BOWDOIN (COLLEGE) ORIENT • February 12, 2021
In December, Bowdoin College received approval from the Brunswick Planning Board to cover at least 15 acres of a state-listed critically imperiled natural community with solar panels. The resulting loss of sandplain grasslands, documented in only four places in Maine, greatly diminishes the environmental benefits of Bowdoin’s otherwise laudable investment in renewable energy. Bowdoin retains approximately 80 undeveloped acres on this site, many of which could avoid most of the worst habitat destruction. Bowdoin’s hardscape of acres of parking lots also contains no rare habitats or species, but is somehow not preferred for solar over Maine’s imperiled, vulnerable natural communities. Bowdoin—proudly reminding us of their commitment to the common good—could strive to protect biodiversity while producing the climate dividend the College so rightly seeks. It still can. ~ Jacqueline Sartoris, Brunswick