Working Waterfront

An upside for Maine—virus boosts school enrollments

Early in August, the Island Institute received an inquiry from a Southport Island community member: Are other islands facing unexpected enrollment increases this school year? How are schools responding to take extra care to physically distance when there is limited space for more students? Enrollment increases are often a late-August… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Community Fund grant helps island lighthouse

Fifteen years of restoration work on the historic Burnt Coat Harbor Light Station on Swan’s Island is approaching completion. One of the final steps is being made possible by a grant to the town of Swan’s Island from the Belvedere Historical Preservation Fund (Downeast) of the Maine Community Foundation. The… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The way forward is through

A good friend of mine often says that when faced with difficult situations, “The only way forward is through.” To say that we are faced with difficult situations right now would be the understatement of the century. One of the greatest challenges we face at the moment is a crisis… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The pulsating kaleidoscope of Jill Hoy’s world

If we could see the Maine coast through Jill Hoy’s eyes, it might be like looking through a broken kaleidoscope. You’d still be able to make out the shapes of rock, tree, sea, headland, and boat, but their angular components would become saturated and vibrate with color. In a lively… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Luke’s Lobster, Island Institute join forces

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged Maine’s fishermen and coastal communities in an unprecedented way. Diminished demand for Maine’s seafood has left Maine’s marine economy at risk. The Island Institute and Luke’s Lobster have formed a strategic partnership and leveraged more than $2.5 million in funding and shared financial resources to… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine’s ‘flying hospital’

One August day, a Midcoast resident cut her finger while slicing fruit. Within the next few weeks, the small accident developed into septic shock—high fever, respiratory failure, kidneys shut down. Her survival depended on being treated at Maine Medical Center in Portland. Within minutes of being called, LifeFlight of Maine… SEE MORE

Community

Working Waterfront

On the record with… Heidi Neal of Loyal Biscuit

A career in banking was beginning to lose its luster for Heidi Neal, and so she followed the lead of her dog to find her new calling as the owner of Loyal Biscuit Company, which now has stores in Rockland, Rockport, Belfast, Bath, Hallowell, Waterville, and Brewer. Born and raised… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The sublime joy of sailing, courtesy the Apprenticeshop

When power boats supplanted sailboats, the argument could be made that mariners were free of the reliance on the vagaries of the wind. But does that freedom to travel wherever and whenever outweigh the freedom one feels when gliding across the water in a sailboat? Those at the Apprenticeshop in… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A very long swim, a new view of my island

I was one of those kids who always managed to find her way into the water. At Sea World, I leaned so far into a dogfish petting tank that I got soaked head to toe, resulting in the purchase of a very expensive souvenir sweatshirt. Wading in the shallows of… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The man is gone, but the story remains

I never met Stephen H. Robbins Jr., a legendary offshore lobsterman of Stonington who passed away in July of this year. However, I do know Randy Olson, a marine-biologist-turned-filmmaker, who made one of his first movies about Stevie and his family, nearly 30 years ago. I watched this film again… SEE MORE