Working Waterfront

In the face of change, towns must plan

As a multi-generational Mainer, I believe what makes this state special is that there has been such little change. I’ve had the opportunity to work with several local historians who share photos of their town and it’s amazing how recognizable places still are. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Our ocean’s troubling plastic problem

As I stood on the Rockland breakwater, trying to pry a piece of Styrofoam from between two boulders, my Island Institute co-workers scoured the beach, picking up trash as part of the Maine Coastal Cleanup Program. With teamwork, we finally freed that stubborn piece of plastic and I felt a… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Remembering Lonnie and the Gawker

A man possessed of a measure of resilience way beyond nearly anything the rest of us will ever have to muster, or need to, died on Sept. 29. Before that unexpected departure, however, Lonnie Morton and his devoted wife Kathy brought together and—for 20 precious and memorable years—sustained community and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Cooking on wood

Last weekend we stacked firewood in the barn, collecting and piling small pieces separately for kindling. Over the 30-plus years I’ve cooked on a wood burning kitchen stove, I’ve gotten mighty fussy about firewood, and can tell just by looking at a stick whether it will fit the kitchen stove… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Fernalds’ fall firewood ritual

The islands are pretty active in October as most of us get ready for winter. This year, summer lingered beyond September and we’re off to a gorgeous beginning of a chore-filled month. The weather is so beautiful that there is no hardship in being outdoors to do the fall jobs.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Cooking on wood

Last weekend we stacked firewood in the barn, collecting and piling small pieces separately for kindling. Over the 30-plus years I’ve cooked on a wood burning kitchen stove, I’ve gotten mighty fussy about firewood, and can tell just by looking at a stick whether it will fit the kitchen stove… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

New trails, new views

I’ve walked through Mullins Head park hundreds, maybe thousands of times in the almost 20 years I’ve lived on North Haven. The entrance is next to my house, the dirt road leads tantalizingly to five beautiful and often empty beaches. The 2.4-mile loop is an easy run, and the unplowed… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The best things in life are…

“The best things in life are free,” the saying goes. It’s true, in my experience— good friends, nice weather, positive experiences, great memories, the beauties of nature. I could go on, but you should draw up your own list of freebies. Boats are an exception, you might think. They can… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Writer’s voice strong in Strout’s latest

It’s an interesting exchange. Olive, so blunt, could have intended her observation as an insult, or, it could have been received as one. SEE MORE

Teachers from Maine island schools gathered at the Island Institute's offices. PHOTO: JACK SULLIVAN

Working Waterfront

It’s time to nurture the teachers

There's never been a more stressful time to be a teacher. I say that as someone who worked in K-12 schools for more than 20 years, first as a teacher and then as a principal. Educators enter the profession out of a passion for teaching and helping kids. But today,… SEE MORE