BAR HARBOR — Sirohi Kumar and Ania Wright of Bar Harbor are among the six winners of the 2020 Brookie Awards, presented by NRCM Rising, a program of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, to honor “young changemakers who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and made a significant impact in Maine’s environmental movement.” The Brookies are named for brook trout, which the NRCM describes as “strong, mighty and captivating to …
MOUNT DESERT — Voters at this year’s Town Meeting – whenever it is held – will be asked if they want to direct the Board of Selectmen to develop a plan for bringing the activities of town government to zero–carbon emissions by Dec. 31, 2030. Achieving that would require a reduction or modification of energy consumption by the Town Hall offices, …
BAR HARBOR — Mount Desert Island High School is among 55 schools nationwide and one of only two in Maine to be named a 2020 Green Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE). The designation recognizes schools for “reducing environmental impact and costs, improving health and wellness and offering effective sustainability education.” The DOE said …
ELLSWORTH — In March, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection denied a request by Black Bear Hydro Partners for a water quality certification (WQC) under the Clean Waters Act. The certification is critical to the company’s pending application for new licenses to maintain and operate the two Union River dams — one at the lower end of Graham Lake and the other forming Leonard Lake — known as …
BAR HARBOR — The Zero Waste Committee of A Climate to Thrive, in cooperation with the Maine Resource Recovery Association, is sponsoring a compost bin sale for Mount Desert Island area residents. “It’s spring and time to plan to make compost for your garden!” a statement from the group said. “Towns on MDI already recycle many disposables, and now …
BAR HARBOR — The return of single-use shopping bags to grocery stores notwithstanding, the current pandemic emergency is not stopping the local movement to combat another global emergency, that of human-caused climate change. There are reports of a drop in air pollution as much of the economy has paused to slow the spread of the coronavirus. But that doesn’t mean the climate movement isn’t important …
UNITY — MOFGA Certification Services (MCS) is currently accepting applications for organic certification for the 2020 growing season. Applications are accepted through June 30 for organic certification of crops and most livestock products. Interested producers can find forms, materials and resources at www.mofgacertification.org. Applications for processors — the category covering many value-added food products — …
BAR HARBOR — Policymakers in Maine and elsewhere who are concerned with the threat of climate change are increasingly adopting goals that require economy-wide net zero carbon emissions within several decades. Bruce Phillips ’78 joins the College of the Atlantic Human Ecology Forum on Thursday, Feb. 20 to explore what these goals mean for the …
BAR HARBOR — The National Park Service (NPS) is recruiting six Acadia Teacher Fellows to spend the summer learning about Acadia National Park’s diverse natural and cultural resources, and ways to protect them. Teachers will be selected to work on Mount Desert Island and at Schoodic Point. Acadia National Park invites full-time, K-12 public classroom school teachers to apply online by Feb. 21. The Acadia Teacher Fellowship …
BAR HARBOR — For a few years now, members of the town’s Marine Resources Committee have felt “like border collies running out of sheep” to protect, says Scott Swann, who chairs the committee. Their job is to protect the town’s clam flats for recreational clammers and the handful of folks who make part of their …
