Andrew Deci
Southern Maine Regional Steward
Department: Stewardship
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Andrew (he/him) grew up between the mountains in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, where he played in and along winding creeks, hopped over cow patties, and hid from friends within the cedars. Since then, Andrew has had a variety of experiences, always integrating the outside into his life; among other things, he worked as an archaeologist and architectural historian, exploring and researching people’s pre-historic and historic habitation of the land; worked in local government for fifteen years as a town and community planner in Bath and Topsham (Maine), as well as Spotsylvania County, Virginia, where he advocated for active transportation projects and providing quality public spaces for all; and—for one weekend—worked as a member of the SpamMobile crew, handing out spamburger ‘spam’ples at a county fair!
When not working, Andrew is spending time with his family or exploring the wilds of Maine. He enjoys mountain biking, gardening, alpine skiing, cooking (AKA eating), boating (on an Ellis 20) and fishing, and getting around his community of Bath on an electric cargo bike, daughter strapped to the back! He also tinkers with various odds-and-ends in his basement shop. Academic interests of Andrew’s include the impacts of physical form on social capital, the intersection of public memory and land conservation, and the role of recreation in sustainable community revitalization and development.
Andrew has been with MCHT since 2022.
On land conservation: “Regardless of if you’re looking through a natural, cultural, social, or economic lens, the public benefits are too many and special places are too few, for us not to protect and provide public access for the future. When we conserve land we are expressing the values of our various communities—the values of access to clean air, clean water, historic connection, and future opportunity—by protecting them from the tragedy of the commons.”
On the job: Andrew joined the MCHT team in 2022, as the Southern Maine Regional Steward, where he is the caretaker for a number of Casco Bay islands and two mainland preserves. His responsibilities are varied, including monitoring for and eliminating invasive species, connecting the public with the land through the development and support of public programming and curatorship of experience, building and maintaining trails, and learning as much as he can about the special places he is lucky to advocate for.
