One of our treasured old granite bridges has been weakened and we need to strengthen it quickly.

That ability to know each other makes it possible to talk about what happens when the lights go out, and how to get them back on.

As founder and director of Greenhorns, a young farmers organization whose mission is to recruit, promote and support the incoming generation of sustainable farms and farmers, I’m pleased about this summer's flagship event, Maine Sail Freight.

Since lobsters live among the rocks and muck of the bottom, often feeding on dead organisms, they are on the front lines of water pollution.

Some Downeast school kids growing up in the early and middle 20th century might have traded a lobster sandwich for a baloney one at lunch time.

The plane shot past us, the split-second passed, and then the blast of sound crashed into our ears with incredible power, jarring our very teeth.

The gelatinous critters bothered swimmers, clogged bilge pumps, gummed up lobster traps, and fascinated ocean geeks like myself. In Northern Ireland, jellyfish 35-feet deep washed through a salmon farm, suffocating 100,000 fish...

The comment was poignant, maybe reflecting resignation, maybe reflecting sadness. A native of Lubec, speaking about the changes she's seen since her days working in a sardine packing plant ended years ago, described a community where she no longer knows most everyone.

Editor's note: Reflections is a monthly column written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront, and AmeriCorps.