With development encroaching, state law passed to protect working waterfront

Posted May 23, 2023 by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.

Article by Laurie Schreiber, published in Mainebiz on May 15, 2023. Anew law is expected to greatly expand opportunities for protecting Maine’s remaining working waterfronts. “This new law will allow Maine’s coastal land trusts the opportunity to conserve these properties, and land trusts have the resources and skills to help us accomplish this important goal,” said… Read more »

VIDEO: A look inside Maine’s growing kelp industry

Posted May 23, 2023 by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.

Article by Alyssa Thurlow, published by WABI5 on May 18, 2023. Did you know Maine is currently the largest producer of kelp in the United States? There are farms located across our entire coastline, including a few off Sprucehead Island. Kelp has quickly become Maine’s new cash crop. Island Institute is partnering with Atlantic Sea Farms and… Read more »

Electric boats are coming. Will Maine have mechanics to service them?

Posted May 23, 2023 by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.

Article by Sarah Shemkus, published in Energy News Network on February 13, 2023. Electric boats will soon be docking along Maine’s rocky coast. A new training program aims to help boat mechanics prepare to service them, with the goal of speeding up the adoption of these cleaner-running vessels… Read full article here.

Island Institute president Kim Hamilton: ‘We’re built for the challenges the coast is facing in this particular moment’

Posted May 5, 2023 by Renny Sabina & filed under In the news.

On April 1, Kimberly Hamilton became the new president of the Island Institute, a 40-year-old nonprofit organization in Rockland that works to sustain Maine’s island and coastal communities and operates on an annual budget of $8 million…

Island Institute’s new president brings longtime leadership experience

Posted April 12, 2023 by Renny Sabina & filed under In the news.

The Island Institute, a Rockland nonprofit that works to sustain Maine’s island and coastal communities, said Monday that Kimberly Hamilton was appointed to serve as its new president, effective April 1…

Area Towns Selected for Climate Program

Posted December 1, 2022 by Renny Sabina & filed under In the news.

GOULDSBORO — The Island Institute will be working with Gouldsboro, Swan’s Island and Cranberry Isles to oversee implementation of the state’s Community Resilience Partnership (CRP). The CRP, a program of the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, is designed for communities who are considering energy transitions and wish to become more resilient to… Read more »

Maine Voices: Making Maine’s high-speed internet dreams come true

Posted March 8, 2022 by Renny Sabina & filed under In the news.

Maine communities have a long history of self-determination. Access to high-speed internet is no different. As local broadband committees, statewide partners and private-sector providers all look to close the digital divide, communities play a central role. An engaged community can fundamentally alter the economics of a broadband project.

Bill Nemitz: Not happy with your internet? Now’s the time to do something about it

Posted October 24, 2021 by Renny Sabina & filed under In the news.

Looking for a little good news? Here’s some: Thanks to federal and state funding, Maine currently has $150 million to bring high-speed internet to places that don’t have it and improve service to those that do. How do you get a piece of that action? Here’s a hint: You snooze, you lose. “The communities that… Read more »

More people have moved to Maine’s remote islands in the last decade

Posted August 20, 2021 by Renny Sabina & filed under In the news.

The population of Maine’s offshore islands, which incurred steady declines in the decades after World War II and still face myriad challenges in sustaining their year-round communities, jumped by nearly 8 percent between 2010 and 2020. There are roughly a dozen offshore islands in Maine, reachable only by plane or boat, that have towns with… Read more »

Archipelago celebrates summer in Maine with ‘Currents and Channels exhibit

Posted August 2, 2021 by Renny Sabina & filed under In the news.

ROCKLAND – Join Archipelago, the Island Institute’s store and gallery, for its summer gallery show, “Currents and Channels: Four Coastal Maine Artists,” on display through Sept. 25. “Currents and Channels” looks at the Maine coast through the art of four local artists — each with unique perspectives, both geographically and conceptually, of the landscape and… Read more »