Working Waterfront

Island Institute deploys Island Fellows Downeast

Over the past 20 years, the Island Institute’s Island Fellows program has invested in island and coastal communities from Casco Bay to Eastport. Though the program is well known on the 15 year-round island communities, expanding the organization’s impact into other regions is an important part of creating a thriving… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine, the drought, and yes, wildfires

As the ash from California sequoias and Oregon redwoods created a haze on what should have been a sunny day, I began to wonder, could our forest burn? What is the risk to my and to my neighbors’ houses and to the deer, turkeys, and barred owls that live in… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Moving through these mood-inspiring times

It’s Oct. 4 and we are about seven months (feels like 20) into this COVID pandemic. I don’t have much to write because there is not a whole heck of a lot going on. “What did you do today?” “Not much, you?” “I don’t really remember.” My moods are like… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Cohabitating with the chickadees

I’m not an ornithologist but I do enjoy providing for and being entertained by birds, and I can count on that happening day after day as, ever accommodating, we monitor feeders on all sides from each kitchen window, nearly always mindful of our responsibilities. On those rare occasions when I… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A new way to be alive, and live

A few months ago, my column focused on doing things differently, and having them still be good. Take out instead of dine in. Picnics instead of cocktail parties. Online events instead of in-person. I got some good mileage out of that attitude, but by the end of August, I was… SEE MORE

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