An artist's rendering of the new facility planned for Great Wass Island.

Working Waterfront

Downeast Institute begins expanding facility on Great Wass Island

A $1.8 million gift from the Harold Alfond Foundation tops off the funding needed to complete a $5.8 million expansion of the Downeast Institute for Applied Marine Research and Education. The facility is the marine science field station of the University of Maine at Machias and is located on Great… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The art of serving your community

The first time I visited Ashley Bryan’s home on Little Cranberry Island, also known as Islesford, I knew I’d met an extraordinarily special person. I still feel that way every time Ashley and I meet. When asked to describe it at the time, I said it was like walking into… SEE MORE

Sellam El Ouahabi teaching circus skills.

Working Waterfront

Circus School coming to Vinalhaven, Bar Harbor

A circus arts school recently formed in Biddeford will bring classes to the coast this summer. The Sellam Circus School, founded by Sellam El Ouahabi and Amity Stoddard, will offer its first-ever summer circus arts day camp on Vinalhaven Island in July and in Bar Harbor in August, part of… SEE MORE

Andrea Shane poses with one of her patients at the Antigua Exotic rescue center in Antigua

Working Waterfront

Fox islanders go from high school to the world

Mainers commonly travel during the winter and early spring, and Andrea Shane and Skyler Sanborn, both of Vinalhaven, are no different. But Shane and Sanborn are not snowbirds. The girls, both 2016 graduates of Vinalhaven High School, are spending time in Guatemala as part of a gap year before college.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Nostaglic for one island, learning the life of another

Reflections is a monthly column written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands and in remote coastal communities through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. I’ve been taking lots of walks. Without a vehicle, this is inevitable, but it’s also been a… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine is choice location for Fresh Air Fund

Every summer for the last five years, Amy Goodwin’s son and daughter fight over the same thing: a treasured summer visitor from the Bronx named Simone. “They each wanted to do something different and they each wanted her to do something with them,” said Goodwin, a 38-year-old education technician who… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Washington Academy a Downeast success story

When Washington Academy first opened its doors in 1792, its namesake—yes, the father of our country, George Washington—was still president. The private high school in East Machias that serves students from 27 Washington County towns and a couple of dozen countries marks its 225th anniversary this year. In a region… SEE MORE

Students hold a “blade” of kelp they’ve grown.

Working Waterfront

This teacher treats his students like research assistants

In his classroom at the Edna Drinkwater School in Northport, John Van Dis asks questions before he knows their answers. It’s an unusual approach for a teacher to take, but for a science teacher, it makes sense. Van Dis believes his grade 6 and 7 students should learn the way… SEE MORE

Students sit on the shore during a lesson.

Working Waterfront

Girls embrace science in coastal setting

Who would want to wake up, layer up and sit outside in a circle with other students in the frigid cold air for 30 minutes, in silence, five days a week? What about writing your college essay about the importance of your rubber boots? And, by the way, leave your… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Hooping on the island is a neighborly affair

Reflections is a monthly column written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands and in remote coastal communities through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. There are certain times on Swan’s Island when there are no cars on the road. When a… SEE MORE