UNE Professor and Trust Board Member Pam Morgan Talks about the UNE/KCT Partnership
By Shelley Wigglesworth
Pam Morgan is a Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of New England in Biddeford. She teaches courses in conservation, wetland ecology and restoration, ecological monitoring, and environmental issues. Her research focuses on coastal and freshwater wetlands, as well as environmental education. Dedicated to engaging students in field-based learning whenever possible, and connecting learning to local communities and habitats, Morgan, a longtime KCT supporter and current board member first became involved with KCT when her children were students in Consolidated School. She explained “A group of parents and teachers came together in 2008 with Tom Bradbury’s help, to design the Trust in Our Children program, which brought students in all grades out to Trust properties for learning opportunities at least twice a year. That successful and worthy program continues today. In the Fall 2012, I was invited to join the KCT Board of Directors.”
Today, Morgan is instrumental in facilitating the ongoing UNE/ KCT partnership through internships and class projects, along with other UNE faculty, including Drs. Noah Perlut and Aimee Vlachos, who have also included projects on KCT preserves in their courses. One example is the invasive plant species monitoring project where students monitor Vaughn’s Island and Emmons Preserve for rare plants and invasive Phragmites. Internships and research projects pairing UNE students with the KCT are also common. “UNE student interns have helped put together Management Plans for several Trust properties, researching the history of the preserves, creating multiple maps using GIS, doing wildlife surveys with game cameras, and more. They have also served as interns with the Trust in Our Children program, under the direction of the Education Coordinator. This coming spring UNE student researchers will be helping map and survey vernal pools on Trust properties,” Morgan said.
UNE students surveying plants at Emmons Preserve
Completed projects UNE and the KCT partnered together on include:
Management Plans for Vaughn’s Island Preserve, Edwin L. Smith Preserve, Emmons Preserve and Tyler Brook Preserve. The Meadow Woods Preserve plan is currently in the works. Recent projects include Designing plans to monitor the effects of a tree harvest in the Smith Preserve on its wildlife and plant communities in the Spring 2021, using game cameras to collect data on wildlife, human and dog use of the Smith and Emmons Preserves, and creating and presenting event ideas for Meadow Woods Preserve.
Fellow KCT board member Bud Danis has worked with Morgan and UNE students on Trust trail properties over the years. He had this to say about Morgan her contributions to the Trust. “Pam has been invaluable and instrumental in shaping KCT policy, actions and mission. Her experience with other public and private sector biologists allows KCT to tap sources with a wealth of experience in the environmental conservation community.” He added “Pam, in conjunction with her students have created management plans for all our properties as well as two islands. She has will also tackle the Meadow Woods plan, which will be our most in depth yet.”
UNE students conducting fieldwork on Vaughns Island
Morgan said the ongoing partnership between the UNE and the Trust benefits all involved. “Students get to be involved in real life projects where they can apply the skills and knowledge they learn in the classroom. They get to interact with community members, KCT staff and volunteers as well as professionals, such as the state of Maine’s invasive plants expert. They gain expertise in how to write reports and to present results in oral presentations. These things all look great on a resume, too.”
Getting out of the brick-and-mortar building and accessing the outdoor classroom is also a plus for the students “How many college students get to canoe out to an island to spend the afternoon surveying plants? How many get to ride by boat out to an island with a lighthouse to talk to the lighthouse keepers and collect data about solar and wind?” Morgan asked, adding, “The Trust benefits as many of the projects are things that KCT would like to have done, but they may not have the in-house expertise, the staff, or the time to do them. For example, management plans, which the Trust puts together to help them make decisions about how to conserve various properties, addressing questions like how to protect the plants and animals, what human uses should be allowed, and how to keep people safe. UNE students who are studying Geographic Information Systems (offered as a minor at UNE) are able to make property maps for the Trust which include a detailed analysis of the soils, wetlands, trail networks etc.”
UNE student collecting wind data on Goat Island
Tyler Riendeau, UNE class of 2021 spoke of his direct learning with the Trust. “Working with the KCT has helped me gain real world skills that I can apply to my career moving forward. Without collaborations like the one between UNE and KCT, students like me who want to specialize in field-based science may never get the chance to really experience the challenges, rewards, and learning opportunities of that work.” Spencer Hokanson, UNE class of 2022 said. "By working alongside the KCT, I could be part of something much larger than myself or the University."
UNE also holds a day-long winter retreat each year at the KCT headquarters for first-year students in the Environmental Studies program. Morgan said, “The students love getting out to snowshoe on the trails and enjoy so much the opportunity to get off campus and be in such a beautiful place.”
FMI on UNE/ KCT projects, please visit:
https://www.une.edu/news/2021/kennebunkport-une-students-combat-invasive-plant-species