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Each fall, island schools in the Outer Island Teaching and Learning Collaborative (TLC) gather for unforgettable multi-day field trips that connect students, families, and communities. These trips are a core part of the TLC’s mission, enriching academic and social learning for Maine's smallest island schools and fostering connections that last through winter.

I grew up on Peaks Island and recently moved to Deer Isle to work as an Island Institute Fellow to support Deer Isle & Stonington’s Adult & Community Education. I'm helping people with career transitions and assisting those whose jobs, like lobstermen, require new technological skills for tracking and reporting. As I unpacked boxes in my new apartment, I saw the little trail of memories that have led me to this moment and to become an Island Institute Fellow.

Dylan Metrano, a multi-talented artist and co-founder of La Nef Chocolate, shares how he masterfully blends papercutting, chocolate making, and music into an inspiring and creative concoction.

As the tide surged and the winds howled last January, our coastal communities were unduly reminded of nature’s destructive power. The storms struck the coast - lifting wharves, eroding infrastructure, and bringing the livelihoods of many communities to a halt. In the aftermath, however, these storms have offered valuable lessons about how we can better protect and design our coastal infrastructure and storm response. 

Located at the top of the Schoodic Peninsula, in the pristine waters of Frenchman Bay, Springtide Seaweed sustainably farms seaweed using minimal equipment and labor thanks in part to their internet connectivity and employment of state-of-the-art technology. 

After 20 years as a K-12 island educator, I often experienced the joy of student learning. Now that I mostly work with adults, I find myself missing the outward display of happiness that young students exhibit in a learning setting. While adults certainly experience joy when they learn something new, it is often a more subdued response, especially in formal settings like classrooms and professional development sessions.

Maine is at the forefront of community energy transitions, with Island Institute serving as the Northeast Regional Partner for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project (ETIPP).

Three times each year, the full cohort of 10 Island Institute fellows meet in person for retreats. Our winter retreat this year was held on Vinalhaven where Kaylin Wu is living and working for her fellowship.

January’s storms tested the resilience of Maine’s coastal communities like no other time in recent history. During the weekend after the Jan. 13th storm, Island Institute’s team quickly decided to expand and redirect its Business Resilience grant program toward providing storm response grants to help rebuild critical coastal infrastructure. With these early grants, we wanted to help pick up those who were feeling knocked down and jumpstart the recovery process. In total, Island Institute awarded $250,000 in grants that were funded entirely by our donors and supported 52 grantees in 20 towns from Chebeague to Pembroke.  

This story is the first in a series about the impact of high-speed internet connectivity on Maine’s coast. To learn more about Island Institute’s investments in broadband infrastructure on the…