From the Portland Press Herald:
Two small, isolated Maine colleges that focus on sustainability and the environment know they aren’t for everyone.
Students have to work in the local community, where they experience the real world and reflect on how they can apply that and their book learning to impact the future of the world.
“Everything we work on is involved in the community. It isn’t theoretical, but real,” said Spencer Gray, a fourth-year student from Woolwich who is working within College of the Atlantic’s new Community Energy Center, which matches students with solar and other sustainability efforts in the local community. Many students like Gray self-direct their studies, and there are ample opportunities for collaborations with other students and the one-on-one interactions with professors that small colleges afford.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics generally defines sustainability professionals as people who promote environmental protection, social responsibility and profitability. In early April, 57 sustainability jobs were listed on Indeed.com in Maine, ranging from scientists to financial analysts to educators and salespeople while LinkedIn listed a total of 27,100 sustainability jobs across the country.
