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Rebecca Champagne Ph.D. Candidate, Ecology and Environmental Sciences University of Maine   Welcome! I am so thrilled to present Spire’s fifth issue, the journal’s largest issue yet. It contains a variety of submissions, including art, poetry, photography, research, and personal stories. This collection of diverse content reflects Spire’s vision and mission to unite communities and […]

By Sarah Marcotte   Abstract In the face of changing climate, adaptations to agricultural systems are necessary to ensure the resilience of our food systems. Despite the increasing urgency for these measures, multiple barriers exist which prevent growers from adopting adaptive practices. Political tensions and attitudes of skepticism amongst growers have created challenges in communicating […]

By Hallie Arno   The deluge of water cascading under stores and over walls in Camden is archetypical coastal Maine—this iconic river is in postcards, pictures, and magazines. The existence of the dam that creates the river as we know it, and the history of the mills it emblemizes, insinuates the history of prosperity in […]

By Jocelyn Meyer Government Department, Colby College   Abstract This paper examines the structural issues represented by the Farmers to Families Food Box (FFFB) initiative rolled out by the U.S. government in response to rising levels of food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. It addresses some of the concerns brought about in a letter written […]

By Michelle de Leon Ecology and Environmental Sciences Department, University of Maine National Science Foundation Research Traineeship on Conservation Science   Mother Maine Maine is a place where I’m leaning into a state of tension. Clouds flood me as I navigate where is home. Who is home here?   She meanders from the shore to […]

By Nick Record and Lourdes Vera   One of the most valuable resources in the world today is data. Data volume, velocity, variety, and veracity outline our notion of “big data,” and like a resource extracted from under the ground, big data is “mined” for value using artificial intelligence techniques. Sustainability sciences and practices are […]

Photography by Sean Birkel Climate Change Institute, University of Maine   Spruce-Fir Broom-moss Forest, Daicey Pond, September 2019 Falls along Howe Brook, May 2005 Early Fall on the Traveler Loop Trail, September 2011 Katahdin from Tracy Pond, September 2009   91���� the Author Sean Birkel is a research assistant professor and the Maine State Climatologist, […]

Photography by Mariusz Potocki Mount Katahdin as viewed from Compass Pond. October 2020 Potato Island, Jericho Bay. August 2020  Lazygut Island, Jericho Bay. August 2020 Acadia National Park. January 2021 91���� the Author Glaciologist and photographer Mariusz Potocki is completing his doctorate degree at the University of Maine. He has participated in over 20 research […]

By Emily Guirl   The surf is audible from the trail head, also the erratic hooting of an offshore buoy. I stumble over raised roots, turn right at the fork.  The trees part at the first lookout. The water below is high and white, moving in all directions as it fills the tight cove at […]

By Lucia Owen   Creeper, Brown Indexed so in Sibley’s splendid bird book as if there were other Creepers, Blue and Red or Iridescent.   It lives, vertical and shy, on tree trunks. Minute, quick, and to say what I saw takes longer than the instant   a Brown Creeper took a bath in  a […]