host workshops for local educators,city officials and communitymembers about sustainableresource usage. They hope thatengaging and educating citizens,landowners, municipalities andbusinesses about these issues willincrease the use of best practicesin the sustainable development ofthe watershed area.“This research is important tocentral Aroostook Countybecause it recognizes that academicresearch is too often conductedwithout much involvementof stakeholders,” Dr. Johnstonsaid. “By working with local communities,agencies and othersinterested in sustainable resourcedevelopment from the start, wehave identified research prioritiesimportant to them. The end resultwill be information that can beused to promote sustainabledevelopment of our resources.These products include identificationof currently underutilizedlands for bio-fuel production andnon-motorized trail maps thatwould promote tourism. We hopeour research will provide a basefor others to pursue the sustainabledevelopment of naturalresources and the promotionof quality of place.”This is the second year thatUMPI has received funding fromEPSCoR, a program that is underthe auspices of Maine’s Office ofInnovation. EPSCoR grants areawarded by the National ScienceFoundation to states that are typicallynot targeted for researchgrants. Maine EPSCoR is overseenby the Maine Science &Technology Advisory Council.Funding is part of a larger grantled by the University of Maine inOrono and the University ofSouthern Maine. Last year, UMPIreceived $66,000 to begin workingwith stakeholders, and initiateresearch and GIS mapping ofresources. The University couldreceive funding for a total of fiveyears.This year, each UMPIresearcher is taking the lead on adifferent component of the project.Dr. Johnston is leading laband field work related to thecontinued on page 7Dr. Jason Johnston Professor David Putnam Dr. Kimberly Sebold Dr. Chunzeng Wang Dr. Anja Whittington6 blue+gold
Service Learning inFour UMPI Social Work students Abbey Atcheson, Kelsey Albert, Nicole Michaud, and Ashley Brewer,joined by UMPI alumna Jen Borden and Husson University student Paige Nichols, traveled to Moshi, Tanzaniafor a service learning trip. Shirley Rush, Associate Professor of Social Work and Bachelor of Social WorkProgram Director, accompanied the students. ■ Service learning involves significant academic preparation andpersonal reflection. During this late-Spring 2011 trip, participants matched their abilities with communityneeds. In Tanzania participants worked in an orphanage; assisted teachers; worked with people withHIV/AIDS, and with women in the area of economic development. ■ “The question most frequently askedof our participants was, ‘Why Tanzania? Don’t we have people in need in the U.S. and Canada?’” Rush said.“Indeed, many opportunities for service exist on our continent. Travelling to another country adds a transformationaldimension to each participant’s understanding of culture, need and privilege.” ■ The seven womenraised $12,000 to pay for the trip. Each paid for at least 1 /3 of the cost from her own pocket. Another 1 /3was generated by individual fundraising; the final 1 /3 was raised collectively. ■ A presentation of thetrip will be offered at the Alumni Brunch during Homecoming. ■Social Work students[above, from left]Paige Nichols, AbbeyAtcheson, Kelsey Albert,Ashley Brewer, NicoleAlison Michaud[at left]Associate ProfessorShirley RushEPSCoR Grant from page 6grassland habitat study. This workwill establish a baseline of thebird species present in grasslandhabitats and identify both the bestmanagement practices for developingthose grasslands andwhether maintenance or creationof new managed grasslands mayincrease habitat for grasslandbirds. Professor Putnam is studyingthe prehistoric settlements andarchaeologically significantpoints throughout the watershedarea so these locations are notimpacted by land development.Dr. Sebold is studying the historicaland cultural land use patternsof the region and how they havechanged over time.Dr. Whittington is leading theeffort to develop promotionalmaterials, which will includebrochures and trail guides, on theregion’s non-motorized trails. Dr.Wang is overseeing the land parcelownership mapping of thewatershed area and creating aGIS [Geographic InformationSystems] database that links landownership to land use. This databasewill incorporate theresearch conducted by Putnamand Sebold, and will include severallayers of information, includingland owners, types of landuses, zoning and land use tables,past and pending developmentactivities, and infrastructure typesand locations.Researchers provided a daylongSustainability SolutionsWorkshop in May 2011 for K-12teachers in the central AroostookCounty area. They will hold aGIS training workshop to teachcitizens how to collect GPS dataand create GIS maps – in supportof the development to map, publicizeand promote the use ofnon-motorized trails.The team is working with severalstakeholders including theCities of Presque Isle andCaribou, the Town of FortFairfield, the Central AroostookSoil and Water ConservationDistrict, the University of MaineCooperative Extension, theDepartment of Inland Fisheriesand Wildlife, the Maine HistoricPreservation Commission, theMaine Forest Service, theNatural Resources ConservationService, the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service at AroostookNational Wildlife Refuge, theMi’kmaq and Maliseet bandsand First Nations, and privateand corporate landowners.“This project is an excellentexample of statewide collaborationaround issues of sustainabledevelopment and the receipt ofthis National Science Foundationfunding is a wonderful recognitionof the in-depth research ourfaculty members are doing forthe benefit of this region,” UMPIPresident Don Zillman said. “Anespecially exciting component ofthis work is how it involves awide range of participants, fromcommunity agencies and organizationsto educators, universitystudents and high school students.We look forward to thepositive and far reachingimpacts this research will haveon the region in the comingyears.” ★summer 2011 7
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