A May Day in Camden

Harbor Resilience Planning and Other Creative Opportunities

mmulhern

May 07, 2024

A “may day” can be a mariner’s cry for help; or, a singular, Maine day where you can practically watch the dandelions bloom; or, a celebration of labor’s role in the economy.

Your interpretation of “may day” depends on perspective, context, background.

And so with the climate crisis. Do you find it a frightening, all-encompassing doom-filled, global threat? An exciting, pivotal opportunity to modulate our Western lives toward fewer material wants and greater appreciation and immersion in natural systems? Or a slight disturbance causing electrification of cars and appliances?

What’s your take on the climate crisis? Send us your thoughts, or come to a climate conversation circle (next Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon—see calendar below) to let us know in person. Together we’re talking about climate change issues, plus our actions and roles—joining together as things unfold to find a way through.

Harbor Resilience RFP Is Out

Here in Camden, this May 2024, we’re at a threshold of important climate work. The memories of ravaging winter storms remain, but the immediate threat has receded. This is one of the climate crisis’ challenges—action needs to be taken in the present to prevent a future we can barely imagine.

Our recent storms removed some of the guesswork. Turns out the FEMA/sea level rise maps we’ve been living with for years (see here and here) were spot on. The sea rose to levels as predicted—confirming the need for action.

Now, in the calmer summer months Camden is turning its attention toward a harbor resilience plan. An RFP (request for proposal) was issued last week, and by the end of this month the consultants will be chosen. Read the RFP here.

We hope you’re as excited by the possibilities of creating a resilient, climate-hardy harbor as we are. We’ll have the chance to gather together to envision a resilient harbor. We can imagine plenty of permeable surfaces that allow the sea to rise as necessary, with plenty of spaces for all of us to get close to the brimming, vibrant revitalized Camden harbor. Who knows, maybe a harbor seal will also decide to make the harbor home!

Harbor Resilience Event and Resources

CamdenCAN is hosting a Camden Talks Climate evening with Blake Sanborn, “Resilient Waterfront Design Transformations—How Landscape Architects are Reshaping Resilience with Coastal Communities,” next week (Thursday, May 16) to help foster our harbor imaginations. See more in the calendar below.

There’s also a great harbor resilience story going on down the coast in Blue Hill—read about it here. The article explores the use of “living shorelands” to stabilize eroding bluffs. We have a few of those bluffs around our harbor—and the solution in the past has been large boulders and earthmoving equipment, not a sustainable, nor natural solution. Natural shoring up—often with local materials—seems to be proving successful: “This increasingly popular approach—which looks attractive while creating habitat for birds, bugs, and nearshore creatures—often costs less than the imported rock or manufactured cement of seawalls and breakwaters, while being as effective or better.”

If you’re a homeowner with a bluff or coast, you can download Maine Coastal Property Owner’s Guide to Erosion, Flooding, and Other Hazards, 2nd edition by Maine state Geologist’s Pete Slovinsky. (Have a look even if you aren’t a waterfront property owner—there’s a lot of good information.)

Another Source of Inspiration: Penobscot Climate Action

Maine is breaking new ground in climate action. Up in Bangor they’re collaborating in a regional manner, and the resources that group has created are worth a look. The regional planning site is Penobscot Climate Action, and their resource/toolkit can be found here. There are 10 action steps, each with their own pdfs—on everything from building a climate-resilient food system to steps for climate-proofing your business.

Reading through the Penobscot Climate Action website also provides an exquisite look at the steps communities take in climate resilience planning. We’re glad Camden is stepping into such a journey and we look forward to the coming years’ work.

(Another good source for individual actions is “Living Lightly” from PenBay Pilot’s Wave.)

Climate Action/Events, and CamdenCAN Calendar

5/7/24, Tuesday, (tonight), 630 pm, Camden Select Board meeting, with discussion of FY 25Budget, including Snow Bowl Budget. Get the packet here.

5/14/24, Tuesday, Camden Candidates Night. Look online for details.

5/14/24, Tuesday, 7 pm, via online, “Natural Solutions in Stabilizing our Coastlines,” from our neighbors down in Yarmouth. Check it out here.

5/15/24, Wednesday, at 5 pm, and 5/16/24, Thursday, at 1 pm, Camden Public Library. CamdenCAN Climate Conversation Circles. Read more about these here.

5/15/24, Wednesday, 6 pm, Rockport Public Library, Rockport Conservation Commission, Parker Gassett on Coastal Resilience Planning. For more see here.

5/16/24, Thursday, 6:30 pm, Camden Public Library (and zoom), CamdenCAN, Camden Talks Climate, “Resilient Waterfront Design Transformations—How Landscape Architects are Reshaping Resilience with Coastal Communities” with Blake Sanborn. Blake Sanborn has partnered with communities around the country to co-create actionable plans to address flood concerns and authored design strategies that map out incremental steps to a more resilient future. In his talk, Sanborn will take a look at how landscape architects address flooding while building connectivity, habitat, public art, biodiversity, knowledge, wellness, and places to gather. His talk will feature examples spanning from mega-projects in major cities to a small public schoolyard retrofit. Sanborn, Senior Project Manager, Richardson & Associates, Landscape Architects, now makes Camden his home, and he is keenly interested in how Camden approaches the questions facing the harbor and the many opportunities presented by both sea level rise and repeated high-rainstorm flooding. Sanborn gave a well received talk to the Camden Garden Club on this topic this past winter. See more here.

5/17/24, Friday, All Day. Bike to Work and School Day. Pass the word!

6/5/24, Wednesday, 6 pm, Rockport Conservation Commission talk on Sea Level Rise, with Bill Bow. See more here.

6/11/24, Tuesday, all day. Election Day. All elections are climate elections.

6/11/24, Tuesday, 6:30 pm, Camden Public Library, The EN-ROADS Interactive Climate Solutions Simulator, with Paul Stancioff. See more here.

6/13/24, Thursday, 6:30-7:30 pm, Camden Public Library, CamdenCAN, Camden Talks Climate on weatherization and home energy use: learning how to tighten up—you’ll save money and feel more comfortable, with Colin McCullough / All Around Home Performance and Camden resident Annie Ropeik, reporter for Maine Monitor. More details to follow.

Concluding Thoughts

May flower—puritans’ seafaring vessel or that delightful bud at your feet? Or both?

Our world is full of multiple meanings and interpretations. Climate change means different things to different people. Our work at CamdenCAN is to bring folks together to think about—and act toward—a unified vision of climate resilience in Camden. We hope that in five or ten years we can all look back and agree that while these were challenging years, we rose to our highest creative selves, and with imagination and collaboration, turned a corner.

It won’t be easy, or painless, but we’re glad to be journeying with you, Camden.