Brunswick, Maine: Cornerstones of Science, the national science literacy initiative based in Brunswick, is the recipient of a $5,000 grant to recognize the 50 th anniversary of the publication of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, heralded as one of the most significant books of the 20th century and the beginning of the environmental movement.

To mark the occasion, Cornerstones of Science is partnering with the Marine Environmental Research Institute (MERI) in Blue Hill to sponsor MERI’s 2012 Rachel Carson Lectures, a monthly series that increases public awareness and understanding of critical ocean issues. In addition to Dr. Susan Shaw, director of MERI and leading marine toxicologist, the series will bring other national and international scientists to speak on current topics from aquaculture to climate change to science communication and microplastics. The lectures will be recorded for online viewing and will be part of Cornerstone of Science’s year-long program, Silent Spring Revisited: Rachel Carson’s Legacy and Ocean Health Today.

MERI’s first 2012 Rachel Carson Lecture is on January 26, 2012, with University of Maine professor Dr. Stephen Coghlan. He will speak on:
The Penobscot Undammed: Restoring the River: A thousand square miles of river habitat will open up when the Veazie and Great Works dams on the Penobscot River come down. With the construction of a fish bypass on a third dam, 11 species of sea-run fish will be able to return to their historic spawning grounds. This is a significant step in addressing more than 100 years of damage to the river’s fragile ecosystem. Dr. Steve Coghlan from the University of Maine’s Department of Wildlife Ecology will discuss the impacts of dam removal and answer the question: Can we restore the Penobscot to its historic natural state?

Location: MERI Center for Marine Studies, 55 Main Street, Blue Hill, Maine from 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. A reception honoring the speaker begins at 6:00 p.m. Seating is limited, so please arrive early. For information, call (207) 374-2135 or email info@meriresearch.org . For directions and more information, please visit MERI’s website: www.meriresearch.org

Funding for this program is in part from the New England Ocean Science Education Collaborative (NEOSEC) and the Centers for Ocean Science Education Excellence – Ocean Systems (COSEE-OS).

In addition to MERI’s 2012 Rachel Carson lecture series, the statewide celebration will include the following:
• Cornerstones of Science will host book clubs, and science café-style book discussions at local libraries throughout the state. Upcoming lectures and activities throughout 2012 can be found at the Cornerstone of Science website, www.cornerstonesofscience.org .
• Marine Environmental Research Institute (MERI) Director Dr. Susan Shaw will be a featured speaker at World Ocean Day, a Rachel Carson celebration on June 8 at the Portland Art Museum, sponsored by the Maine Coastal Program. The event features three women leaders in ocean sciences: Dr. Shaw, marine toxicologist, explorer and doctor of Public Health; Nancy Knowlton, world-renowned coral reef scientist; and Anne Doubilet, hall-of-fame diver, oceanographer and explorer.
• Portland Public Library and Cornerstones of Science will host an end-of year celebration featuring a panel discussion and film screening of A Sense of Wonder, the award-winning play based on Rachel Carson’s final months at her home in Maine, performed by Kaiulani Lee (Details TBA).

Other events and activities will be announced throughout the year.

Contact: Cynthia Randall, Director, cynthia.randall @ cornerstonesofscience.com
Susan Ryan, Associate Director, susan.ryan @ cornerstonesofscience.com
Rebecca Carino, Marine Environmental Research Institute, communications @ meriresearch.org

Cornerstones of Science, 14 Maine Street, Brunswick, Maine 04011,
207-208-8975
MERI Center for Marine Studies, 55 Main Street, Blue Hill, Maine 04614,
207-374-2135

 Portland, Maine (January 5, 2012) – Looking for local events, indoor farmer’s markets, coupon deals, restaurants, stores, and more? Mainers now have a search engine for finding information about all things green, local, and sustainable. What began as a coupon book and green living guide has grown into Maine’s one-stop online green business directory—TheSunriseGuide.com.

TheSunriseGuide cuts through the clutter of busy search engines and distracting sidebars, helping consumers search with ease for everything from green products and services to local events and activities. This new tool helps green shoppers find restaurants that serve locally harvested food, home energy efficiency professionals, salons that use only organic products, local eco-friendly hotels, and so much more. And each business profile includes an interactive map.

“This website is a great tool for Mainers,” says Richard Burbank, President of Evergreen Home Performance, a Rockland-based company that provides home energy efficiency services in southern and midcoast Maine. “It’s like a local green Google®.”

Visitors are encouraged to check in regularly to download exclusive online coupons to area businesses and find out what’s going on. The directory’s “Events” tab includes information on green happenings statewide, including conferences, open houses, networking opportunities, outdoor activities, and more.

