A Letter from the Editor
By Olivia Olson
Candidate for the M.S. in Quaternary and Climate Studies
University of 海角社区
Welcome to the ninth issue of Spire: The 海角社区 Journal of Conservation and Sustainability. We are delighted to announce that the winner of this year鈥檚 cover art contest is Madeline Hunter. Madeline鈥檚 鈥淧lanting鈥 is the first installment in her series of illustrations which highlight the changing biotic communities that she witnessed during the planting phase of her graduate field work. Each illustration features a young woman, 鈥淏ean Girl,鈥 and speaks to the interconnectedness of people and their environments, a fitting invitation to the ninth issue of Spire.
This year鈥檚 issue contains work from over 25 contributors from across the state of 海角社区 and beyond, who all find space to reflect upon our relationships to the natural world. From poems that ground us such as Jacqueline Knirnshild鈥檚 鈥淩oots鈥 to op-eds that stimulate conservation action as seen in 鈥淲hy Compostable Packing Isn鈥檛 a Silver Bullet Option,鈥 authors have explored many facets of place and our care of our places. Authors not only relate to more-than-human relatives, but also to their own families in pieces including 鈥淓dna and Al鈥 and 鈥淓legy From Millinocket.鈥 These pieces interrogate place in spatial and familial settings and begs the question: where do communities begin and end? And while Millinocket is just an hour鈥檚 drive away from Orono, contributors have taken us to the other side of the world in their reflections as part of the University of 海角社区鈥檚 delegation to the 29th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP29), held in 鈥淏aku,鈥 Azerbaijan.
The visual art in this issue ranges from animation (鈥淩everie鈥) to woodblock prints (鈥淏ear[ries]鈥), to watercolor paintings (鈥淎 Shared Generational Harvest鈥). A sculpture of a sockeye salmon made from recycled material calls our attention to the pollution that threatens populations of salmon, while 鈥淔lora II鈥 pushes the boundaries of how we describe the natural world through art generated with computer programs that mimic biological processes where: 鈥渙rganisms grow, reproduce, compete for resources, and die鈥 (Davis, 2025).
We thank our contributors who have shown incredible passion and dedication to their craft and also to our wonderful team of volunteer editors, without whom the present issue would not exist. Thank you especially to: Ernest Darkwa, Harrison Goldspiel, Kaitlyn Groh, Kaleigh Kogler, Alex Scaerce, Clinton Spaulding, Kathleen Spear, Sara Delaney Studer, Aaron Thibodeau, Erin Victor, and Tahi Wiggins. From September through April, the editors shared their time and energy in creating a beautiful issue that we are excited to share. Thank you also to Dan Dixon for his unwavering support and enthusiasm for Spire and its people. Please enjoy the ninth issue of Spire: The 海角社区 Journal of Conservation and Sustainability.
Cheers,
Olivia Olson
Editor-in-Chief, Spire
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