Greening Our Campuses Through Advice and Advocacy

The Environmental Council (EC) composed of students, faculty, and professional staff from both UNE's Biddeford and Portland campuses, aims to help the University president assess UNE's progress in "greening" the campus. This mission also involves recommending initiatives and mechanisms through which UNE might become more environmentally friendly. Thus, the EC acts in both advisory and advocacy capacities.

The EC is a focal point for increasing awareness and understanding of environmental issues both on campus and in the extended community. Members of the EC, and others who have worked hard over the years to make it a reality, believe the EC should be effectively integrated into the University's decision-making process in order to ensure wise resource use on campus and to encourage greater awareness of the environmental challenges facing society. The EC considers the tract of land where the Biddeford Campus resides one of the few remaining ecologically intact natural habitats in coastal southern Maine. Promoting the careful stewardship of this land is a high priority for the EC.

The EC was formed in the fall of 2006. It evolved out of what was previously known as the UNE School-Wide Environmental Awareness System (SEAS), and the pioneering efforts of faculty and students in the Department of Environmental Studies (now the School of Marine and Environmental Programs).

You can participate in EC meetings via Zoom. Please contact one of the Environmental Council co-chairs to be added to the EC distribution email list and receive the Zoom link.

Students talking at an Environmental Council meeting

Past Projects

Students in a lecture hall listening to a speaker at a Climate Teach-In event
A U N E student asking a question on mic at an Environmental Council meeting

Propose a Project

Do you have an idea for how UNE can be more environmentally friendly? We’d love to hear about it. The Environmental Council can help guide you through the process of putting your idea into action. You do not have to be an active member of the EC to propose a new initiative. Any student, student group, faculty, or professional staff member can submit a new proposal.

Since its inception, the EC's project initiation process has ensured a transparent and competitive system of evaluating proposed environmental actions on UNE’s campuses. We hope this fair, open system attracts a wide range of environmental proposals from UNE community members. We evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of these and then make a recommendation of whether they should receive presidential, senior-level, University Council, and/or Board of Trustee support.

In order for the Environmental Council to consider your idea, you will need to submit a New Project Proposal Form. The proposal ensures that new ideas brought to the group have been thoroughly thought out in terms of costs, impacts, and feasibility. The Environmental Council will weigh your idea in the broader context of sustainability projects at the University and vote on whether to support your project. If you need help filling out the proposal form, the EC can designate a mentor (someone who has experience putting together a proposal) to guide you through the process. 

You do not need to fully complete the proposal form before bringing your idea to the EC. We recommend that you attend an initial meeting to gauge initial support. If you are unable to attend a meeting, email the EC co-chair or email the assistant director of Sustainability who can bring the idea to the group on your behalf.

The EC will use the following criteria to evaluate new proposals:

Contact

Please contact one of the Environmental Council’s co-chairs, Laurie Mathes or Will Kochtitzky, for more information about how to get involved.

Laurie Mathes
lmathes@3327e.com
(207) 221-4326

Will Kochtitzky
wkochtitzky@3327e.com
(207) 602-2802