![Prof of Environmental Studies and Christian A. Johnson Prof of Interdisc Studies Holly Ewing and Lecturer in Environmental Studies & Learning Associate in Environmental Studies Camille Parrish take students in the Soils/Lab course for a field trip to Pettengill Farm in Freeport, Maine. A nineteenth century salt-water farm on the estuary of the Harraseeket River, the farm is owned by Freeport Historical Society(FHS). It includes a saltbox house (ca. 1800) on 140 acres of fields, woods, antique apple orchards and salt marsh. Most interesting are the etchings (sgraffitti) found on the plaster walls in the upper chambers of ships, sea monsters, longboats and animals. The farmhouse remains without plumbing, central heat and electricity and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Mildred Pettengill was its last resident and lived in the house until 1970.The students are digging up soil and making observations (soil profiles) before putting it back where it came from.ENVR 310 - Soils/LabDepending on one's point of view, soils are geological units, ecosystems, the foundation of plant life, a place for microbes to live, building material, or just dirt. This course takes a scientific perspective and explores the genesis of soils, their distribution and characteristics, and their interaction with plants. Field studies emphasize description of soils, inferences about soil formation, and placement within a landscape context. Labs investigate the chemistry of soils and their role in forestry and agriculture.](https://www.bates.edu/news/files/2020/12/crop-200929_Soils_Lab_Freeport_0653-200x135.jpg)
Video: Maine river restoration documentary features environmental economist Lynne Lewis
Professor of Economics Lynne Lewis’ collaborative work on Maine river rehabilitation is featured in the Maine Public Broadcasting Network documentary series Sustainable Maine.
In the series episode “Desperate Alewives,” Lewis joins the discussion of how restoring just one species of river fish, the alewife, can play a huge role in rejuvenating a river’s food web. In the process, Lewis and her interdisciplinary team of researchers and fisheries experts answer the always-important question: Why does river rehabilitation matter?
Lewis and her team’s project is called “Maine Rivers, Estuaries and Coastal Fisheries.” Also including Bates geology professor Beverly Johnson and researchers from Bowdoin College and the University of Southern Maine, the interdisciplinary effort is part of the Sustainability Solutions Initiative at the University of Maine.
Funded by the National Science Foundation, the collaboration will weigh the costs and benefits of river rehabilitation in Maine and the effects of rehabilitation efforts on fisheries and economies.
An environmental economist who chairs the Bates economics department, Lewis’ own research explores the potential benefits and costs of river rehabilitation and, specifically, dam removal.
Johnson’s research seeks to reconstruct the Gulf of Maine’s ancient nearshore ecosystem in order to help scientists predict current responses to natural and human influences. Funded by a $393,000 NSF grant, the interdiscplinary project also includes Will Ambrose (biology) and Bruce Bourque (archeology) of Bates and Robert Steneck of UMaine’s School of Marine Sciences.