Since expanding to the Midcoast last year, both the print edition of the SunriseGuide and the online directory now include an even broader range of information and saving opportunities for people living from the Greater Portland area to Belfast. Check out the SunriseGuide online directory next time you’re looking for a green business at TheSunriseGuide.com/find-a-busines/. If you are interested in having your business included in this growing directory, please email info@thesunriseguide.com.

About the SunriseGuide
The Sunrise Guide publishes an annual resource guide and coupon book for living green in southern and coastal Maine and an online business directory of green and healthy businesses in Maine. The print edition contains 300 coupons for healthy and eco-friendly products and services, plus articles with tips for sustainable living. Topics include food and dining, outdoor living, home and garden, travel and transportation, community and culture, and more. Look for the 2012 edition at school and community fundraisers, natural food stores, bookstores, and other retail outlets. Learn more and find out where to pick up a copy at www.thesunriseguide.com .

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What: Belfast Cohousing & Ecovillage Open House Event

Where: 45 Edgecomb Rd. Belfast, ME

When: Dec. 10, 2011

Time: 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Highlights: Traditional Scandinavian themed Christmas Crafts, Free cookies and hot chocolate, Presentation on the new cohousing development and how you can join.

While enjoying the wonderful family friendly afternoon, learn more about the dynamic vision of cooperative living in a new “old-fashioned” neighborhood of tightly clustered homes on 45 acres surrounded by rolling farmland, two miles from downtown Belfast. Residents will own their own homes (as duplex condominiums) and share with their neighbors a barn, wood shop, and large common house. The common house accommodates overnight guests, children’s play space, community meals (optional), celebrations and organically-grown provisions.

The community’s mission is to be an environmentally sustainable, affordable, multi-generational cohousing community that is easily accessible to Belfast, includes land reserved for agricultural use and open space, and is an innovative housing model for rural Maine. On the second Sunday of every month (2-4 p.m.), the community holds free family-friendly events open to the public at their temporary common house—a farmhouse on neighboring land at 45 Edgecomb Rd. For more information call 207-338-9200 or visit http://www.mainecohousing.org.

About Belfast Cohousing & Ecovillage

Belfast Cohousing & Ecovillage is a community of families who are creating an environmentally sustainable, multi-generational neighborhood that will feature homes based on the German Passive House Standard, acclaimed for their energy efficiency and design. Founded on a commitment to community and concern for the environment, Belfast Cohousing & Ecovillage is reserving 85% of its land for agricultural use and open space. It is an innovative and sustainable housing option for living in rural coastal Maine. Find out more at www.mainecohousing.org.

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Having created logos, websites and other design work for clients nationwide, Design Lab 10 is working to spread the “green” theme.  ”All of the environmentally sound choices we have made are available to our clients as well,” says Dana Whitney, owner of Design Lab 10.  “We host our site (and provide hosting to our clients, including The Flower Box) on servers that are 300% wind-powered (the remaining 200% is sold back to the power company).  In this case, it was an obvious fit.”

Design Lab 10 offers graphic design (logos, brochures, or other marketing collateral), web design and promotional marketing services.  For more information contact Dana Whitney at 888-563-3262 or Dana@DesignLab10.com.   Visit the website at DesignLab10.com

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Portland, Maine (November  16, 2011) – The 2012 Sunrise Guide, Southern and Coastal  Maine’s annual green resource guide and coupon book, was featured at the #6 spot on the Maine Sunday Telegram’s Bestseller List recently.

The Maine Sunday Telegram’s Bestseller list identifies the top 10 best selling books in the Fiction Hardcover, Fiction Paperback, Non Fiction Hardcover, and Non Fiction Paperback categories.

“The guide isn’t just a coupon book. Yes, it has over 300 coupons, but the book itself is filled with green living tips and experiences, sustainability facts and figures, and extensive information on local green businesses,” said Heather Chandler, Founder and Publisher of the Sunrise Guide.

“We really focus on helping people along their journey to sustainable living and showing that it doesn’t have to cost a lot. A single household has the potential to easily save over $500 on home energy efficiency projects with the help of many cost saving tips throughout the book.”

Since launching in the Midcoast last year, the Sunrise Guide now includes and even broader range of information and saving opportunities for people living from Belfast to the greater Portland area.

About the Sunrise Guide
The Sunrise Guide is an annual resource guide and coupon book for living green in southern and coastal Maine. It contains 300 coupons for healthy and eco-friendly products and services, plus articles with tips for sustainable living. Topics include food and dining, outdoor living, home and garden, travel and transportation, community and culture and more. Look for the 2012 edition at school and community fundraisers, natural food stores, bookstores, and other retail outlets. Learn more and find out where to pick up a copy at www.thesunriseguide.com .

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Juliet practices in Verrill Dana’s Energy and Timberlands groups and she serves as Chair of the Environmental group. She specializes in all aspects of environmental law, including project permitting under federal, state and local laws, compliance with federal and state environmental laws, litigation in state and federal courts, redevelopment of contaminated properties, and transactional matters. Since 2007, Juliet has been the lead on successfully permitting numerous major wind power projects in Maine, totaling more than 367 MW. Juliet also works with regulators and stakeholder groups to develop and update environmental regulations and programs in the State.

