350 Maine History
2021
April - Earth Week
Earth Week event - 350 Maine with MCAN, Sierra Club Maine and Our Power host day of action to encourage support for a consumer owned utility for Maine.
350 Downeast and Porter Memorial Library in Machias held an Earth Day webinar featuring author David Goodrich for discussion on climate change and the impact of fossil fuel extraction.
April - Book Club
Climate Justice Book Group launches, hosted by two 350 Maine members.
April - Legislative Work
Co-hosted a webinar with Sierra Club Maine on a “Maine Green Bank”.
As a member of the Tribal Sovereignty Coalition we participated in a Virtual Rally in support of LD 1626 as the Legislature came back into session.
April - No Toxic Tanks
No Toxic Tanks Coalition holds an in-person Rally Against Toxic Fumes Near Schools, in South Portland.
March - Direct Action and Climate Justice
Held a 'Direct Action and Climate Justice' webinar with guest Ethan Hughes presentation and discussion on centrality of direct action and racial justice in the climate movement.
January - No Toxic Tanks
Joined the No Toxic Tanks coalition to highlight the issue of fumes emissions from oil storage tanks across the state with a focus on South Portland.
No Toxic Tanks, January 2021
2020
December - Maine 'Green Bank'
Choose our 2021 focus: creating a ‘green bank’ for Maine, joining the Sierra Club Maine Chapter in this effort.
October - Maine Climate Action Now!
As a founding member of the coalition Maine Climate Action Now! (MCAN) we launched #VoteClimateJustice campaign.
With MCAN we held a webinar on creating a Maine Green Amendment.
September - Protect South Portland
Partnered with Protect South Portland to run the 'Smell My City' campaign gathering data to fight the fumes emissions from the oil storage tanks in South Portland.
August - Portland Climate Emergency Resolutions
As adult allies to MYCJ, we co-organized support from residents of Portland and South Portland to give testimony at City Council meetings to fund their Climate Emergency Resolutions work.
June - Support for Youth Leaders
350 Maine funded three stipends to youth leaders in the movement participating in the Maine Climate Council work.
April - Going Virtual
Began holding monthly virtual Statewide Meetings.
April - Earth Day Virtual Art Build
350 Maine members joined virtually for a Zoom art build calling for an end to fossil fuel finance. 350 Maine artists led participants in creating banners demanding an end to the money pipeline that finances the fossil fuel industry. #ArttoStoptheMoneyPipeline.
For more on our 3 days of Earth Day online action, click here!
March - Transportation Webinar
Held with MYCJ and the Natural Resources Council of Maine, this webinar focused on what climate action is needed in the Transportation Sector of Maine. It was followed by a youth focused discussion and Question and Answer time.
January - Maine Climate Action Plan
Worked in concert with organizations across the state to support the work of the Maine Climate Council to draft a Maine Climate Action Plan.
January - Youth Voices Day
As a member of the coalition Maine Climate Action NOW! we hosted 100 youth to come together in Augusta for the Maine Climate Council meeting to share their activism with each other, hold a press conference and meet the Council members over lunch.
Youth Voices Day, January 2020
2019
December - School Strikes
This youth-led climate strike, supported by 350 Maine, at Portland City Hall demanded that the state of Maine declare a climate emergency. Youth leaders spoke about the importance of the climate emergency movement then held a lie-in that corresponded with the December 6th global climate strike.
November - Megadamage Speaking Tour
Co-Hosted a North American Megadam Resistance Alliance event with the Sierra Club Maine Chapter.
October - Portland and South Portland Climate Emergency Declarations
Member volunteers act as adult allies and partner in on-going work with youth in Portland and South Portland to meet with the cities' Sustainability Officers to closely follow their joint climate change initiative as follow through on the Climate Emergency Declarations.
September - Climate emergency resolutions
The Global Climate Strikes lead to immediate steps by municipal governments following when youth’s presentations of demands and a draft climate emergency resolution calling for bold and immediate action within a 2030 timeframe. These resolutions were adopted by Brunswick, Bar Harbor, Portland, and South Portland City Councils.
September - Global Climate Strikes, supported by 350 Maine
As part of an International Day of Global Climate Strikes adults joined youth in stopping business as usual and we saw record numbers rallying in Portland (2,000) Bangor, Bar Harbor and Farmington where hundreds amassed, and Machias where 50 gathered (2% of the population!) 350 Maine worked alongside intergenerational allies to organize these strikes while in other towns many independently gathered.
April - Youth Day of Action
About 400 Maine youth from 20 schools—elementary, middle, high school, and college—left school to demand that climate justice be a priority for all state lawmakers. The Youth Day of Action was organized by Maine Youth for Climate Justice, and supported by adult allies and organizations involved in the Maine Climate Action NOW! coalition, including 350 Maine.
March - Youth Climate Strikes, supported by 350 Maine
Hundreds to thousands of Maine youth walked out of their schools or workplaces across Maine on Friday March 15th. This was organized as part of an international day of strikes for climate action. These young people ranged from elementary school to college students. 350 Maine's youth engagement team, along with many other intergenerational organizations, utilized their organizing resources to support these student organizers. Read more here.
January - Window Dressers Community Workshop in South Portland
350 Greater Portland hosted, in partnership with the South Portland Energy & Recycling Committee and SMCC, a Window Dressers Community Workshop for South Portland residents January 5-10. 317 inserts were made at this workshop.
