Working Waterfront

Casco Bay temperature data details warming

Mike Doan, research associate with the Friends of Casco Bay, is often asked, “What were the highest and the lowest water temperatures this year?” Thanks to the organization’s continuous monitoring station, Doan is able to share those with confidence. He can describe water conditions in the bay on an hourly,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Potential energy in my yard, and in island life

By Courtney Naliboff Last month, my daughter and I planted tulips, the first fall bulbs I’ve put in since my wedding seven years ago. Back then, a friend and I pre-dug holes in the border of our woods, and my young female friends and relatives planted a variety of daffodils… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The Outer Bell

By Phil Crossman (The perspective is that of a Maine State Ferry on a day in 1973 when I was reminded of its involvement in our island lives.) A cocky young man from away who one of our girls has brought home strikes a jaunty pose on the bow and,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Challenging the enduring weight of ‘local’

By Tom Groening For journalists, elections are something like Christmas morning. Actually, as the polls close and the counting starts on Election Day evening, it feels like Christmas Eve. Then the final tally is like opening the presents under the tree the next morning. Even those of us with some… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Rebuilding the bond between people and nature

By Stephanie Bouchard When Richard Louv published his book, Last Child in the Woods, in 2005, he argued that it is fundamental to human well-being for people to spend time in nature. His argument launched an international movement. His new book, Our Wild Calling, takes that argument a step further… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Island autumn has dazzling, magical quality

By Barbara Fernald The islands are so beautiful in the late fall. Most of the red is gone, but the last leaves on the birch trees are golden and the angle of the early afternoon sun causes them to glow before they blow away in the next storm. Migrating water… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Thankful for the garden that supplies the holiday meal

By Sandy Oliver Thanksgiving still is the holiday when people gather with family and friends to celebrate, even if it means miles and miles of travel, over the river and through the woods. With a curtailed ferry schedule, getting together on the mainland with family, or having family coming to… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Cliff Island’s quiet stalwart

Editor's note: This story first appeared in the 2019 edition of Island Journal. By Tom Groening//Photos by Lorinda Valls Cheryl Crowley offers a vivid metaphor for the challenges and rewards of working to support a small island community. “It’s like painting a house,” she says. “I hate all the scraping.… SEE MORE

Emily Lane of Vinalhaven is the new chairwoman of the Island Institute's board of trustees.

Working Waterfront

Emily Lane to lead Island Institute board

By Tom Groening Emily Lane is an unassuming groundbreaker. But groundbreaker she is. For years, Lane did seafood marketing on Vinalhaven, work she didn’t plan to make a career of, but living on an island, there it was. And in doing so, she earned respect in that male-dominated sector. Now, on being… SEE MORE

A view of the village area on Michigan's Mackinac Island.

Working Waterfront

Great Lakes islanders find common concerns

By Tom Groening Representatives from island communities across the Great Lakes gathered on Mackinac Island in Michigan in late October for an annual summit at which common challenges were explored. The Great Lakes Islands Alliance formed three years ago, with assistance from the Island Institute, publisher of The… SEE MORE