I wasn’t there for more than two days when I realized that I had picked up conversations with islanders on Mota Lava in almost the same places I had left them with islanders in Maine. I hadn’t left work behind, I’d just added palm trees.
Category: Blog
Artists and Makers get a business boost
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under Blog.
The Archipelago Artists and Makers Conference was reimagined this year to grow beyond an invitation-only event, and it expanded well beyond our expectations to include over 130 artiststhat attended from all four corners of the state – Kennebunk to Houlton and Bethel to Machiasport. Maine has always been an inspiration for artists: jewelers, painters, candle makers, fiber artists and sculptors abound.
Islands, Great and Small, Find Common Energy Solutions
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under Blog.
Monhegan Island, Isle au Haut, and Matinicus Island face critical junctures in their energy future.Monhegan and Matinicus have the highest electricity rates in New England, and Isle au Haut is reliant on a 33-year-old, two-inch-thick cable as its sole connection to the mainland for power. t the end of March, representatives from power companies on all three islands visited Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, MA to share experiences and strategies from their work creating sustainable energy systems as part of the Island Institute’s third annual Southern New England Exchange Trip.
Commercial Currents: Considering legal structures for your business
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under Blog.
In this blog post, the Island Institute’s Economic Development staff share the benefits and risks of small business structures: sole proprietorship, LCC, cooperative, and S Corp. To easily find future posts in this blog series for island and coastal small businesses, go to the blog home page and select “economic development” from the drop down menu to filter blog posts by this topic, or go to islandinstitute.org/blog/economic.
Once a TLCer, always a TLCer
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under Blog.
The Outer Islands Teaching and Learning Collaborative has reached a milestone: the first class of students involved in the TLC are about to graduate high school. In March, they got to see each other for the first time in years.
Questioning our changing oceans
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under Blog.
At the Maine Fishermen’s Forum last week, three fishermen, Gerry Cushman, Kristan Porter, and Steve Train, held a 3 hour session on how fishermen from outside of New England are experincing a changing ocean and what we can expect to happen here in Maine. They hosted a conversation between fishermen, sceintists, and audience members on the panel entitled “Questioning Our Changing Oceans.” About 350 people attended the three-hour long session that was sponsored by the Island Institute, Environmental Defense Fund, The Nature Conservancy and Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association.
Five reasons why it’s great to be an Island Fellow
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under Blog.
The Island Fellows Program is one of the signature programs of the Island Institute. Since 1999, the Island Fellows Program has placed college and master’s degree graduates in Maine’s coastal and year-round island communities for one to two years. Fellowships provide a unique opportunity for recent graduates to apply their skills and experience to help build sustainability within communities whose way of life and identity face many challenges.
Maine educators learn from Connecticut’s aquaculture high schools
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under Blog.
To gain insight and inspiration that Maine might use to develop its aquaculture curriculum and facilities, a group of six Maine educators took a road trip to Connecticut in January to visit three aquaculture high schools.
Learning aquaculture firsthand in Casco Bay
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under Blog.
It’s “Industry Day” for our aquaculture business development group, and the plan is simple: bring together a group of twenty prospective aquaculturists from up and down the coast for a single day to tour as many aquaculture farms and meet as many industry members as possible.
Communities matter in offshore wind development
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under Blog.
Like moths to a flame, the press was all over the start of construction on the Block Island Wind Farm last July. After a decade-plus of starts and lawsuit-induced stops, America’s first offshore wind project was finally being built. The stories covered the prerequisite details: size of the project, cost, technology being used, and of course the politics behind it. Absent from most discussions, however, were voices from the project’s host community, Block Island.
