Kelp harvest underway. PHOTO: JACK SULLIVAN

Working Waterfront

Aquaculture: A bigger picture

Aquaculture is the fastest growing food production sector in the world. The United Nation’s sustainable development goals identify aquaculture as playing a key role in development that safeguards “food security, livelihoods, human dignity, and natural resources.” As we find ourselves needing to produce more food to support a growing population,… SEE MORE

The opening session of the 2023 Artists & Makers Conference.

Working Waterfront

When artists gather, sparks fly

The staff at the Island Institute’s Archipelago store and gallery again presented its Artists & Makers Conference this year after a pandemic pause, celebrating the theme “Together Again!” More than 100 attended to take in eight sessions, live music, Pecha Kucha-style storytelling presentations, and more. The vibe at the conference… SEE MORE

An aerial view of North Haven, looking west. PHOTO: WILLIAM TREVASKIS

Working Waterfront

The spider web that is town government

Reflections is written by Island Institute Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands and in coastal communities through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. In a town the size of North Haven, all projects, tasks, functions, and dilemmas are interconnected. A select board… SEE MORE

The 2022 Island Institute Island Fellows.

Working Waterfront

Island Institute Fellows have front-row seats

Over the 24 years of Island Institute’s Fellows program, we have learned a lot about what it means to be a part of a community. Island Institute Fellows navigate a complex space where work and life often blend together because their job requires building deep relationships in their community. They… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The ‘solastalgia’ of pandemic life

Pete and Alice in Maine By Caitline Shetterly, HarperCollins (2023) REVIEW BY CARL LITTLE The pandemic interrupted the lives of many families, including the foursome that take center stage in Caitlin Shetterly’s first novel, Pete and Alice in Maine. The title’s couple and their daughters, Sophie, 11, and Iris, 5,… SEE MORE

Arlene Cole points to the platforms she uses to measure snowfall.

Working Waterfront

How’s the weather? Arlene Cole will tell you

[caption id="attachment_36880" align="alignnone" width="600"] Arlene Cole has been recording data for the National Weather Service for 58 years.[/caption] Ask Arlene Cole what the weather was on May 13, 1965, and she’ll tell you the high was 62, the low was 43, and 0.19 inches of intermittent rain fell at her… SEE MORE

Maine Seacoast Mission’s Sunbeam docked in Northeast Harbor with the Planet Pan steel drum band.

Working Waterfront

Sunbeam heads south

[caption id="attachment_36825" align="alignright" width="600"] Maine Seacoast Mission’s Sunbeam anchored in Cape Split Harbor.[/caption] At the end of July, Maine Seacoast Mission’s flagship vessel, the 74-foot Sunbeam, will host two open houses in the Falmouth-Portland and Boothbay Harbor regions. Both events are open to the public. Visitors can tour the boat… SEE MORE

Umpire Pete Rand poses on the Maine coast. PHOTO: SOPHIE PAYSON-RAND

Working Waterfront

The summer game, as played offshore

When my son was 8, he asked me to stop coaching him in baseball. I didn’t ask him why. Instead, I swallowed my pride and simply informed the head coach of his minor league team that I could no longer help out. The coach took it well. In fact, in… SEE MORE

A rendering of the apartment building planned for Peaks Island.

Working Waterfront

Portland to sell building to island group

An affordable housing advocacy group has unveiled renderings of a building with three apartments that it plans to have constructed and occupied by next June on Peaks Island. Home Start, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding the pool of affordable housing on Peaks, has entered into a purchase-and-sales agreement with the… SEE MORE

From left, Allison, Ben, and Beverly Edwards, who own and operate Schoppee Farm.

Working Waterfront

Machias is on the move

[caption id="attachment_36197" align="alignright" width="560"] Bill Kitchen, Machias town manager.[/caption] If you ask Bill Kitchen what’s going well in Machias, you’ll need to sit back because you’ll be listening for a while. Kitchen is a passionate booster for the shire town of Washington County. In fact, five years ago, during his… SEE MORE