Maine Perspective Front Page
Fund Dedicated to Preserving the Natural Heritage on Campus
UMaine cell biologist and marine ecologist Susan Brawley studies the physical and biological factors that affect fertilization success and survival of embryos in nature. Her research is important because marine ecologists know little about either stage in the life histories of marine organisms.
Now in a project that parallels her life's work, Brawley has planted the seeds for a natural heritage campaign that has the potential to affect the natural environment on campus. She did it, she says, because the University community knows little about UMaine's history and natural heritage.
"The reason trees or other natural resources become threatened is because people don't know their importance," says Brawley. "On this campus, we have not communicated our historical and natural resources' heritage adequately to students, faculty and staff. For instance, we have more than 70 different tree species on campus, and buildings built with bricks handmade here on campus by the first faculty and students.
"With more knowledge of the institution and its heritage, people will feel more pride in being part of the University."
Last fall, Brawley donated $10,300 to establish the Campus Natural Heritage Endowment Fund in the University of Maine Foundation to benefit UMaine. The fund now totals $12,000.
The interest from the fund will be used to help support the care and enhancement of the natural environment on campus. Brawley predicts that support can range from new plantings to care for existing trees and plantings to student capstone experiences that increase awareness of the natural heritage
In addition, Brawley hopes the fund will create more historical appreciation in the University community for how UMaine developed. The University's first board of trustees hired Frederick Law Olmstead, the famous New York architect, "to lay out the college grounds and indicate a plan," according to David C. Smith in The First Century: A History of the University of Maine, 1865-1965. The first University plan was drawn up in 1866.
Under the new fund, a committee made up of faculty with expertise in such areas as forest ecosystem science, landscape and horticulture will make recommendations for allocating the monies for supporting the care and enhancement of the natural environment on campus. Bruce Wiersma, dean of the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture, is charged with administering income from the fund, based on committee recommendations.
"I am grateful to Dr. Brawley and others for their contributions to this important endowment," says Wiersma. "I look forward to working with donors and other interested parties in effectively utilizing the proceeds from this endowment."
Brawley says she became acutely aware of UMaine's natural resources while serving on the committee for the Hitchner Hall expansion project. "The care of the campus has had peaks and valleys associated with the kind of funding available to a state university," says Brawley. "It was clear that if we are to preserve the beauty of the campus, an endowment fund is needed.
"I finally decided that rather than painting my house, I would start the endowment."
In its embryonic stages, the fund will only yield a few hundred dollars annually. However, it is important that the fund be an endowment so it will be sustained over time, Brawley says.
To be most effective, the endowment needs a total of several million dollars. It is attainable, she adds, even if it happens one $25 contribution at a time.
"Between people on campus and alumni, my hope is that the fund grows in the next couple of years," Brawley says. "The sooner money is received to make the fund most effective, the sooner we can ensure that the natural beauty of this campus is maintained.
"If we plan how we build and develop, we can preserve our important heritage and also build the important buildings we need, as in the case of Hitchner, with its new construction designed to spare a more than 130-year-old American elm on the building's lawn. It is important not to get caught in an either-or scenario."
One of UMaine's biggest attractions is the beauty of its campus, says Brawley. It is a natural beauty that is easy to lose, she says. "It has happened on many campuses, now packed with buildings that were planned without thinking how the entire campus would be affected.
"This fund is a vehicle to ensure faculty involvement and stewardship of this campus."
To contribute to the Campus Natural Heritage Endowment Fund, contact the University of Maine Foundation, 947-5100.