Thank You Maine!

Stepping off the bus in Bar Harbor, Maine, we all found a haven and a welcome change from the frenetic pace of DC, Philly, NYC, and Boston all in the previous 5 days.

Why would anyone come to College of the Atlantic and Bar Harbor, Maine?

Take a good look around, and you’ll know why – proximity to Acadia National Park and its trails and beaches. (Of course, some 300 come for the school program – all students major in Human Ecology, but with different emphases. Talk about a school focused on the environment!)



We were treated to sea kayaking our first morning there. It was my first time in a kayak and my first time touching the Atlantic Ocean, as far as I can remember. Jenny and I paddled our boat alongside a number of our busmates, and College of the Atlantic (CoA) Udall fac rep Ken Cline, Udall alumni John Deans (’06) and Henry Steinberg (’04, ’05) led us around two of the closest islands. We saw clouds of jellyfish, caught up with alumni we knew from Orientations past, played a bit of bumper kayak, and fought the assailing winds, high tide, and growing swells back to shore.

In the afternoon, some folks went on a hike up Beehive, and others took the time to relax (O so welcome!) and catch up, taking in what Maine has to offer.

In the evening, some of us got the opportunity to cook, using as many ingredients we could find that were local and organic. A highlight, other than the respite for our wallets, was LOBSTER!

Maine lobster, folks. It’s listed on the ‘good alternatives’ of the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch list. We got a spirited lesson on how to eat lobster by New England local Jasmine, who also helped with the Parks in Focus event the next day. It was a grand ol’ exoskeleton cracking, lobster juice spurting, and leg gnawing time. Those were some delicious lobsters! My favorite piece was the claw.

I took the time to talk to John Deans about sustainability at CoA, which I will include in the How to Green Your Campus resource guide available through the Udall’s website after the tour. It was definitely interesting to hear the perspective from a small school about the process of identifying places for improvement, spreading awareness, and making those changes – apparently, big schools are not the only ones facing those challenges.

All us riders say Thank You Maine!

By: Kayanna Warren