March: Grasses and Rushes

Grasses are a vital component of our natural landscapes and often critical for habitat and ecosystem structure, wildlife food and shelter, soil stabilization, and biomass production. This talk will introduce the audience to grasses of Maine’s natural environment: what makes a grass a grass, the ecological benefits they provide (and problems they create), some of the more commonly encountered species, and examples of some of our rare and unique species that are of conservation concern. As an added bonus, the evening’s talk will also introduce the audience to rushes, a much smaller and lesser known group of grass-like plants from Maine’s ecosystems.

Matt Arsenault is a botanist and ecologist with Stantec Consulting in Topsham, Maine where he has specialized in rare, threatened, and endangered species surveys and habitat assessments for nearly fifteen years. Prior to Stantec, Matt graduated from the University of Maine in 2003 with a B.S. in Botany. His passion is plant conservation and ecology where he strives to bring appreciation and understanding of the cryptic and obscure plants to the masses. He is an author of “Grasses and Rushes of Maine” published in 2019 and “Sedges of Maine – A Field Guide to Cyperaceae” published in 2013 by the University of Maine Press.