About Verrill Dana: Verrill Dana, LLP is a full-service law firm with more than 100 attorneys conducting a nationwide practice from our offices in Portland and Augusta, Maine; Boston; Hartford; and Washington, D.C.

Contact: K.C. Jones (207/253-4408) or Gretchen A. Johnson (207/253-4874)

The Bank of Maine Presents:
The Maine Striper Sessions with The Jason Spooner Trio & Pete Kilpatrick Band
A Benefit Concert for The Coastal Conservation Association of Maine
Port City Music Hall
November 18, 2011 7pm
ADV: $15.00
DOS: $18.00
VIP: $30.00 (SOLD OUT)

Tickets available online @ http://www.portcitymusichall.com , in person at the Port City Music Hall Box Office at 504 Congress Street, or charge by phone at 1-888-512-SHOW.

Port City Music Hall will host the First Annual Maine Striper Sessions – a unique benefit concert featuring two national artists with strong ties to Maine – The Jason Spooner Band and the Pete Kilpatrick Band.  For the first time ever, both bands will take the stage at Port City  – all proceeds from the concert will benefit the Maine’s Coastal Conservation Association, or “CCA”, which is the only grassroots volunteer and nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving Maine’s saltwater sport fishing and marine resources.  The Maine Striper Sessions is brought to you by The Bank of Maine; other organizations supporting this unique event are Taylor, McCormack & Frame; MacDonald Page; HM Payson; and the Boulos Company.

The Coastal Conservation Association of Maine
Dedicated to the protection and restoration of marine life for the enjoyment of all.

http://cca-maine.org/

Pete Kilpatrick Band

http://www.petekilpatrickband.com/

The Pete Kilpatrick Band hails from the coastal city of Portland, Maine. They have been writing, recording, and performing regularly since 2004 and have released five independent albums to date. They have been named Maine’s best act four times in the Portland Best Music Awards and have performed over 1,000 shows since their formation. Throughout the spring of 2011, the band was on the road w/ O.A.R. and DJ Logic performing throughout the country as part of FestEvol and Stefan Lessard’s of Dave Matthews Band’s IZstyle Winter Tour.

The PKB has been referred to as a “folk singer-songwriter with a rock ‘n’ roll band,” and the band feels that it’s a perfect title. The songs are acoustically driven but maintain a full and layered sound due largely in part to electric guitarist Pete Morse and Keyboardist Tyler Stanley’s approaches. Bassist Matt Cosby and drummer Ed Dickhaut round out the group, comprised of five close friends who have a deep appreciation for writing and performing music. Their sound has been compared to Snow Patrol, Travis, and Guster, and as NewBandDaily.com puts it, the band “has that suburban sensibility, that clarity and sweetness sometimes so necessary after a hard day’s work.”

Together they have shared the stage with Dave Matthews Band, David Gray, Ray Lamontagne, Barenaked Ladies, O.A.R, Guster, G Love and Special Sauce, Amos Lee, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Brett Dennen, Tim Reynolds, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Fitz and the Tantrums, The Wailers, Yonder Mountain String Band, DJ Logic, Blues Traveler, Spoon, Against Me!, Cold War Kids, Toots and the Maytals, Rusted Root, Mutemath, State Radio, Dawes, and Eve6.

The Pete Kilpatrick Band will be releasing their sixth studio album in early 2012.

The Jason Spooner Trio

http://jasonspooner.com/

Portland’s own Jason Spooner Trio (Jason Spooner – guitar & vocals, Reed Chambers – Drums & Percussion and Adam Frederick – Bass & vocals) recently wrapped up their busiest summer to date. Over the last 4 months the band has opened for acts as varied as B.B. King, Michael Franti, Jackie Greene and Sara Bareilles. This summer alone the band performed at Targhee Fest in Jackson Hole, WY – FloydFest in Floyd, Va – The Festival at Sandpoint – Sandpoint, ID – The Naukabout Festival on Cape Cod, the River City Roots Festival in Missoula, MT and The Rocky Mountain Folks Festival in Lyons, CO.

In addition to recent press in High Times Magazine and USA Today, the Spooner Trio’s latest album Sea Monster has been featured heavily on Sirius/XM’s The Loft channel, on NPR’s All Things Considered and at over 11,000 Starbucks retail locations nationwide. Earlier this year, the album reached the #18 spot on the national BDS Indicator chart for all of Triple A Radio. It was the only independent album on the chart at the time.

The band has just returned to Maine after completing a western Fall tour with their New England neighbors, The Ryan Montbleau Band which included dates in CO, UT, WA, OR and CA.

