Category: In the news

The Rockland-based nonprofit Island Institute received a $240,000 grant through the Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to fund a collaborative project that focuses on disaster preparedness in Maine’s island and coastal communities and addresses threats faced from environmental change and natural disasters related to sea level rise.

By Heather Goldstone / WCAI
We tend to think of spring as planting time, but kelp farmers in the Gulf of Maine are in the midst of their annual harvest right now.
Growers and ocean researchers say kelp could be a huge win-win-win – improving the local environment, boosting other fisheries, and all while providing a saleable food source.
Ten years ago, there were no kelp farms in the northeast. Now, there are more than a dozen. So, what gives?

Frustrated by a lack of high-speed internet access, dozens of Maine municipalities are working to build their own networks to attract business and spur economic development. But a bill under consideration in Augusta would make it difficult for them to do so.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Nate Wadsworth, a Hiram Republican, would impose stringent conditions that critics say would make it all but impossible for Maine towns and cities to build their own high-speed networks when cable and telephone companies decline to provide upgraded service.

Caroline Moore is a Bowdoin graduate and now works with Maine’s Island Institute in the Mentoring, Access and Persistence Program, which provides scholarships and support to high-school island students looking towards higher education. She discussed many benefits and details of the program in the Island Institute’s article “A new approach to post-secondary achievement,” so we decided to talk to Moore further. Below, she articulates her experience with Bowdoin Teacher Scholars and how this opportunity connected to her current job as an educator and coordinator.

The Island Institute and Green Fire Productions will host the Midcoast premiere of “Ocean Frontiers III: Leaders in Ocean Stewardship & the New Blue Economy” Thursday evening, May 4, at 7 p.m. at the Strand Theatre, 345 Main St.
Doors will open 6 p.m. for a light reception, followed by the screening at 7 p.m. and a panel discussion featuring regional experts featured in the film at 8 p.m. Admission is free, but seats may be reserved via Eventbrite.

The deeper cuts proposed by the Trump administration would slash funding for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund cleanup activities and eliminate its support for monitoring and cleanup efforts in Casco Bay and for beach water testing across Maine.
When taken in conjunction with previously reported proposals to eliminate federal funding for the University of Maine’s Sea Grant program and the Wells Reserve at Laudholm Farm via the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, critics say the president’s budget proposals are a serious threat to Maine’s coastal economy, which is dependent on maintaining a clean environment.

On Earth Day — Saturday, April 22 — Belfast Bay Watershed Coalition and Rockland’s Island Institute will host a screening of four short films that show how accelerating climate change dramatically changes the ocean’s environment. The free program will begin 6:30 p.m. in the Abbott Room of Belfast Free Library, 106 High St.