Good Day,
My first trip of the year out to Baker early in the Spring of 2011 found me pensive and restless on the boat. Stefanie Alley was giving me a ride and we were having a nice visit. When we came around the edge of Islesford and saw the fields of Baker, she remarked on how spectacular the deep green grass looked waving in the wind. To her it looked like Ireland might. I welled up with pride: 8 years of mowing and tending the fields had brought them back nicely.
Once landed, I made a thorough inspection of all the buildings and then, as is my custom, took my inaugural stroll around the Island. Down to the Dance Floor and then clockwise, as is my usual direction. Why clockwise? Well a somewhat weakened right ankle seems to tolerate being inland a bit better.
I must confess, my head was full to the brim with scores of details that go with being the executive director for a not for profit that is only a few months old. I trudged around the Island ruminating on the impending acquisition of the Baker Light Tower by the Park from the Coast Guard. Should I be prepared to launch a huge capital campaign for the benefit of the eventual restoration of the tower? I was working my way around the large saltwater pool and with the tide slipping out I watched the water rushing under the boulders flowing back out to sea. There were a dozen lobster buoys bobbing in the pool, held back from the sea by the boulders.
Next I found myself wondering how the nearby historical societies and others would see us? Would Friends of Acadia be our friends ? Always in the back of my mind was the complex journey working with the Park seems to present. Just then I had a view up to the cemetery and was pleased to see the stones standing upright and holding formation. I certainly was proud to have been part of the 2009 cemetery project.
As I worked my way along the shore I could enjoy the field, but was aware that the winter storms had deposited heavily on this side of the Island. We always clean up a little here and there, but I must confess, much of the junk I had walked by over the last hour had been residing on Baker long enough for me to remember specific piles and pieces.
Once settled onto my favorite driftwood bench on the landing, I cast my eyes off toward the other salt pond and was struck by the sheer volume of junk.
That was the moment that I asked myself the question with which I often badger my children: "If not you, WHO; and if not now, WHEN?"
Clearly I was the WHO, and WHEN was now. Keepers of Baker needed to stand committed to keeping the island clean. Baker Shoreline Cleanup Initiative was born. I spent an hour gathering up large blocks of blue foam. The rest of the summer became a blur of lobster traps strapped to backpacks, long chains of buoys and endless three-mil contractor bags.
Some of our goals may shift, but (sadly) there will always be trash, and we shall stand together and gather it!
John M. Cesari
KOBI ED/CT
The first two years: BISCI 2011 and BISCI 2012
My first trip of the year out to Baker early in the Spring of 2011 found me pensive and restless on the boat. Stefanie Alley was giving me a ride and we were having a nice visit. When we came around the edge of Islesford and saw the fields of Baker, she remarked on how spectacular the deep green grass looked waving in the wind. To her it looked like Ireland might. I welled up with pride: 8 years of mowing and tending the fields had brought them back nicely.
Once landed, I made a thorough inspection of all the buildings and then, as is my custom, took my inaugural stroll around the Island. Down to the Dance Floor and then clockwise, as is my usual direction. Why clockwise? Well a somewhat weakened right ankle seems to tolerate being inland a bit better.
I must confess, my head was full to the brim with scores of details that go with being the executive director for a not for profit that is only a few months old. I trudged around the Island ruminating on the impending acquisition of the Baker Light Tower by the Park from the Coast Guard. Should I be prepared to launch a huge capital campaign for the benefit of the eventual restoration of the tower? I was working my way around the large saltwater pool and with the tide slipping out I watched the water rushing under the boulders flowing back out to sea. There were a dozen lobster buoys bobbing in the pool, held back from the sea by the boulders.
Next I found myself wondering how the nearby historical societies and others would see us? Would Friends of Acadia be our friends ? Always in the back of my mind was the complex journey working with the Park seems to present. Just then I had a view up to the cemetery and was pleased to see the stones standing upright and holding formation. I certainly was proud to have been part of the 2009 cemetery project.
As I worked my way along the shore I could enjoy the field, but was aware that the winter storms had deposited heavily on this side of the Island. We always clean up a little here and there, but I must confess, much of the junk I had walked by over the last hour had been residing on Baker long enough for me to remember specific piles and pieces.
Once settled onto my favorite driftwood bench on the landing, I cast my eyes off toward the other salt pond and was struck by the sheer volume of junk.
That was the moment that I asked myself the question with which I often badger my children: "If not you, WHO; and if not now, WHEN?"
Clearly I was the WHO, and WHEN was now. Keepers of Baker needed to stand committed to keeping the island clean. Baker Shoreline Cleanup Initiative was born. I spent an hour gathering up large blocks of blue foam. The rest of the summer became a blur of lobster traps strapped to backpacks, long chains of buoys and endless three-mil contractor bags.
Some of our goals may shift, but (sadly) there will always be trash, and we shall stand together and gather it!
John M. Cesari
KOBI ED/CT
The first two years: BISCI 2011 and BISCI 2012