The Great Bay Stewards are excited to have been a part of planning for the 13th Maine and New Hampshire Beaches Conference, which will take place at Berwick Academy in South Berwick, Maine on Friday, June 10.  This terrific and wide-ranging event brings together a broad range of knowledge and experience from residents, beach monitors, artists, scientists, students, local, state, and federal agencies, youth, and everyone else who cares about our beaches and coasts.

Denise Pouliot, the Sag8moskwa (Head Female Speaker) and Paul Pouliot, the Sag8mo (Head Male Speaker/Grand Chief) of the Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook-Abenaki and members of the Indigenous New Hampshire Collaborative Collective, Meghan Howley, University of New Hampshire, and Robert Sanford and Nathan Hamilton, University of Southern Maine, will give a combined keynote address, “An Inclusive Future Out of an Inherited Past” grounding the conference in the historical indigenous and racially diverse context of our collective coasts. The two stories will uncover the extraordinary history of seemingly ordinary people and places, and explore history through integrated, collaborative approaches that draw on science, archeology, and merging Indigenous, local and western knowledges.

Conference attendees will have an opportunity to hear about community projects, monitoring efforts, recent research, and creative solutions to managing coastal issues. Sessions will include presentations about community engagement in coastal science; harvesting from the sea; a review of our changing coastlines; and discussions about what community resilience looks like in the face of warming waters, rising seas, and intensifying storms. Attendees also have the opportunity to join a field trip to Strawbery Banke to see their exhibit, “Water Has a Memory: Preserving Strawbery Banke Museum and Portsmouth from Sea Level Rise.” For further descriptions of workshops, presentations, and discussions, please see the Beaches Conference 2022 Program.

The conference will conclude with a networking and socializing event onsite in the Berwick Academy Dining Commons and on the lawn starting at 4:15pm. $10 Ticket price includes complimentary hors-d’oeuvres, cash bar (beer and wine), and an opportunity to raise a toast to our coasts.

Early Bird ($50) registration will remain open through May 15 before pricing increases to $60 (regular registration May 16-June 9) and finally day of registration ($75 June 10). To register and learn more visit the Beaches Conference site.

Please note: The Beaches Conference requires all individuals who participate in the Beaches Conference to show proof of vaccination or a negative covid test within three days of the conference date in order to attend. We will follow CDC COVID recommendations regarding face masks and safety measures. See the conference webpage for additional details about the Beaches Conference COVID-19 Policy.

We are grateful to have worked alongside Maine Sea Grant, the Wells Reserve, Laudholm Trust, Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership, the Great Bay Stewards, volunteers on the Steering Committee, and generous sponsors, to produce The Beaches Conference.