Participatory research
by youth, for youth in the Maine climate movement
The Listen Project empowers Maine youth to lead research on our own climate movement, uncover unmet needs, and channel findings into more inclusive advocacy and resource strategies. We surveyed 123 youth, interviewed 22 youth and adult allies, and surveyed seven youth climate organizations.
Our project aims to create a resilient, collaborative youth climate ecosystem that shapes policy and resources to support sustained, effective, and youth-led climate action in Maine.
What is it really like to be a young person trying to
engage in climate work in Maine right now?
❋ The Listen Project Story Map
123 youth surveyed
22 interviews with youth and adult allies
7 organizations surveyed
About the Story Map
The Listen Project Story Map is an immersive, experiential data storytelling project built with ArcGIS to bring our surveys and interviews to life.
Alex, a 16-year-old character from Cumberland County, Maine guides you through the stories and data that highlights key information about what young people and youth organizations across the state shared, what’s working, what’s not, the barriers we’re facing, and shared visions for a more connected youth climate movement in Maine.
If you’d like to dive even deeper into the data, you can read the full report below.
Who are The Listen Project?
The Listen Project used a participatory process to center those most impacted in the design and implementation of the evaluation. Youth step into the role of researchers to study ourselves and our own movement by implementing surveys and in-depth interviews in our communities and organizations. Working Group and Advisory Board members received a paid stipend for our time.
The Core Working Group
The Core Working Group met biweekly in 2024 and 2025 and was responsible for project management. MEEA and MYCJ representatives led the working group, and an Adult Ally from MCAN offered critical feedback and connected the wider adult-led coalition of climate organizations to the research project.
Olivia Griset (MEEA)
negina Lawler-Naluai (MEEA)
Ray Mills (MEEA)
Phoebe Little (MYCJ)
Kaelin Ferland (MYCJ)
Zak Kendall (Formerly MYCJ)
Ezra Sassaman (MCAN) Angie Flores (Former MEEA Changemakers Fellow)
The Advisory Board
The Youth Advisory Team included youth representatives from various youth climate organizations. This group met 4-6 times over the course of the project to give feedback at critical stages and to ensure the project includes information from their organizations and youth they have relationships with. Working group members also served on the advisory.
Laura Bither (Just ME for Just US)
Luke Sekera Flanders (Community Water Justice)
Anna Siegel
Idey Abdi
Cassie Cain
Bethany Humphrey
Research support
Researchers from the Data Innovation Project at the University of Southern Maine are working with the working group to offer support and training at critical points throughout the project.
Story Map Team
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Bethany Humphrey (she/her) is an independent consultant who works at the intersections of people, data, and the environment. She currently consults with nonprofits and businesses, offering program evaluation, data analysis, and grant writing services. Prior to starting her own business, she worked at organizations across Maine in the fields of STEM education, conservation, trail stewardship, and youth leadership.
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Ray Mills (she/they) is primarily of Wabanaki and Franco-American descent and grew up in Oxford County, Maine along the Androscoggin River. In 2021, she graduated from the University of Maine with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Native American studies. They currently serve as the Climate Adaptation Resident in a joint position with the Maine Environmental Education Association (MEEA) and The Nature Conservancy in Maine (TNC). With MEEA, Ray has taken a lead role on The Listen Project , which this Story Map guides visitors through. She also supports MEEA through fundraising, development, graphic design, and publishing the monthly Changemakers youth newsletter. At TNC, their work centers on strengthening community resilience through the implementation of Nature-Based Solutions to climate change while prioritizing relationship building and project development with Wabanaki communities. Recently, she created a Story Map for the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians which guides viewers through the process of Instream Restoration in the Meduxnekeag River and provides information about how restoration efforts will benefit fishes, people, and the surrounding ecosystem. While working on The Listen Project, she has had the opportunity to build upon her project management and data analysis skills.
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Angie Flores Quispe (she/her) is a Peruvian climate communicator and researcher passionate about youth-led movements, climate justice, and community storytelling. She holds a B.A. in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic and has collaborated with diverse climate justice organizations in the U.S. and abroad. Her experience spans climate education, policy analysis and strategy, and renewable energy transitions. Angie first collaborated with MEEA in 2024 as a Changemakers Fellow and continued engaging through the LISTEN Project working group. She brought her background in participatory research, GIS, and narrative design to create and narrate this StoryMap.
Got a question about The Listen Project?
Why is this project needed right now?
The Listen Project aims to increase collaboration amongst youth climate organizations and community groups to build a more sustainable foundation that meets the needs of the dynamic and diverse Maine youth climate movement. Because climate justice work is by definition intersectional, groups in the youth climate movement focus on a wide variety of issues. In addition, the movement’s population changes rapidly as youth are very mobile as they graduate high school, go to college, and pursue careers in new geographic areas. Because of this dynamic, leadership succession planning in the youth climate movement in Maine has been a serious issue in maintaining continuity of the work. Organizations often compete over the same pool of money with some groups’ successes coming at the expense of others. We expect The Listen Project’s data to illustrate both the strengths and challenges of this work and how we can better move forward.