Popham Beach

Working Waterfront

Beaches conference: Future, past collide

More than 400 years after the Plymouth colony was established, historians are still unraveling what the New England coast looked like, before and after. One fresh understanding of that history, which came from examining the colonial impact on New Hampshire’s Great Bay, shed light on the region’s ecosystems today. The presentation was one of several… Read more » SEE MORE

Sam Vail

Sam is responsible for research, writing, editing, submission, and reporting of the Institute’s grant requests to private, corporate, and public foundations. As part of the Philanthropy Team, Sam works closely with program staff who facilitate the Island Institute’s major initiatives to help fund their work in the community. With his career spent running development departments… Read more » SEE MORE
Ferry crosses Rockland harbor.

News

A lifeline for island communities

10/25/2021 - Whether you live on an island in one of the Great Lakes or off of the coast of Maine, the commute to and from your community is over water. However, ferry, water taxi, and air services provide more than just transportation to and from island communities. They act as emergency medical transportation, provide school and extracurricular transportation, and deliver mail and other essential freight such as groceries and prescriptions. SEE MORE

News

Building a lifelong connection to service and Maine

4/16/2021 - At the Island Institute, we have seen firsthand the tremendous impact Island Fellows have when partnered with an island or coastal community. The Maine Fellows Service is an exciting opportunity to connect the next generation of Mainers who are eager to serve to the places they’re needed most. SEE MORE

Solution Example

Work with an incumbent provider

Rural communities in Maine often have very small populations and sometimes have a hard time getting attention from incumbent service providers. The communities of Frenchboro, Matinicus, Isle Au Haut, and Swan’s Island came together as a group with the Island Institute to coordinate shared goals and meet with their incumbent service provider, TDS Telecom. With… Read more » SEE MORE

Solution Example

Outer Islands Teaching & Learning Collaborative

Isolated schools are vital, innovative, collaborative centers of teaching and learning that prepare students to thrive in the 21st century. The Outer Islands Teaching & Learning Collaborative, or TLC, is a 12-year-old, teacher-created and teacher-led group that provides a virtual community for the smallest island schools where students and teachers can access a rich and… Read more » SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Strained relations with the ferry service

On a late spring morning in 1920, the steamboat Governor Bodwell was docked at Tillson’s Wharf in Rockland and preparing to depart for Vinalhaven. Shoveling coal below decks was my grandfather, Edwin Maddox. His eleventh great grandparents, William and Mary Brewster, had arrived on the Mayflower 300 years earlier. Unbeknownst to him, he was close to meeting the… Read more » SEE MORE