Youth Day of Action, April 2019
2018
December - Window Dressers Community Workshop in Machias
350 Downeast, in partnership with Machias Savings Bank and funded in part by the New England Grassroots Environmental Fund, hosted a Window Dressers workshop in Machias this past December. In just a few days, volunteers built 183 insulating window inserts.
For more on the South Portland and Machias window dressing events, click here!
October - Candlelight Rally for #TrialoftheCentury
In support of #youthvgov plaintiffs in Juliana v. United States.
September - RISE for CLIMATE, JOBS and JUSTICE
350 Maine, Sierra Club Maine, Maine Conservation Voters, and the Maine Poor People's Campaign, led a march to a City Hall rally as part of a worldwide mobilization which took place days before the Global Climate Summit in San Francisco.
May Maine Climate Protectors petition to the Department of Environmental Protection
Maine Youth and Voters get their hearing with the DEP.
Window Dressers Workshop in Machias, December 2018
2017
September - Launch of 100% Clean Renewable Energy Campaign
100% Clean Renewable Energy Campaign launched in September 2017 to bring local communities towards energy efficiency, sustainability and 100% clean, renewable energy by 2040. After the September launch this campaign continued for two more years, bringing local communities towards energy efficiency, sustainability and 100% clean, renewable energy by 2040. Member volunteers led efforts to engage locals in energy efficiency or sustainability programs, or worked to implement or design Climate Action Plans in towns across the state. Click here for more on this campaign.
April - People’s Climate Marches, Augusta and Washington D.C.
350 Maine organized art builds, bus-fills and supported members attending both marches.
350 Maine members at People's Climate March in Augusta, April 2017
2016
September - Water is Life
Rally in Congress Square Park, Portland, “Water is Life” featured Penobscot representatives speaking about their fight for their river and the fight to protect water in North Dakota. 350 Maine co-sponsored this fundraising event to send Penobscot Nation members to Standing Rock.
Standing Rock fundraiser speaker event co sponsored with University of Southern Maine students with presentations by a member of the Aamjiwnaang (Chippewas of Sarnia First Nation) and a member of the Penobscot Nation sharing their experiences at Standing Rock.
Fall-Winter - NODAPL
‘Stand with Standing Rock’ prayer vigils held weekly in Portland.
April - Break Free (from fossil fuel) Albany, NY
350 New England joined 350 NY and NJ to stage a rally, march, and sit-in on railroad tracks to stop crude oil “bomb” trains rolling through Albany, NY endangering nearby communities and adding to the climate crisis.
Portland "Water Is Life Rally", September 2016
2015
2015 to Present - Penobscot Nation: Justice for the River
In an on-going relationship with the Penobscot Nation, 350 Maine stands in solidarity in the fight to protect the nation’s river and subsistence fishing rights in the legal battle with the State of Maine.
November and December - Road through Paris:
- Art Build and Rally, Portland: Painting signs with school children that were marched to a rally in Monument Square marking the opening of COP21
- Jobs, Justice, Climate - March, Boston: In coalition with 350 NE, union, faith and other climate organizations, 350 Maine joined the rally and march on the Boston Common
Portland COP21 Rally, November 2015
2014
October to November - 350 Greater Portland formed
350 Maine joined the Sierra Club to organize the first Climate Action Team Conference in Brunswick.
September - People's Climate March, NYC
350 Maine organized biking and buses to bring Mainers to the march.
June - 5th Annual Healing Walk in Alberta, Canada
350 Maine leaders wanted to connect the front line communities of Mobile, Alabama and Houston, Texas, affected by the tar sands infrastructure development, to the indigenous communities in Alberta affected by the pits and its infrastructure/pollution.
A broad coalition raised funds so the Americans could join the Healing Walk to be in solidarity with Indigenous peoples of Alberta. They witnessed the tar sands pits’ devastating impacts undermining their right to clean air, clean water.
January - Tar Sands Speaking Tour – 10 talks in ME, NH, VT, MA, Canada
The reversal of Portland Pipe Line Corporation’s pipeline to bring tar sands to South Portland was a threat to the city, but tar sands was a reality in Alberta. Working with a broad coalition of environmental organizations the Tar Sands Team chose to highlight this big picture to the region. They arranged presentations by First Nation Representatives (Athabasca Chipewyan and Beaver Lake Cree) of Canada and internationally awarded photographer.
Healing walk in Alberta, June 2014
2013
August to November - Protect South Portland
Together with Protect South Portland and other environmental groups, 350 Maine backed a referendum against tar sands coming through Portland Pipe Line. Door-to-door and telephone canvassing; Hands-Across the Bridge and other large demonstrations took place.
July - Sebago Flotilla
Staged along with a flotilla of rafts and kayaks on Sebago Lake, street theater (on Route 302 in Raymond) of an ‘oil spill clean-up’ dramatized the threat posed by piped tar sands to Maine’s water supply.
June - Train Blockade: Fairfield, Maine
Activists blockaded train tracks in protest of Bakaan crude oil passing through to the New Brunswick oil refinery. 9 days later a similar oil train exploded in Lac Megantic, Quebec killing 47 people and destroying the downtown.
January - Climate Rally
Working in coalition with others, 350 Maine organized Portland’s largest Climate Rally ever; sounding the alarm against tar sands coming from Montreal to South Portland through the Portland Pipe Line.
Sebago Flotilla, July 2013
2012
November - Bill McKibben Do the Math Tour
Standing room only at 350 Maine event at the State Theater in Portland.
350 Maine Founded