MAINECAN supports and connects local community groups in Maine that want to make their communities more resilient to a changing climate and transition to sustainable energy.
MAINECAN supports communities through:
1
Project support
Providing project-specific support: identifying priorities & funding; finding contractors & personnel; implementing & maintaining projects
2
Facilitating networking & training
Organizing & facilitating opportunities for community groups to network & learn
3
Profiling community projects
Profiles and case studies of projects to facilitate community-to-community learning
4
Resource library
Curating, sharing, and highlighting existing resources in useful ways for community groups
5
Educating community groups
Educating groups about many existing programs, funding opportunities, and other assistance offered by state & federal agencies, nonprofits, and businesses
6
Forming community groups
Outreach & community-specific support to help interested citizens and municipal & tribal governments form community groups
7
Community group network
Building & maintaining a contact list & map of community groups for networking and peer-to-peer support
8
Ally & partner network
Building & maintaining a contact list & map of entities that provide specific types of support for community projects
Our Vision
All Maine citizens, and particularly those most vulnerable to a changing climate, benefit directly at a local level from the resilience, independence, cost-savings, pollution reduction, and other benefits of the sustainable energy transition and thrive in the face of the multiple challenges associated with a changing climate (including rising sea levels, extreme temperatures, storms, flooding, erosion, wind damage, drought, and wildfires).
Three ways to participate
Community
The Community Member network is for communities, community-based groups, and community members leading or interested in learning more about energy and climate resilience initiatives in their own communities.
Ally
The Ally network is for people and entities that are supporting these community-led initiatives or that are considering supporting communities’ initiatives in the future.
Partner
Partners are people and entities that provide support for community groups, collaborate on building & maintaining the MAINECAN network, and/or provide programming for the network.
MAINECAN is supported by the
Senator George J. Mitchell Center for
Sustainability Solutions
For the last decade, the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions has been a leader in launching and supporting partnerships. In these partnerships, interdisciplinary teams of students and faculty from universities and colleges throughout Maine collaborate with diverse stakeholders to find solutions to a wide range of urgent sustainability challenges, directly benefiting Maine and other regions.
The Mitchell Center has supported the creation of MAINECAN in many ways, including administration, funding, and advising. The Center continues to serve as the “hub” for MAINECAN’s support team.
