Coastal Conversations

Host: Tiegan Paulson

Coastal Conversations: Conversations with people who live, work, and play on the Maine coast, hosted by the University of Maine Sea Grant Program.

Matt McKenzie saw the cod fishery collapse from the window of a school bus. He watched day after day on his way to school as the boats accumulated in the harbor. But that was only the culmination of a story that began over five hundred years earlier; a story of the greatest fishery in the history of the North Atlantic. This month we will take a look at the fish that brought Europeans to New England, the adaptations their ancestors made to keep fishing, and how Maine ultimately lost the cod fishery that had sustained this coast since long before white folks arrived here.

Coastal Conversations is supported by Maine Sea Grant in partnership with Schoodic Institute and The First Coast.

Guest/s:

Matthew McKenzie – History and Maritime Studies Professor at the University of Connecticut

Karen Alexander – Historical Ecology emeritus at the University of New Hampshire

Robin Alden – Former commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources

About the hosts:

Natalie Springuel has hosted Coastal Conversation’s since 2015, with support from the University of Maine Sea Grant where she has served as a marine extension associate for 20 years. In 2019, Springuel received an award for Public Affairs programming from the Maine Association of Broadcasters for the Coastal Conversations show called “Portland’s Working Waterfront.” Springuel is passionate about translating science, sharing stories, and offering a platform for multiple voices to weigh in on complex coastal and ocean issues. She has recently enrolled in audio production training at Maine Media Workshop to dive deeper into making great community radio.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Host: Catherine Devine

Coastal Conversations: Conversations with people who live, work, and play on the Maine coast, hosted by the University of Maine Sea Grant Program.

This episode of Schoodic Institute’s podcast, Sea to Trees, begins with naturalist Laura Sebastianelli, who has dedicated her summers to recording all the bird songs in Acadia National Park. We follow Laura on her chase to record the American Bittern, learn why it’s so important to record Acadia’s birdsongs, and talk to all sorts of ornithological experts along the way.

Coastal Conversations is supported by Maine Sea Grant in partnership with Schoodic Institute and The First Coast.

Guest/s:

Laura Sebastianelli, Naturalist

Brooke Goodman, 2023-2024 Cathy and Jim Gero Acadia Early Career Fellow in Science Research

Bridget Butler, Slow Birding

Seth Benz, Bird Ecology Director at Schoodic Institute

About the hosts:

Natalie Springuel has hosted Coastal Conversation’s since 2015, with support from the University of Maine Sea Grant where she has served as a marine extension associate for 20 years. In 2019, Springuel received an award for Public Affairs programming from the Maine Association of Broadcasters for the Coastal Conversations show called “Portland’s Working Waterfront.” Springuel is passionate about translating science, sharing stories, and offering a platform for multiple voices to weigh in on complex coastal and ocean issues. She has recently enrolled in audio production training at Maine Media Workshop to dive deeper into making great community radio.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Host: Catherine Devine

Coastal Conversations: Conversations with people who live, work, and play on the Maine coast, hosted by the University of Maine Sea Grant Program.

In this episode of Coastal Conversations, we feature a Schoodic Institute Sea to Trees podcast about the birds in Acadia, their songs, and what we can do to keep them around. We begins with naturalist Laura Sebastianelli, who has dedicated her summers to recording all the bird songs in Acadia National Park. We join Laura out in the field and discover how her work extends far beyond the recordings themselves. We meet the self-proclaimed “bird diva” Bridget Butler who teaches us the critical importance of attention in conservation. And, naturally, no birding episode about the Schoodic region is complete without Seth Benz, Bird Ecology Director at Schoodic Institute, who provides insights into the challenges that birds confront due to climate change and shifting habitats. Catherine Schmitt provides a post-script commentary.

Coastal Conversations is supported by Maine Sea Grant in partnership with Schoodic Institute and The First Coast.

Guest/s:

Seth Benz, Bird Ecology Director at Schoodic.

Bridget Butler, Slow Birder.

Laura Sebastianelli, Naturalist.

Catherine Schmitt, Science Communications Specialist, Schoodic Institute.

