Science and art ‘collide’ in UNE, Biddeford community storytelling event

Art and science, and their often-overlooked imbrications, took stage together on Wednesday, Dec. 3, as more than a hundred residents braved the first chills of winter to gather in Biddeford’s Pepperell Mill for an event culminating a multi-season collaboration between the University of New England and Biddeford civic leaders to foster community understanding through shared perspectives.

The event, Science Collider: The Story of the Saco, was developed between UNE student Miranda Carrabba (Marine Affairs, ’25) and leaders from Heart of Biddeford, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering an inclusive and sustainable downtown for the former mill city that UNE calls home. 

Rather than treating creativity and research as separate domains, the evening highlighted how multiple ways of knowing — from scientific data to historic perspectives to personal storytelling — can help a community understand its relationship to the ancient river that has provided for Indigenous peoples for thousands of years and, much later, allowed the cities of Biddeford and Saco to thrive as economic powerhouses.

Left: Miranda Carrabba (Marine Affairs, ’25). Right: Dozens explore a series of works by local artisans and musicians.

Hosted at Lucky Pigeon Brewing, the program brought local artists, musicians, poets, scientists, historians, and Indigenous partners into one shared space to explore the river’s cultural, ecological, and personal significance. Photography documenting the river course, short presentations on watershed research, and readings grounded in community memories were paired with live performances and an art gallery featuring 17 local creators.

The evening served as an undergraduate thesis, of sorts, for Carrabba, who will graduate from UNE later this month. Her project began months ago as part of UNE’s summer Sustainability Fellowship program, where she immersed herself in community conversations about the scientific assets residents valued most. 

(This fellowship project) gave me a better sense of place and belonging" — Miranda Carrabba ’25

More than 700 pieces of community feedback later, Carrabba learned the Saco River was critically important to Biddeford’s identity. 

“My whole summer was just listening to people,” Carrabba said. “We knew that much feedback meant we needed to continue this work beyond the summer, that it needs to happen.”

Carrabba’s fellowship project then explored the river’s industrial and ecological past, the impacts of damming, and the perspectives of Indigenous stewards, culminating in ideas for public-facing programming and art installations that integrate science and cultural storytelling.

When a grant proposal for the project did not materialize, Carrabba said, she applied for UNE’s Shaw Innovation Fellowship, a program for students to design and implement solutions to challenges facing planetary and human health through focused mentorship, professional development, and community partnership opportunities. 

Left: UNE Sociology Professor Sam McReynolds shares a personal poem. Right: The event drew a standing-room-only crowd.

That opportunity allowed Carrabba and her mentor, Heart of Biddeford Executive Director Delilah Poupore, to advance the project in ways they hadn’t imagined and bring the goals of the Science Collider to life.

“We want to show that Biddeford itself is just such a vibrant community and that we all have something in common: the river, in this case,” Carrabba remarked. “Hopefully people leave feeling more inspired or more in love with the river — or with each other.” 

She added that she hoped audiences walked away with a clearer understanding that “science and art are not opposite ends of a spectrum. They’re partners and they're trying to communicate the same things.” 

‘UNE’s Mission Put Into Action’

UNE faculty who helped guide Carrabba’s work noted that her fellowship pathway — from sustainability to innovation — shows how student projects evolve when grounded in authentic community partnership. 

“Innovation and sustainability go hand in hand, and developing these deep relationships with external partners is front and center to what we drive in our fellowship opportunities, said Cameron Wake, Ph.D., director of UNE North, the University’s center for North Atlantic studies, which administers the Sustainability Fellowship in collaboration with UNE’s College of Business. 

“Through those opportunities, students find meaningful ways to apply their academic learning to community- and globally based initiatives that directly improve the health of our communities and natural world,” Wake said. “That’s UNE’s mission put into action.”

Left: UNE’s Pam Morgan, a professor of environmental studies, tours the vendor fair. Right: The event was held in Biddeford’s historic Pepperell Mill.

Emily Wood, M.E.M., coordinator of the Sustainable Innovation Center in UNE’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which oversees the Shaw Innovation Fellows program, added that students across UNE are finding similar interdisciplinary connections through design thinking and community-embedded work. 

“What we aim for students is to look at how to define a real-world problem in a way that really addresses the context of the issue, so that no matter what discipline our fellows come from — whether health sciences, environmental programs, or business or the arts — they’re finding that solutions to improving our world are all connected environmentally, socially, even economically.”

Poupore, the Heart of Biddeford executive director, said the event was an opportunity for attendees to learn not just from experts at UNE but from, and teach, each other. 

“In a time with lots of social isolation and even AI-generated relationships, there’s nothing quite like ‘colliding’ with one another in real time,” Poupore remarked. “I loved seeing how many people shared more about themselves — their photography, painting, scientific passion, family story, or hobby.

“I’m really grateful for Miranda’s work in listening to the community and then creating this opportunity for genuine community connection,” she added.

Left: Carrabba with mentor and Heart of Biddeford Executive Director Delilah Poupore. Right: Cameron Wake (back left),  director of UNE North, the UNE Sustainability Fellowship’s administering organization. 

Reflecting on her fellowship experiences, Carrabba said they have reshaped her sense of purpose and outlook as a hopeful future nonprofit leader. 

“I’ve never been out as much in the community as I have been during this summer and this semester, and I think that’s a really great thing,” Carrabba shared. “It gave me a better sense of place and belonging, and I hope to see UNE and Heart of Biddeford continue to grow these community relationships.

“I’m just really glad I got to be a little part of it,” she said.