I grew up exploring the coast of Maine—but to me (at age 3), the coast really consisted of the shores of Hupper Island, that mile-long rock right across the harbor from the Port Clyde General Store.

I learned at a young age that I was just as welcome in my neighbor’s house for dinner as I was in my own. I became so familiar with that rocky shoreline that I ran it barefoot with my sisters. I observed ospreys building their nest in the tall pine right near my family’s cabin, eager to see them return year after year until a storm brought the tree down.

Hupper Island engrained in me a deep love for and connection to the land and the sea. It taught me to fully appreciate the devotion to hard work that comes with living on an island. In becoming a true island-hopper this year as the Island Institute’s Service-Learning Fellow, I’ve had the opportunity to experience the vast intricacies that make each island community its own. Until now, I had no idea just how much islands have to teach a person.

When I was offered this position, I was warned that my fellowship would be completely different from the rest of the placements, and there wasn’t much certainty of just how my job would take form. I would be working with at least ten different remote coastal and island communities, assisting with a variety of projects, and living in the big city of Rockland, that I like to refer to as my island.

In my mind, the fellowship had everything I craved: self-motivated work, the opportunity to broaden my perspective on island cultures and communities, and the chance to work with a strongly passionate group of people merging a range of talents and expertise to accomplish a common goal.

I have been able to observe and interact with each island community, discovering how uniquely complex each one is. I have learned time and time again that each island school is truly the heart and soul of the community. In brainstorming community needs and potential projects with students, I am constantly amazed and enamored by the level of perception of each child—they understand what community means, they love it, and they need it.

In the grade 3-5 classroom on Chebeague, a student mentioned that the school “really needed a place to learn outside”¦ an outdoor classroom.” In many large, public schools that thought may have seemed too complex and time-consuming, but teachers and community members on Chebeague saw this as a great opportunity—and a great space for multi-generational learning. And now they have a student-built wigwam, where students and community members can spend time observing and learning about their surroundings.

When you give these students the steering wheel in a project, man, they’ll come up with something good.

Yet another perk of my visits is the unique opportunity of seeing the Island Fellows in action in their communities. I have seen the amazing relationships they have developed, the experiences and skills they have gained, and the fruits of their hard work, be it in a school garden, making people aware of and passionate about increasing biodiversity on their island, or helping to preserve the rich history of the island (to name a few).

Each fellow experiences how much an island, and a small community, can teach you. And it is incredible to me to be able to weave my way between islands and get to experience pieces of what makes each island a whole.

What have islands taught me this year? Well, they’ve taught me to look at the big picture, then to focus on the details within. They’ve taught me to relax in each moment, and strike up a conversation with the person next to me. They’ve taught me to wave at every person walking or driving by (yes, I now do that in the big city), and they’ve taught me to just listen.

Islands have taught me that time doesn’t always exist as a factor — things get done when they need to, and in the order they need to. They have deepened my understanding of how important it is to be a part of a community, and how my experiences with the land and people on Hupper Island have shaped my values, and have guided me to where I am today. 

Island Fellows are funded by AmeriCorps and the Island Institute.