About the hosts:

Natalie Springuel has hosted Coastal Conversation’s since 2015, with support from the University of Maine Sea Grant where she has served as a marine extension associate for 20 years. In 2019, Springuel received an award for Public Affairs programming from the Maine Association of Broadcasters for the Coastal Conversations show called “Portland’s Working Waterfront.” Springuel is passionate about translating science, sharing stories, and offering a platform for multiple voices to weigh in on complex coastal and ocean issues. She has recently enrolled in audio production training at Maine Media Workshop to dive deeper into making great community radio.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Host: Catherine Devine

Coastal Conversations: Conversations with people who live, work, and play on the Maine coast, hosted by the University of Maine Sea Grant Program.

In this episode of Coastal Conversations, we feature a Schoodic Institute’s Sea to Trees podcast discussing the degradation occurring on Acadia’s summits, and a community-driven effort to bring vegetation back. The effort, called Save Our Summits, mobilized members of Acadia’s community to hike soil up two mountains in Acadia. But, what happens next? How is this soil put to work?

To answer this question we speak to Chris Nadeau, Climate Change Adaptation Scientist at Schoodic Institute and one of the creative minds behind Save Our Summits. We also talk to Save Our Summits volunteers and attendees, and we close with a conversation with Ivan Fernandez, Professor at University of Maine’s Climate Change Institute and School of Forest Resources, who addresses the challenges of preserving specific characteristics of ecosystems and the importance of resilience and adaptation in the face of climate change.

Coastal Conversations is supported by Maine Sea Grant in partnership with Schoodic Institute and The First Coast.

Guest/s:

Chris Nadeau, Climate Change Adaptation Scientist at Schoodic Institute.

Ivan Fernandez, Professor at University of Maine’s Climate Change Institute and School of Forest Resource.

About the hosts:

Natalie Springuel has hosted Coastal Conversation’s since 2015, with support from the University of Maine Sea Grant where she has served as a marine extension associate for 20 years. In 2019, Springuel received an award for Public Affairs programming from the Maine Association of Broadcasters for the Coastal Conversations show called “Portland’s Working Waterfront.” Springuel is passionate about translating science, sharing stories, and offering a platform for multiple voices to weigh in on complex coastal and ocean issues. She has recently enrolled in audio production training at Maine Media Workshop to dive deeper into making great community radio.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Host: Trevor Grandin

Coastal Conversations: Conversations with people who live, work, and play on the Maine coast, hosted by the University of Maine Sea Grant Program.

In this episode of Coastal Conversations, we feature Schoodic Institute’s podcast, Sea to Trees. We’re searching Acadia’s roads for amphibians in the dead of night and trapping small mammals in the park’s woods at the crack of dawn. Learn about two research projects seeking big answers to questions about the park’s smallest creatures. Help a spotted salamander cross the street and weigh a jumping mouse with two ecologists taking the pulse of Acadia National Park.

We search for frogs with and learn from Acadia Science Fellow Marisa Monroe. Hear from author Ben Goldfarb about the dangers that roads pose to amphibians and other animals. We join Dr. Brittany Slabach, Second Century Stewardship Fellow and College of the Atlantic professor, in Schoodic Woods to trap small mammals and learn about her research. And we hear from Bik Wheeler, wildlife biologist in Acadia National Park, about how Marisa and Brittany’s projects could influence management in the park.

Guest/s:
Marisa Monroe, graduate student and Acadia Science Fellow, University of Maine
Ben Goldfarb, author
Brittany Slabach, professor and former Second Century Stewardship Fellow, College of the Atlantic

FMI:
Maine Big Night
mainebignight.org/
Crossings by Ben Goldfarb
www.bengoldfarb.com/crossings
Little Box Project | Instagram
www.instagram.com/littleboxproject
Effect of road traffic on amphibian density by Lenore Fahrig, et al.
escholarship.org/content/qt22t1h3q1/qt22t1h3q1.pdf
Study finds salamanders are surprisingly abundant in northeastern forests
www.usgs.gov/news/national-news-release/study-finds-salamanders-are-surprisingly-abundant-northeastern-forests

About the hosts:

Natalie Springuel has hosted Coastal Conversation’s since 2015, with support from the University of Maine Sea Grant where she has served as a marine extension associate for 20 years. In 2019, Springuel received an award for Public Affairs programming from the Maine Association of Broadcasters for the Coastal Conversations show called “Portland’s Working Waterfront.” Springuel is passionate about translating science, sharing stories, and offering a platform for multiple voices to weigh in on complex coastal and ocean issues. She has recently enrolled in audio production training at Maine Media Workshop to dive deeper into making great community radio.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Host: Trevor Grandin

Coastal Conversations: Conversations with people who live, work, and play on the Maine coast, hosted by the University of Maine Sea Grant Program.

