In The News

Join KELT for its spring lecture on Wednesday, May 31 at 6:30 p.m. at the Patten Free Library, featuring presentations by Dr. Heather Leslie and Dr. Susie Arnold, sharing local research focused on coastal resilience. This lecture will identify characteristics and new projects that are strengthening our coastal environment and communities, so we can adapt to and overcome changes that threaten our coast. At our annual meeting, KELT shared what it takes to make a landscape resilient, and now we are shifting our focus to the coast.

The Island Institute is receiving $240,000 from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to fund a project about disaster preparedness in Maine related to sea level rise. The Institute says the money will help pay for a project that benefits Maine’s island and coastal communities by addressing threats from natural disasters and environmental change stemming from rising sea levels.

A Maine nonprofit group is receiving $240,000 from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to fund a project about disaster preparedness in the state in the era of sea level rise. The Island Institute says the money will help pay for a project that benefits Maine’s island and coastal communities by addressing threats from natural disasters and environmental change stemming from sea level rise.

The Rockland-based nonprofit Island Institute received a $240,000 grant through the Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to fund a collaborative project that focuses on disaster preparedness in Maine's island and coastal communities and addresses threats faced from environmental change and natural disasters related to sea level rise.

By Heather Goldstone / WCAI We tend to think of spring as planting time, but kelp farmers in the Gulf of Maine are in the midst of their annual harvest right now. Growers and ocean researchers say kelp could be a huge win-win-win – improving the local environment, boosting other fisheries, and all while providing a saleable food source. Ten years ago, there were no kelp farms in the northeast. Now, there are more than a dozen. So, what gives?

Rockland-based Island Institute kicked off its seventh annual Island Energy Conference in South Portland on April 28 by recognizing two groups for their work as energy leaders and champions for Maine's island communities. The Island Energy Innovation Award was presented to the Monhegan Plantation Power District for recent upgrades made to the island's power station which will create cleaner emissions and incorporate renewable energy into the island grid, and the board and staff of the Swan's Island Electric Cooperative received the Island Institute Community Champion Award for their work in securing a pathway for affordable electric power for the people of Swan's Island and Frenchboro.

Frustrated by a lack of high-speed internet access, dozens of Maine municipalities are working to build their own networks to attract business and spur economic development. But a bill under consideration in Augusta would make it difficult for them to do so. The bill, introduced by Rep. Nate Wadsworth, a Hiram Republican, would impose stringent conditions that critics say would make it all but impossible for Maine towns and cities to build their own high-speed networks when cable and telephone companies decline to provide upgraded service.

Caroline Moore is a Bowdoin graduate and now works with Maine’s Island Institute in the Mentoring, Access and Persistence Program, which provides scholarships and support to high-school island students looking towards higher education. She discussed many benefits and details of the program in the Island Institute’s article “A new approach to post-secondary achievement,” so we decided to talk to Moore further. Below, she articulates her experience with Bowdoin Teacher Scholars and how this opportunity connected to her current job as an educator and coordinator.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and energy officials from islands throughout New England will highlight a Portland-area conference this week. The Island Institute, a nonprofit based in Rockland, will host its annual Island Energy Conference on April 27-28. The keynote speaker will be Tetsunari Iida, executive director of the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies. Collins will offer the welcoming address.

The Island Institute and Green Fire Productions will host the Midcoast premiere of “Ocean Frontiers III: Leaders in Ocean Stewardship & the New Blue Economy” Thursday evening, May 4, at 7 p.m. at the Strand Theatre, 345 Main St. Doors will open 6 p.m. for a light reception, followed by the screening at 7 p.m. and a panel discussion featuring regional experts featured in the film at 8 p.m. Admission is free, but seats may be reserved via Eventbrite.