Episodes

  • Place-based Science | The Coastal Spruce Fir Forest

    Place-based Science | The Coastal Spruce Fir Forest
    Feb 18 2026
    Along the coast of Maine a special cold-adapted forest ecosystem thrives: the coastal spruce fir forest. The cool air that blows off the ocean provides an ideal environment for these colder species, but their future, like many, is uncertain. In this episode, we’re traveling through time to understand how coastal spruce fir forests in Acadia have changed over the past sixty-six years.

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    20 mins
  • Place-based Science | The Mountain Summit

    Place-based Science | The Mountain Summit
    Jan 21 2026
    High atop Acadia’s mountain summits are sweeping views, subalpine plants, and an ecosystem under threat. Come with me as I take part in each step of a field season and learn about how scientists are working to help restore these unique places.

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    22 mins
  • Place-based Science | The Freshwater Wetland

    Place-based Science | The Freshwater Wetland
    Dec 17 2025
    In this season premiere episode of Sea to Trees we’ll travel to the largest freshwater wetland in Acadia National Park: The Great Meadow. Listen to learn more about the ongoing restoration of the Great Meadow, how soil coring can take us back in time to visualize a landscape thousands of years ago, and how an Indigenous approach to wetland restoration means restoring relationships and food sovereignty.

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    25 mins
  • Place-Based Science | Trailer

    Place-Based Science | Trailer
    Nov 19 2025
    In Season Four, we’re getting up close and personal with three areas in Acadia: freshwater wetlands, granite-topped mountain summits, and boreal forests. Each episode is set in one of those research sites and focuses on the science stories happening there.

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    2 mins
  • Past, Present, and Future | Ferrying Frogs and Measuring Mice

    Past, Present, and Future | Ferrying Frogs and Measuring Mice
    Dec 17 2024
    During warm, wet nights in early spring, thousands of amphibians shake off their winter grogginess and take to the roads. Hardy small mammals scamper along the forest floor and make extensive homes within the cracks of Acadia’s mountains. Some of the park’s smallest creatures, that play outsized roles in nature’s food web, are also some of its most mysterious. Learn about two survey projects asking what it’s like to take the pulse of Acadia National Park on Season 3 Episode 3 of Sea to Trees.

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    45 mins
  • Past, Present, and Future | How Fame Changed MacArthur’s Warblers

    Past, Present, and Future | How Fame Changed MacArthur’s Warblers
    Nov 20 2024
    In 1956, Robert MacArthur sat in a spruce-fir forest of Acadia National Park and tried to understand the truth behind warbler diversity. How could there be so many different species coexisting, when theory seeks to crown “one warbler to rule them all?” Learn about MacArthur’s study, how it changed the field of ecology, and the scientists revisiting his work over half a century later on Season 3 Episode 2 of Sea to Trees.

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    29 mins
  • Past, Present, and Future | Historical Aerial Photography

    Past, Present, and Future | Historical Aerial Photography
    Oct 16 2024
    Tucked away on the University of Maine campus is a treasury of film that chronicles New England’s landscape from 1946 to 2015. We’ll hear from the researcher who is digitizing thousands of aerial photographs and making them accessible online. What can these photos tell us about the history of Acadia and how can they influence the future of land stewardship? Find out on the season three premiere of Sea to Trees.

    University of Maine Sewall Company https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/sewell_aerial/

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    21 mins
  • Past, Present, and Future | Trailer

    Past, Present, and Future | Trailer
    Sep 18 2024
    In Season Three of Sea to Trees, we’re learning about research that delves into the past, seeks to understand the present, and charts the future of Acadia. We’ll walk through the same spruce forests as MacArthur’s warblers, try to understand how human activity is affecting some of the smallest creatures in the park, and illustrate the power of sea level rise with a group of young scientists. What can we learn from the past and present to help our future? www.Schoodicinstitute.org

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    3 mins