Guest/s:
Peter Howe – PhD Student and Acadia Science Fellow, University of Maine
Christian Halstead – earth resources information director, Maine Geological Survey
Jesse Wheeler – vegetation program manager, Acadia National Park

FMI:
The University of Maine Sewall Company Aerial Photograph Collection
digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/sewell_aerial/

Northern Forest Historical Atlas
ee-historical-atlas.projects.earthengine.app/view/historicalatlasproject

Maine Geological Survey Aerial Photography
www.maine.gov/dacf/mgs/explore/maps/airphotos/

About the hosts:

Natalie Springuel has hosted Coastal Conversation’s since 2015, with support from the University of Maine Sea Grant where she has served as a marine extension associate for 20 years. In 2019, Springuel received an award for Public Affairs programming from the Maine Association of Broadcasters for the Coastal Conversations show called “Portland’s Working Waterfront.” Springuel is passionate about translating science, sharing stories, and offering a platform for multiple voices to weigh in on complex coastal and ocean issues. She has recently enrolled in audio production training at Maine Media Workshop to dive deeper into making great community radio.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Host: Trevor Grandin

Coastal Conversations: Conversations with people who live, work, and play on the Maine coast, hosted by the University of Maine Sea Grant Program.

Guest/s:

Dr. Michael Kaspari
Bik Wheeler
Fiona Young

FMI:
Sea to Trees – Season 3, episode 2 – schoodicinstitute.org/sea-to-trees-season-3-episode-2/

Schoodic Notes – Bird Sounds of Acadia- schoodicnotes.blog/

About the hosts:

Natalie Springuel has hosted Coastal Conversation’s since 2015, with support from the University of Maine Sea Grant where she has served as a marine extension associate for 20 years. In 2019, Springuel received an award for Public Affairs programming from the Maine Association of Broadcasters for the Coastal Conversations show called “Portland’s Working Waterfront.” Springuel is passionate about translating science, sharing stories, and offering a platform for multiple voices to weigh in on complex coastal and ocean issues. She has recently enrolled in audio production training at Maine Media Workshop to dive deeper into making great community radio.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Host: Galen Koch

Coastal Conversations: Conversations with people who live, work, and play on the Maine coast, hosted by the University of Maine Sea Grant Program.

This month:

This program features an episode of Island Institute’s podcast, From the Sea Up. In the town of Cape Elizabeth, in Southern Maine, there’s one last strip of commercial access on the waterfront. This access, situated within Kettle Cove State Park beside neighboring Crescent Beach, is, at high tide, just wide enough to get a boat trailer into the water and launch a skiff to get to the mooring field. In the summertime, this access and the adjacent parking lot are heavily congested. A recent redevelopment plan by the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands has caused a lot of anxiety for commercial fishermen, who fear that the state will redirect recreational boating and public access from a small strip on Crescent Beach to the commercial zone at Kettle Cove State Park.

In this episode we hear from fishermen in the Cape Elizabeth Fishermen’s Alliance, who are self-advocating for their final piece of commercial access in this wealthy Maine town.

Guest/s:
Matthew Sturgis, Cape Elizabeth Town Manager
Dan Harriman, Cape Elizabeth Fisherman
Nate Perry, Cape Elizabeth Fisherman and Sea Farmer

About the hosts:

Natalie Springuel has hosted Coastal Conversation’s since 2015, with support from the University of Maine Sea Grant where she has served as a marine extension associate for 20 years. In 2019, Springuel received an award for Public Affairs programming from the Maine Association of Broadcasters for the Coastal Conversations show called “Portland’s Working Waterfront.” Springuel is passionate about translating science, sharing stories, and offering a platform for multiple voices to weigh in on complex coastal and ocean issues. She has recently enrolled in audio production training at Maine Media Workshop to dive deeper into making great community radio.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download