Participants at a Build Maine conference work at creating a hypothetical housing development following a zoning ordinance. PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

On the record with… GrowSmart Maine’s Nancy Smith

When Nancy Smith first came to Maine in 1981, she was thinking, professionally, about the growth of trees and forests. Today, her work focuses on ensuring that Maine communities retain their character and function. Or, in other words, that they grow smart. Smith grew up in Connecticut and went to… SEE MORE

A fishing boat hauls traps with Stonington in the background. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

A curated coast—stories preserved and amplified

If you visit 44 North Coffee’s Stonington location through mid-October, you’ll notice something different about the beloved cafe. This year, 44 North is hosting an exhibit of photographs, audio stories, and a soundwalk by The First Coast, a collective of storytellers and documentarians that I helped curate. Founded in 2016… SEE MORE

Gabe Pendleton of Pendleton Yacht Yard takes an Island Institute's Alex Kravitz for a spin around Rockland Harbor in a boat powered by a 40-horsepower electric outboard. PHOTO: JACK SULLIVAN

Working Waterfront

Electric outboards show their stuff

In an effort to “electrify the working waterfront” in Maine, staff from Island Institute (publisher of The Working Waterfront) along with Gabe Pendleton, owner of Pendleton Yacht Yard on Islesboro, put new electric outboards through their paces on Rockland Harbor on July 27. Pendleton Yacht Yard’s new fully electric boat,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

My happy Maine anniversary

As I write this in early August, it’s a couple of days away from the 40th anniversary of our moving to Maine. I’m not expecting the governor to make the day a state holiday or that friends and neighbors fete us with food and drink, but I believe this 40-year… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A history worth celebrating

When I joined Island Institute as president a little over three months ago, we were preparing for our 40th birthday as an organization serving Maine’s islands and coastal communities. We were founded in 1983—the year the English rock band, The Police, topped Billboard’s year-end “hot singles” with “Every Breath You… SEE MORE

Passamaquoddy Tribe members gather at a ceremony. FILE PHOTO: LESLIE BOWMAN

Working Waterfront

Let’s return to a native view of resources

The Wabanaki nations have an excellent history of sustainable resource management. Before colonizers dominated the resources of this area in the 1600s, the Wabanakis had lived here for 12,000 years, self-regulating their consumption and relationships to the land and one another. In a fraction of that time, the society that… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The weather and dinner next year

A friend observed this week, midst soggy, foggy, drizzle, and downpours, that, “I’m glad I don’t have to depend on the garden for food this year.” People have planted beans twice, perhaps at last seeing some showing above ground. Radishes and greens, which sprouted to flea beetles’ delight, were left… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Smell-o-vision in an island meadow

During my first spring on North Haven, I often had occasion to walk to work. I lived on the island’s North Shore, much closer to the school than I live now, and walking was a more attractive method of transportation than driving the dilapidated Saab I had managed to buy… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Conflict and chiffon at an island restaurant

I opened a restaurant a while back right across the street from my Tidewater Motel. It was quite an experience; I had the most fun I’d ever had during the three summer months we were open and lost more money than I’d ever managed as well. Crow being my nickname,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Sharing a summer house

In September I will have lived on Islesford, as a year round resident, for 47 years, but I have spent part of the summer here for every year of my life. My connection to Little Cranberry Island goes back to two sets of great-grandparents who happened to build summer homes… SEE MORE