Herring Gut Happenings -April 2026

Educating students and communities about the connections
between the ocean, inland water, and economy of Maine.

Wow! We have a lot going on at Herring Gut and we could not be more excited about this summer. We are preparing for our Spring Online Auction with over a hundred amazing items donated by businesses all over Maine. You’ll be able to get great deals and support HG starting April 6th!

This week, the 7th grade students we have been working with at St George MSU will test drive their Remotely Operative Vehicles (ROVs) in the pool at the Hampton Inn. We have all enjoyed using the spectacular Grace Innovation Center Maker Space over the past ten weeks as these students have earned a STEAM award while they build these underwater vehicles from scratch using new engineering skills. I even learned how to solder! Who says you can’t teach an old dog a new trick?

On April 19th, we will be in DC for a casual gathering hosted at the beautiful Georgetown home of Wendy Makins, HG Emeritus Board Member. This is always a fun event, we would love to have you join us. Contact Sally Crusan for more information.

For the first time ever, we are hosting an Americorp member to join our team for 11 months as an “Assistant Environmental Educator”. This is an amazing opportunity to be paid to help a nonprofit while gaining excellent experience and life skills. This position comes with benefits and housing. Apply here.

Our bait shack is repaired and elevated five feet thanks to Midcoast Dock Services. We are so excited to be able to rescue this historic bait shack following the extensive damage from the January 2024 storms. We were able to do this large project thanks to a grant from the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development for storm damage on working waterfront property. We will be doing some electrical work and adding signage to create an impactful and beautiful waterfront exhibit describing how to cope with rising seas while providing classroom space and working waterfront for aquaculture and education.

We are well on our way to the complete renovation of our touch tank room! This $100,000 project is supported by the Wyeth Foundation, four impact donors and YOU! We are at the $38,000 mark of our $50,000 matching fundraising goal. Painting, flooring, and electrical work are done and now we are awaiting the arrival of the new tanks from Tenji Inc. We cannot thank our amazing volunteers enough for helping us safely move dozens of aquatic animals to the saltwater flow through lab. Every sea urchin and shrimp made the journey safely.

Our staff have also contributed Herculean levels of know-how and hard work to the design and implementation of this project. We appreciate the help of several contractors and area businesses. You can still tour our facilities while this work is ongoing, but please call the office to schedule a visit. You will be amazed when you join us for the grand opening at our June 18th Ice Cream Social. At that event we will also have a ribbon cutting for the bait shack waterfront park.

We wish to thank WRFR 93.3 for hosting us for Good Morning Rockland. I had a blast and am so grateful for this community radio station. Community means everything to us at Herring Gut, from the outpouring of auction donations to the generous advice regarding refitting aquarium and marine grade equipment by folks at Steel Pro and Lyman Morse, we exist because of you. Last but not least, we are co-sponsoring two community events: a “Working Waterfront Tasting Series” at the Craignair Inn on April 9th as part of our participation in the Working Waterfront learning series and a well water quality presentation “Be Well Aware” on April 30th from 5:00-6:30 at the St George Town Office.

Touch Tank Renewal Project

Not only are we getting a brand-new touch tank, but we’re also updating the functionality and aesthetics of the aquarium space. We’ve updated some plumbing, electrical, lighting, and safety features. We’ve touched up the walls and trim and painted the floor with an anti-slip paint! New steel floor grates will be installed over the floor drains after the paint dries. The tilapia tank is currently being refurbished with a new viewing window so visitors can clearly see the fish. We also plan to install some interactive exhibits in the space. You might not recognize the place when you visit next time!

To do all this exciting work, we had to move all of the animals to safe, temporary homes. The tilapia now reside in the greenhouse, and we’ve moved all of the ocean animals to the lower saltwater laboratory. You can still visit them all during construction–please schedule ahead of time by calling us at (207) 372-8677 so that we can accommodate your tour! A huge shoutout and thank you to all of our fantastic volunteers who helped move animals and equipment and prepare the space for construction over the last few weeks, especially!

Online Spring Auction

The Sea, the Future, and Us
Summer Gala

St. George MSU 7th graders finished building their underwater ROVs (remotely operated vehicles) and did a water test at the Grace Innovation Center! They are troubleshooting and preparing to compete in a mini-obstacle course at the Hampton Inn Pool at the beginning of April.

We received positive feedback from thirteen teachers who attended our professional development workshop Wetlands: Nature’s Kidneys! These educators constructed wetland models made from natural materials. They ran the experiment with and without wetlands present and discovered that wetlands filter and clean water much like our kidneys filter harmful substances from our blood. Teachers each left with a free kit of a class set of materials for that activity and others, a stipend, and 1.5 professional contact hours. Thank you to Zoe Thomas from Midcoast Conservancy for collaborating and to Sea2Earth for funding our workshop.

Upcoming April Programs:

Oceanside Middle School Gifted & Talented – Neutral Buoyancy – 4/7

Journal Bookbinding Workshop – 4/8, 3-5 pm

Nature Poetry Reading – 4/8, 6 pm

RSU 13 Elementary Gifted & Talented – Powerful Plankton – 4/9

Touch Tank at Friendship Village School – 4/14

Aquatots at Jackson Memorial Library – 4/15, 10:30 am

Lobster Adaptations at Friendship Village School – 4/16

Fish Dissection at St. George School (Middle Level) – 4/17

Coastal Meetup Community Science – 4/19, 12:30 pm

Damariscotta Montessori School – Seaweeds & Plankton – 4/28 and 4/30