Greetings!

As a Unity College alum, you are keenly aware of the institution’s mission rooted in environmental and sustainability science. Preparing students to graduate and go on to tackle pressing environmental challenges is at the core of our ethos. Environmental issues impact all people in some capacity, and some more than others. More so, they impact the sustainability of our planet and compromise the resources necessary to support all living things that inhabit it. This week, I would like to talk a bit about some of the environmental challenges that have been in the news lately and how alumni and Unity College as a whole are playing a role in combating these issues. 

Unity College continues to be proud to have been the first college to divest from investments in fossil fuel in 2012. This has come up in the news from time to time since then, however recently there has been an uptick in lawmakers being urged to halt Maine’s investments in fossil fuel companies. According to a February 2020 article from the Sun Journal, “Less than a decade after Maine’s tiny Unity College kicked off an international effort to cease investments in fossil fuel companies, the effort has grown to encompass more than $14 trillion in endowments and investment portfolios. And if some environmentalists have their way, the state of Maine will join the movement soon.” Unity College’s role in the movement to divest from investments in fossil fuels demonstrates our commitment to our mission and to the sustainability of the planet. We are thrilled to see more institutions, organizations, and government entities at various levels engaged in this important work as well.

A recent article from Texas A&M explains that the cold temperatures in the southern part of the United States could have a lasting damaging effect on Monarch butterflies. According to the article, “Texas’ recent frigid weather is expected to hit the Monarch butterfly population especially hard, and figures show a dramatic 50 percent decline in their numbers over the last three years, according to a Texas A&M University professor.” To combat this decline and the decline of other key pollinators, Unity College alum Marcus Gray ‘06 of Audubon International and Environmental Defense Fund have teamed up to create Monarchs in the Rough, a program that partners with golf courses to restore pollinator habitat in out-of-play areas. Marcus has been featured in a variety of media outlets highlighting the importance of his work and the impact Monarchs in the Rough is having on restoring pollinator habitats. You can listen to a podcast he was featured in with Conserve the Wild here, and watch a video where Marcus was featured by the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences here. 

he wildfires in the Western part of the United States have continued to increase in both frequency and intensity over the last few years. In an NBC article, “Experts predict that in a warming world, devastating wildfires like the ones burning now will be even more common. Studies have shown that in addition to becoming more frequent, climate change will likely make such blazes more destructive, which carries enormous environmental, financial and health consequences for communities most at risk.” Helping to combat the immediate environmental impact of these fires is Unity College alum Sean Anderson ‘18 who is a forest technician based in the Prescott National Forest. Sean has been fighting wildfires for three seasons and said in a recent interview, “When it comes to explaining this year’s catastrophic fire season, climate change and problematic forest management go “hand in hand.” He noted in the 1960s fires were “suppressed every time,” yet fire is a natural thing and a necessary ecological process to clear out old brush and foster new growth. Sean’s Unity College education and passion for environmental conservation led him to a career on the front lines combating wildfires, helping to mitigate their devastating impact.  

These are just some ways Unity College and Unity College alumni are making a direct impact on environmental challenges. It is incredibly inspiring to see the work they’re doing, rooted in their passion to make the world a better place. 

As always, please contact us at development@unity.edu, with any questions or comments you may have.