Nov. 9 presentation in Greenville to examine what is climate change

We hear the term a lot these days. One definition of climate change is, “Long-term change in weather patterns, over a period of many years. Many factors combine to make the climate of a region, including average day and night temperatures, precipitation, humidity, air pressures, and wind direction. Sometimes, storms are also added in this list. Changes in these factors, which occur over a long period of time is called climate change.” Climate change is a subject that affects everyone and everything on Earth.

The Piscataquis County Soil & Water Conservation District (PCSWCD) is co-hosting a “Climate Change: Forest & Ecosystem Impacts” presentation with the University of Maine’s Piscataquis County Extension Office, and the Natural Resource Education Center at Moosehead (NREC). It will be held Friday, Nov. 9 at the Center for Moosehead History, 6 Lakeview Street in downtown Greenville, and will run from 6 to 8 p.m. Sean Birkel, research assistant professor at the University of Maine and Maine state climatologist, will provide an overview of Maine’s climate, general impacts and what to expect in the future. Dr. Jay Wason, assistant professor of Forest Ecosystem Physiology at the University of Maine, will discuss the lines of forest and ecosystem impacts.

Birkel is a research scientist for the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine. He has expertise in climate and ice sheet modeling. His various research interests include modern environmental change, Pleistocene glaciation, data visualization, and Maine historical climatology. Since early 2012, he has been building Climate Reanalyzer, a website that provides access to climate and weather models, and historical station data.

Dr. Wason joined the School of Forest Resources (SFR) faculty in 2018 as an assistant professor of Forest Ecosystem Physiology. Before joining SFR, Dr. Wason was a postdoctoral associate at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. His research uses lab and field studies to determine the physiological responses of northeastern forest trees to novel future climate conditions.

If you are curious to learn more about Climate Change and how it is affecting our environment and would like to come to this free presentation, please contact the Piscataquis County Soil & Water Conservation District at 207-564-2321 ext. 3 or email us at info@piscataquisswcd.org to register.
Piscataquis County soil & Water Conservation District and the University of Maine are equal opportunity employers and providers.