Briefs

KENNEBUNKPORT

Trust announces officers, new board members

The Kennebunkport Conservation Trust announced its 2023 officers and two new board members: Tim Fraser and Tom Putnum.

Officers for 2023 are: Russ Grady, president; Dr. Pam Morgan, vice president; Dr. Christ Angelos, treasurer; Dr. Jerry Mullin, secretary; and Jenne James, at-large member. Fraser and Putnum will join incumbent KCT board members: Juliet Altham, Arnie Amoroso, Charles Buckley, Bud Danis, Karen Dombrowski, Joan Hull and Jenne James.

Fraser is a University of New Hampshire business graduate and the co-founder and manager of a successful business-based staffing group in Boston for over 25 years. He has long family ties to Maine and moved to Cape Porpoise with his wife Lee-Anne a few years ago.

Putnam grew up in Kennebunk and attended Kennebunk public schools. He recently retired from his career as an educator and director of history museums. He now lives in Cape Porpoise with his wife, Phyllis Wentworth, a Kennebunkport native.

For more information on the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust, go to https://www.kporttrust.org.

PORTLAND

Totman named interim Portland Trails director

Dana Totman, the former CEO of Avesta Housing, has accepted the role of interim executive director at Portland Trails.

Prior to joining Avesta, Totman served as the deputy director of the Maine State Housing Authority. He is an avid hiker and solo hiked the entire Appalachian Trail.

The Board of Trustees has begun a search process for the new executive director. A job posting will be available shortly.

For more details, go to at trails.org.

PORTLAND/STANDISH

Habitat seeks future homeowners for Standish

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Portland is accepting applications for homeownership in Standish.

Executive director Tara Hill said the organization will be building 12 new homes in an existing subdivision off Nature’s Way in Steep Falls over the next couple of years.

Those interested in owning a home through Habitat should download the application on their website at habitatportlandme.org/apply or stop by to the office or ReStore in Portland to pick up a paper copy. Though the application is thorough, there are several opportunities to meet with Habitat staff who can answer questions and help those interested to complete the application. The full homeowner selection process is expected to last two to three months.

Future Habitat homeowners will be selected based on: their ability to pay a mortgage that does not exceed 30 percent of their gross monthly income; their need for affordable housing, which could mean they are currently living in a situation that is unaffordable based on their income, overcrowded, or in disrepair; their willingness to partner with Habitat by completing 275 hours of “sweat equity” building their home, taking homeownership classes, and volunteering in the community.

Construction of the first two of 12 homes on Nature’s Way is expected to begin this summer. All homes are designated for households earning less than 65 percent of the Greater Portland Metro Annual Median Income as determined by HUD. Funding for this project is being provided in part by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) that was allocated by Cumberland County, thanks to their prioritization of affordable housing.

To learn more about the homeownership process or to download an application, visit habitportlandme.org/homeownership. All applications are due by the noon on April 5. These applications are only for homes in Standish.

SCARBOROUGH

Church welcomes interim pastor

First Congregational Church of Scarborough recently welcomed the Rev. Linda C. Hey as interim pastor at 161 Black Point Rd.

Hey is an ordained minister with standing in the New Hampshire Conference of the United Church of Christ. She holds a master of divinity from Andover Newton Theological School and has served churches in the New Hampshire and Massachusetts Conferences of the United Church of Christ.

Hey can be reached at 883-2342, or stop by the church.

AUGUSTA

Amanda Wilcox named Maine School Counselor of the Year

The Maine School Counselor Association (MESCA) has named Amanda L. Wilcox, a counselor at Hall-Dale Elementary School at RSU 2 at Hallowell, as the 2023 Maine School Counselor of the Year. The award is part of a national program that honors school counselors who run top-notch, comprehensive school counseling program at either the elementary, middle, or high school level.

Wilcox advocates for the profession through her work using a comprehensive and data-driven model, noting, “Our program diligently examines a variety of school data to identify and close gaps in the areas of attainment, achievement, and opportunity.”

Wilcox collaborates with students, parents/guardians, and staff about the accessibility of the counseling program and sets specific goals to achieve measured improvement. She also has witnessed a growing need to address the heightened level of stress, and burnout educators are experiencing. Wilcox also has advocated and sought out funding to support educators through clinical supervision to “reflect on shared difficulties, engage in problem-solving, and identify their own needs for resources or self-care.”

Wilcox holds a bachelor’s degree from Clemson University and a master’s in counseling from the University of Southern Maine. She has worked at Hall-Dale Elementary School since 2015.

Jacyln Chaplin, the school counselor at Alfred Elementary School in RSU 57, is Maine’s current School Counselor of the Year; she was recently honored in Washington, D.C.

ROCKPORT

Paid internship for teens at Erickson Fields Farm

Maine Coast Heritage Trust, a statewide land conservation organization, is offering teens ages 14-18 paid internships through the Teen Ag Crew program at Erickson Fields Preserve at, 164 West St.

Interns will gain hands-on experience in sustainable agricultural practices and learn about the local food system. The produce they raise will supply food pantries, public schools, and restaurants.

The internship will be part-time and offered during three sessions: spring, April 25-June 15; summer June 21-Aug.25; and fall Sept. 5-Oct. 26. The stipends for the fall and spring sessions are $400 and the stipend for the summer session is $2,000.

No previous farming experience is required, just a desire to be outdoors, work hard in a team and learn new skills. Last year, the Teen Ag Crew distributed 19,514 lbs. of produce from their 4-acre garden.

The application deadline is March 6. To apply, go to aldermere.org/teen-ag-crew or call 236-2739 to request a paper application.

PORTLAND & ELLSWORTH

$1.5M in grants support nature-based solutions for climate change

Projects across Maine that respond to climate change impacts on nearshore and marine ecosystems have been awarded nearly $1.5 million in grants through the Maine Community Foundation (MaineCF). The funding is a collaboration between MaineCF’s Broad Reach Fund and Builders Initiative, a national foundation.

An advisory committee comprising scientists, Maine Department of Marine Resources staff and other stakeholders reviewed the proposals and made funding recommendations.

Grants and awardees included:

• $172,371 to Bates College to expand capacity for salt marsh restoration and carbon sequestration in Maine;

• $149,823 to Downeast Institute to increase capacity of lab and field research to investigate and mitigate increasing ocean acidification and warming impacts on commercially important Gulf of Maine shellfish and their habitat;

• $195,216 to Ducks Unlimited to conserve and protect a salt marsh with sediment placement:

• $200,000 to Friends of Casco Bay to address and overcome technological and quality assurance barriers to ocean acidification data collection;

• $199,788 to Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries for an infrastructure and ecosystem plan for the Deer Isle Causeway;

• $110,300 to Maine Coast Heritage Trust to build regional capacity to advance salt marsh restoration projects and blue carbon research;

• $142,000 to Manomet to understand sea level rise and coastal flooding impacts on mudflat habitat, shellfish resources and harvester livelihoods;

• $178,000 to the Schoodic Institute to build a spectral library, for drone survey tools and capacity to characterize, map and track Maine’s coastal vegetated habitats;

• $28,611 to the Town of Kennebunkport for dune restoration through replanting of native dune grass and providing education, outreach and engagement activities related to the restoration efforts;

• $199,494 went to the Wells National Estuarine Reserve to create a web-based decision support tool that shows locations along the southern Maine coastline where nature-based solutions can address coastal hazards.

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