Working Waterfront

The Maine coast goes electric

Sandy Oliver should be getting paid the big bucks by Tesla’s marketing team. Describing how she snuggles up to her smartphone to gaze lovingly at the app for her Powerwall—Tesla’s in-home backup battery system—Sandy builds a visceral connection for the otherwise esoteric and dull topic of energy resilience. “When the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The finer points of protecting working waterfront

Most Mainers understand and appreciate the need to protect the working waterfront, those access points and infrastructure necessary to make a living on the water. But how, exactly, does it get threatened and how does it disappear? Imagine you’re a clam harvester who has an agreement with a local person… SEE MORE

Bicycles on Chebeague Island's Stone Pier. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Navigating change focuses on relationships

For mainlanders like myself, a 15-minute ferry ride to Chebeague Island is a novel way to start a Thursday morning. The parking fee and the shuttlebus ride? Economic and logistical challenges faced by islanders every day, but a welcome change from my morning routine working from home in Portland. Throw… SEE MORE

Chebeague beach house. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Keeping houses lit through winter

The last time I set foot on Chebeague Island it was June 14, 2003. My enduring memory of the day is watching my brother speed across the bay aboard his best friend’s lobster boat, suited up and on his way to join his soon-to-be wife on the shore, where they… SEE MORE

Island Institute President Anthony Chatwin

Working Waterfront

Building on centuries of tradition

I am an alewife guy. I know that sounds strange, but I am not alone. In fact, there is a community of us out there who have fallen under the spell of those small, silvery, oily fish that are hardy and resilient, and whose fascinating life cycle keeps them coming… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Equity can be workforce solution

“The neighborhood is changing” was the refrain from Lawrence Alexander, an equity educator who spoke at the Island Institute's Workforce Pathways Conference in October. The refrain suggests that if Maine is to thrive, it will be because we embrace change on almost every level, including changing who lives and works… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

It’s time to build leadership skills

Discussions about leadership are everywhere—in books, in the media, in our daily conversations. But what does leadership mean? How do you define an effective leader? At the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront, we recognize that community projects cannot move forward without effective leaders at the helm. As a… SEE MORE

A pier in Jonesport. FILE PHOTO: LESLIE BOWMAN

Working Waterfront

Fellowship supports marine science Downeast

This July, two co-workers and I drove north and east to Great Wass Island. The island is connected by a bridge to Beals Island, off of Jonesport, and is the home of the Downeast Institute. I was excited to meet Hannah Greene, an Island Institute Fellow, and my mentee for the past year. Hannah lives on the island and supports the Downeast Institute’s education programs. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

We’re stronger when we show up for each other

“Are we doing hugs?” she asked as she approached me with her eyes sparkling. It had been nearly four years since we had seen each other in person and now, here we were, on Rockland’s Main Street, trying to figure out how to greet each other in the new normal.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A lesson in patience: Flycasting for striped bass

Ask anyone who knows me well, and they will tell you that I am not known for my patience. It’s become a bit of a recurring joke with my Island Institute teammates—want a quick decision? Call Sue. The downside: I don’t often think things all the way through before launching… SEE MORE