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Noah Perlut, Ph.D., professor and assistant academic director of the School of Marine and Environmental Programs, has been awarded a 2023 eco-Excellence award from ecomaine, the state’s leader in single-sort recycling and sustainable waste management.

Ecomaine grants the awards annually to Mainers committed to making the state a more sustainable place to live, work, and play. Perlut was awarded an individual award for his commitment to conservation of land and resources in his time serving on several boards and commissions for the town of Scarborough. He will accept the award at a ceremony at ecomaine on March 21.

Perlut is an ornithologist with expertise in ecology, conservation biology, animal behavior, migration and dispersal, and breeding systems. His research explores the ecological and evolutionary consequences of human habitat management on bird and animal populations across diverse habitats — from grassland songbirds to gulls on Portland’s rooftops, nighthawks nesting in the Caribbean, and others in between.

For nearly two decades, Perlut has studied how agricultural management affects bobolinks and Savannah sparrows in Vermont hayfields. Additionally, in Biddeford, hundreds of Perlut’s students have participated in studies at the , tracking radio-collared gray squirrels across UNE’s waterfront campus.  

For his research dedication and work as a teacher-scholar, Perlut was named the 2020-2021 Ludcke Chair of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Perlut said he was incredibly grateful to ecomaine for the eco-Excellence award.

“I love living in Scarborough and am proud of our community’s dedication to conserving 30% of its land by 2030 and by making the amazing Eastern Trail accessible to as many communities as possible,” he reflected.