Special resources for study include the Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area on the Maine coast and the nearby Shortridge property, which includes a new wet lab and bunkhouse for coastal researchers and field study classes. Some courses have a strong project based component. For example, students in Curtis Bohlen's Wetland Science and Policy course teamed up with a Groundwater Hydrology class to examine the environmental impacts of three alternate road alignments through or around the Garcelon Bog, a wetland in Lewiston. The results were presented to the city planner, city engineer, city manager, as well as the public, to help planners decide where to build the new road. Students and faculty also presented a poster on this work at the Geological Society of America's Northeast Regional Meeting in Portland, Maine, in March 1998.
Maine is an especially rich area for studies of the environment.
Curtis Bohlen's Introduction to Environmental Studies class concluded a full semester study of land trust holdings in the state of Maine with a major report that was distributed through the Maine Land Trust Network, a nonprofit arm of the Maine Coast Heritage Trust. In Short Term 1998, Bohlen's Environmental Restoration class developed a restoration plan for Scarborough Marsh in southern Maine, a cooperative effort with the Maine Audubon Society. Field trips and research projects have taken students to diverse sites such as Rumford, to examine the effects of clear cutting, Saco heath, and Thorncrag Bird Sanctuary in Lewiston. Many opportunities exist for study in the larger global environment, as well. A significant fraction of students study abroad through programs such as the School for Field Studies.