growsmart maine

Bangor Daily News, 10/19/11

As a state panel moves forward with its review of the often maligned Land Use Regulation Commission, a coalition of environmental and planning groups has come up with a reasonable outline for changes to the agency. Their suggestions should be carefully considered.  Read more...

MaineBiz, News Staff.  10/13/11

The Maine Department of Economic and Community Development has awarded 11 grants totaling $3.5 million to downtown revitalization projects around the state.

The department received a total of 32 applications seeking more than $8.6 million from the Communities for Maine's Future program, according to a press release from Portland-based organization GrowSmart, which in 2009 helped get the program approved by the Maine Legislature. Read more...

ST, JOHN VALLEY - Project Cultivate,  Nancy Smith, Executive Director of GrowSmart Maine, presented a briefing paper on a creative economic development initiative taking place in the St. John Valley at a recent White House Community Leaders Briefing in Washington, D.C.  Smith highlighted details on development efforts taking place in Maine and what is required for economic growth. Read more...

Rotting, dead wood and bark decay. While some tree owners may rub these signs off as no big deal, The Maine Forest Service calls them a huge hazard. News Source 8 Reporter Jenna Callari has the details about an informational workshop held Tuesday, that warned residents about potential tree hazards.  Read more...

Nancy Smith, executive director of GrowSmart Maine joins "Good Day Maine" this morning to talk about her company, which promotes sustainable prosperity for all Mainers by integrating working and natural landscape conservation, economic growth, and community revitalization.  Read more...

Think back to last weekend, as you were going about your Saturday errands. Think about the number of separate stops you had to make, the number of times you parked your car, the traffic,  the street lights . . . and then think about how exhausted you were when you got home!  ReEnvisioning the Highway Strip takes on the challenge of meeting market demands of getting your errands done in a timely way, but in a more downtown/village-focused,  less car-dependent way that reduces stress on you and on your community’s resources.

Posted Aug. 22, 2011, at 9:38 p.m.

ORONO, Maine — When an excavator’s grapple peeled part of the roof off the old Webster Mill on Monday evening, the crowd that had gathered to watch the demolition of the more than 130-year-old building let out a cheer.  The cheers grew louder when the grapple came down on the wall, sending a cluster of red bricks crashing to the ground and a plume of dust into the air.

Read more...

In the war the state expects to wage against the tree-killing emerald ash borer, a native wasp has a prominent role on the front lines.

FREEPORT - A non-stinging wasp that likes to build its nests in baseball diamond dirt is helping Maine entomologists detect an insect that has decimated millions of ash trees in the Midwest.  The Cerceris fumipennis wasp is the best weapon that researchers have for determining whether the emerald ash borer has made its way to Maine.  Read more...