Dear Friend,

This month we have a new forest bioproducts website to show you, opportunities for young people to take climate action in Auburn and Augusta, a story about climate resilience in oyster farming, and a survey for you to share your feedback.

If you couldn't attend last week's Maine Climate Council meeting, here is a link to the recording which includes the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee's (STS) updated assessment of climate change and its effects on Maine and a workshop about the impacts of climate change across populations in Maine, led by the Equity Subcommittee and the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainable Solutions at the University of Maine.

The STS will release an updated Scientific Assessment later this spring, which will include comprehensive updates on scientific indicators of climate change and an exploration of impacts on Maine's people, communities, and economy. Members of the STS include leading researchers and scientists from across Maine, who contribute their experience and expertise to the Council to inform the state's climate action plan.

You can also forward or share it with your networks here.

The new website for Maine’s Forest Bioproducts Advanced Manufacturing Technology Hub is live, offering news and information about this new partnership to advance innovative forest products in Maine. Maine was designated as one of just 31 Tech Hubs in the country by the Biden Administration because it is home to researchers, workers, and firms with generations of experience manufacturing environmentally sustainable products from forest materials. Through the Tech Hub,” Maine is seizing on its potential to become global bioeconomy superpower.

The Maine Youth for Climate Justice, the Maine Environmental Education Association Changemakers, JustME for JustUS, Maine Youth Power, and Maine Youth Action are holding their annual Youth Day of Action at the State House in Augusta on 4/9 from 10am-2pm.

There will be opportunities to engage with other young Mainers, including a panel discussion with the Youth Representatives of the Maine Climate Council. All Maine youth (30 years old and younger) are invited, and school groups are welcome. More details, as well as registration information, can be found here.

Youth Climate Workshop at Auburn Library

Youth Climate Engagement Coordinator Abigail Hayne will be hosting a climate action workshop for Teens (Grades 7-12, Ages 12-18), Middle School (Grades 7-8), High School (Grades 9-12) at the Auburn Public Library at 3pm on April 24th, where she will explain how Maine is acting on climate, and how young people can find climate action that aligns with their interests and strengths.

Oyster Farming with a Focus on Climate

At the young age of 24, University of Maine graduate and mechanical engineer Max Burtis is showing how oyster farmers can respond to climate change while adopting clean energy technologies.

Founded in 2018, his operation, Ferda Farms on the New Meadows River near Brunswick, is powered by a solar panel and battery bank system that he designed and made himself for about $5100—paid in part with a SPARK Grant from the Island Institute.  That energy runs pumps and tumblers that keep his business going.

It’s not just easier on his ears and his bottom line, but also better for the climate.

“The neighbors probably appreciate it,” he jokes. “It’s logistically easier, everything is just out there and low maintenance. No engines are breaking down, no oil changes, no getting gas out to the float, or things like that.

The Maine Fire Service Institute will host two one-day trainings on “Responding to Fires Involving Solar Panels and Electric Vehicles” for firefighters in Maine. These trainings are open to up to 50 firefighters at each session.

Trainings will take place: 

• Saturday, April 27th in Brunswick

• Sunday, April 28th in Bangor

Share your feedback on Maine's Climate Pollution Reduction Grant proposal

The Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future (GOPIF) is seeking feedback on Maine's plan to leverage significant federal funding under the US Environmental Protection Agency Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program. The CPRG is a one-time funding opportunity available through the Inflation Reduction Act. CPRG provides $5 billion in competitive grants to states, local governments, tribes, and territories to develop and implement ambitious projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and harmful air pollutants. GOPIF serves as the lead agency for the state’s CPRG and seeks feedback on the proposed emission reduction measures that this funding could support in Maine. The deadline to provide feedback on the proposal is March 22, 2024. You can provide feedback here. 

The Community Resilience Partnership helps communities plan for climate change, reduce carbon emissions, and increase resilience. There are 180 Maine towns, cities, and tribal governments engaged in the Partnership. New communities are welcome to enroll at any time.

The Partnership has one opportunity, The Community Action Grants, open for applications, which are due March 29, 2024. 

Join us in welcoming these 18 new towns to the partnership, which have enrolled since January 1, 2024. 

• Appleton
• Avon
• Cape Elizabeth
• Damariscotta
• Durham
• Gray
• Fayette
• Minot
• Manchester
• Matinicus Isle Plantation
• Mount Vernon
• Patten
• Sanford
• Southport
• Vienna
• Wales
• Winthrop
• Wiscasset

• Mar 22, 2024 | 9am - 12pm: Community Resilience Working Group
• Mar 22, 2024 | 12:30-3:30pm: Materials Management Task Force
• Mar 29, 2024 | 9am-12pm: Natural and Working Lands Working Group--Forest Carbon Subgroup
• April 10, 2024 | 10am-1pm: Maine Climate Council Natural & Working Lands Working Group
• April 10, 2024 | 1-4pm: Maine Climate Council Transportation Working Group
• April 10, 2024 | 2-3pm: Coastal and Marine Working Group-- Fisheries/Aquaculture Subgroup
• April 12, 2024 | 12:30 - 3:30pm: Maine Climate Council Materials Management Task Force
• April 23, 2024 | 9am-12pm: Maine Climate Council Coastal & Marine Working Group