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Interviews Available – For More Information Please Contact:
Rob Evon
Port City Music Hall
rob@portcitymusichall.com

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With 300 coupons valued at over $8,500 this annual guide boasts a new do-it-yourself section, expanded energy efficiency section, new articles from guest experts and much more

Portland, Maine (October 25, 2011) –The annual Sunrise Guide, a unique local resource that combines valuable coupons and tips for eco-friendly living is now available at bookstores and retailers around Southern Maine and in the midcoast, like Longfellow Books in Portland and Rising Tide Community Market, in Damariscotta.

With so many uses as a coupon book, fundraising tool for area groups, or simply a resource to help families along their journey to sustainability, this year’s publishing brought together many new features and some old favorites, thanks in part to reader and advertiser feedback, inside you will find:

• Do-it-Yourself instructions and recipes
• A weatherization and energy efficiency section, with a summary of resources available to Maine homeowners
• Guest articles from Maine’s foremost experts on the green economy, pellet fuel heating, hiking coastal trails and more!
• 300 valuable discounts offering healthy, eco-friendly products and services, valued over $8,500

“The response from readers, advertisers and fundraising groups is amazing, we are in our 6^th printing and every year our coverage grows as well as the number of coupons and the value,” said Heather Chandler, founder and publisher of The Sunrise Guide.

According to Diane Milliken of Horizon Residential Energy Services, “There’s no better way to reach the thriving green and sustainable community in southern Maine- and this community is expanding every day thanks to The Sunrise Guide.”

About the Sunrise Guide
The Sunrise Guide is an annual resource guide and coupon book for living green in southern and coastal Maine. It contains 300 coupons for healthy and eco-friendly products and services, plus articles with tips for sustainable living. Topics include food and dining, outdoor living, home and garden, travel and transportation, community and culture and more. Look for the 2012 edition at school and community fundraisers, natural food stores, bookstores, and other retail outlets. Learn more and find out where to pick up a copy at www.thesunriseguide.com .

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Belfast, Maine (October 25, 2011) – Belfast Cohousing & Ecovillage, a socially and environmentally innovative neighborhood in Belfast, recently received the People’s Choice Award from the Natural Resources Council of Maine at their annual meeting.

The award is given annually to an individual or group who demonstrates a passion and dedication to Maine’s environment. Belfast Cohousing & Ecovillage was chosen from among the parties nominated and selected by residents from across the state.

“We are honored to receive this award recognizing our efforts to try out a new model for residential development in Maine—one that takes the future into account,” said Sanna McKim, a co-founder of the neighborhood development project as well as a future resident. “We’re excited that this idea of a family-focused neighborhood combining “smart growth”, sustainable agriculture, and energy efficient homes is becoming a reality.”

The organization also recently received planning board approval to begin construction.  Site work and initial construction of the development started this month and is expected to be complete by December 2013.  This project is believed to be the largest, single phase, non-government subsidized, residential development currently underway in Maine, with nearly 2/3 of its homes already spoken for.  The 36 private homes will range in size from 500 square feet to 1,700 square feet, with current base prices ranging from $150,000 to $333,000, including land, all infrastructure, and a large “common house,” the heart of a cohousing community.

About Belfast Cohousing & Ecovillage
Belfast Cohousing & Ecovillage is a group of families who are creating an environmentally sustainable, multi-generational neighborhood that will feature homes based on the German Passive House Standard, a building certification based on extremely high energy-efficiency performance. Founded on a commitment to community and concern for the environment, Belfast Cohousing & Ecovillage is reserving 85% of its land for agricultural use and open space. It is an innovative and sustainable housing option for living in rural coastal Maine. Find out more at www.mainecohousing.org.

New Educational Touch Tank at the Oriental Jade
Bangor, Maine., October 19, 2011 – The Oriental Jade of Bangor, Maine and Touch Tanks for Kids of Biddeford, Maine announce a strategic alliance. This partnership offers a delicious  fundraising alternative where the Bangor area students can explore the feasibility of raising funds for a Touch Tank Teaching System. The Touch Tank Teaching Program has been providing an interactive learning experience for Maine students since 2005. The interactive educational program, inspired by a Maine teacher, has proven so effective that teaching touch tanks can now be found in 17 states.The Oriental Jade’s Dinner Buffet Fund-Raiser Program has proven itself to be a successful and rewarding endeavor where your group can easily earn up to $1000 while enjoying an evening of delicious food and fun filled events.  This, of course,  includes interacting with the Oriental Jade’s community touch tank, that they recently had installed by Touch Tanks For Kids. The fun filled night is a wonderful way for a school or community nonprofit to explore whether a an educational touch tank is right for them.More information about the Oriental Jade and Touch Tanks for Kids partnership is available on the Internet at http://touchtanksforkids.org/430/visit-the-touch-tank-at-oriental-jade/
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