UMaine students are once again improving the environment at Fields Pond! This fall, students from the University of Maine Construction Engineering Technology (CET) program removed the ageing footbridge along the Meadow Path at the Fields Pond Audubon Center. The bridge was originally constructed to cross a wet seepage area that ran through the meadow on the way from the Fields Pond Nature Center to the pond and boat launch area. The bridge timbers were rotting in places, and the seasonal freeze/thaw cycles had changed the pitch of the stairway onto and off the bridge.
Elizabeth Drelich, Sam Pugatch, Tyler Doliber, and Brian Poisson designed a new replacement for the footbridge. Rather than constructing another bridge, the students designed a sixty-foot-long, five-foot-wide path, constructed of stone, gravel, and crusher dust. This new path will allow water to move beneath the surface of the path.
Above and beyond the maintenance issues, the former bridge had presented a barrier to accessibility for people using a wheelchair. The new path allows access from the Nature Center down to the Fields Pond waterfront, and Maine Audubon has plans to continue to increase accessibility at its Fields Pond sanctuary.
The CET program allows students to apply knowledge, techniques, skills, and tools to solve a variety of engineering problems. Each spring students select from a number of community-based projects, which they then execute during the fall semester. According to Meredith Kirkmann, CET Faculty member, “These service-learning projects are always impactful on our students. They engage students with the community and help them become comfortable taking leadership roles on projects.” We’ve been fortunate to have CET students at Fields Pond before; in 2021-22, CET students helped design and construct the new outdoor pavilion which has been serving us so well!
