Bowdoin ES Students Help Maine Communities Tackle Climate Change
Tuesday, April 27, 2021
Watch their presentation Here
On April 27, 2021, Cathance River Education Alliance (CREA) invited five Bowdoin students to talk about their ongoing work to address climate change.
Nick Suarez talked about the importance of transportation planning as a way to ensure that all community members have ways to get to the places they need to go, including those who can't support the cost of a car, are disabled, or have other constraints. He described a specific project he worked on in Brunswick designed to make an intersection more pedestrian-friendly and shared a resource he developed to promote alternative modes of transportation within the town of Brunswick.
Lily McVetty explored climate justice issues in Rockland. Among other things, she was interested to learn that the people she interviewed about the town's climate work were more interested in issues related to social capital (e.g. travel distance to schools) than in traditional infrastructure (e.g. seawalls to address sea level rise).
Lauren Caffe mapped areas vulnerable to sea level rise in Camden to help people better understand how climate change would affect their community.
Matt Nakamoto and Beckett Slayton looked at the comparative benefits of bike- and pedestrian-friendly communities, then evaluated low-carbon transportation options between Brunswick and Portland. They mapped walking and biking distance to bus stops to inform future decision-making around infrastructure improvements.
After the presentations, the students shared how this climate work has influenced them, encouraged the audience to get involved, and offered suggestions for doing so. Watch, and get inspired to ramp up your efforts to combat climate change!