Note: This is an updated version of an earlier post that now contains the latest plans for the workhop.
Gouldsboro invites all residents to an informal workshop at Peninsula School in Prospect Harbor on Sunday, May 21, 2023, to talk about keeping Gouldsboro vital and resilient into the future. It will be a “drop in when you can” event from 1 PM to 4 PM that will introduce the “Vulnerability Assessment and Action Plan” report that the Town received from FB Environmental last fall. This report identified where sea level rise (SLR) and severe storms are most likely to disrupt or damage Gouldboro’s transportation and working waterfront infrastructure. Members of the FB Environmental team that wrote the report will be on hand to answer questions. The workshop will also give participants an overview of activities to expand broadband Internet availability, provide workforce housing, and help residents experiencing food insecurity.
Community Resilience
Looking at where SLR and severe storms might make roads impassible, cut people off from emergency services, and damage shore infrastructure is essential to ensuring that Gouldsboro can sustain its economy and character. But it is not the whole picture. Resilience also requires that Gouldsboro plans and takes actions so that:
- Young families and working people can afford to live here.
- People who need good Internet access can get it.
- The community provides support for folks who have been injured, caught up in a difficult economy, or, for oiher reasons, are not able to buy the food they need.
Gouldsboro – as a Town government and a network of volunteer organizations – is already addressing many of these issues and others equally important to sustaining Gouldsboro as a great place to live. The workshop will be a place to learn about and celebrate what Gouldsboro is already doing, invite increased participation, and identify other needs.
Workshop Structure
The workshop will be in the Peninsula School’s cafeteria. The first stop will be a Check-in and Information table that provides participants with a map of the different Workshop Stations arranged around the cafeteria. The next stop will be a table where participants will get an overview of how FB Environmental approached the study, including maps of the areas they studied.
The next stops are two tables focused on areas where sea level rise and storms are mostly likely to cause trouble. Places on this list include Corea Harbor, Crowley Island Road, roads in the Francis Pound area in Corea, Grand Marsh Bay Road and Corea Road in the Grand Marsh Bay area, and Bunkers Pound Road.
Next comes a table where we will ask participants what they know that others should know about. Where are they seeing tidal flooding and storm flooding? Where are the problem culverts? Where are they seeing rapid shore erosion?
After that, participants will have opportunities to learn about the work being done to expand broadband coverage across the Schoodic Peninsula, plans to develop Workforce Housing, and the Schoodic Food Pantry, which is now helping sixty-five households (including 45 children) through times of food insecurity.
Just before leaving the workshop, participants will have a chance to learn more about the Shellfish Lab, work to preserve shore access, and other activities underway in the Gouldsbore Shore initiative.
Please Come
This is a unique opportunity to learn a great deal about what is going on in Gouldsboro all in one place. If you are interested in being part of this work, this is the place to let folks already doing the work know of your interest. We hope to see you this Sunday.
If you want to have a look at the FB Environmental report, you can find it here.
And Thanks …
To the Island Institute and the Maine Coastal Program (with funding from NOAA) for making this event possible.
