Story published in Ellsworth American on November 10, 2023. Island Institute, a Rockland-based community development organization focused on island and coastal communities, has been awarded a $201,000 Rural Community Development Initiative grant by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to support the Island Institute Fellows program. The award was announced at the Brooklin Town Office… Read more »
Category: In the news
A behind-the-scenes look at Maine’s growing scallop farming industry
Posted by Jack Sullivan & filed under In the news.
Story by Alyssa Thurlow, published in WABI on August 18, 2023. Maine’s wild scallop harvest is still a few months away, but a group of fishermen in Penobscot Bay can fish scallops year-round thanks to Maine’s growing aquaculture industry. “This just puts another tool in the toolbox to allow them to adapt. We’re not looking… Read more »
A Maine boatyard has an electric boat it says could energize the working waterfront
Posted by Jack Sullivan & filed under In the news.
Article by Peter Van Allen, published in Mainebiz on July 28, 2023. An Islesboro boatyard has unveiled a fully electric boat that it says could have implications for Maine’s working waterfront. Pendleton Yacht Yard teamed up with the Rockland-based Island Institute to show the features of the e-boat, appropriately named Take Charge. The owner of… Read more »
With development encroaching, state law passed to protect working waterfront
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.
Article by Laurie Schreiber, published in Mainebiz on May 15, 2023. Anew law is expected to greatly expand opportunities for protecting Maine’s remaining working waterfronts. “This new law will allow Maine’s coastal land trusts the opportunity to conserve these properties, and land trusts have the resources and skills to help us accomplish this important goal,” said… Read more »
VIDEO: A look inside Maine’s growing kelp industry
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.
Article by Alyssa Thurlow, published by WABI5 on May 18, 2023. Did you know Maine is currently the largest producer of kelp in the United States? There are farms located across our entire coastline, including a few off Sprucehead Island. Kelp has quickly become Maine’s new cash crop. Island Institute is partnering with Atlantic Sea Farms and… Read more »
Electric boats are coming. Will Maine have mechanics to service them?
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.
Article by Sarah Shemkus, published in Energy News Network on February 13, 2023. Electric boats will soon be docking along Maine’s rocky coast. A new training program aims to help boat mechanics prepare to service them, with the goal of speeding up the adoption of these cleaner-running vessels… Read full article here.
Island Institute president Kim Hamilton: ‘We’re built for the challenges the coast is facing in this particular moment’
Posted by Renny Sabina & filed under In the news.
On April 1, Kimberly Hamilton became the new president of the Island Institute, a 40-year-old nonprofit organization in Rockland that works to sustain Maine’s island and coastal communities and operates on an annual budget of $8 million…
Island Institute’s new president brings longtime leadership experience
Posted by Renny Sabina & filed under In the news.
The Island Institute, a Rockland nonprofit that works to sustain Maine’s island and coastal communities, said Monday that Kimberly Hamilton was appointed to serve as its new president, effective April 1…
Area Towns Selected for Climate Program
Posted by Renny Sabina & filed under In the news.
GOULDSBORO — The Island Institute will be working with Gouldsboro, Swan’s Island and Cranberry Isles to oversee implementation of the state’s Community Resilience Partnership (CRP). The CRP, a program of the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, is designed for communities who are considering energy transitions and wish to become more resilient to… Read more »
Maine Voices: Making Maine’s high-speed internet dreams come true
Posted by Renny Sabina & filed under In the news.
Maine communities have a long history of self-determination. Access to high-speed internet is no different. As local broadband committees, statewide partners and private-sector providers all look to close the digital divide, communities play a central role. An engaged community can fundamentally alter the economics of a broadband project.
