On behalf of the The Board of MaineShare

The Common Ground Country Fair returns to Unity

Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association (MOFGA) is planning to hold an onsite Common Ground Country Fair in Unity, Maine, on September 24th, 25th, and 26th, 2021. This decision was made after careful consideration of current guidance for outdoor festivals as well as months of discussions, research and planning to determine if we can meet our primary goal of being able to support a safe onsite event. That being said, the Fair will look different this year. We're raising funds, recruiting additional volunteers, and thinking creatively about what a safe and engaging Fair will look like. To learn more and to sign up to volunteer for the Fair, visit our website!

As we continue to navigate the pandemic, EqualityMaine (EQME) knows that Pride celebrations will still look a lot different than usual. EQME hopes to bring a piece of Pride to communities across Maine through their #ShowYourPrideME Progress Pride Flag initiative.

For more information and to reserve your flag today, please click here.

For information about Pride celebrations across Maine, click here.

Biennial Report on Domestic Abuse Homicide in Maine: Progress & Action Needed

On April 28th, The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence (MCEDV) joined with members of the Maine’s Domestic Abuse Homicide Review Panel and Governor Mills at a virtual press event to present the panel’s 13th Biennial Report. This year’s report includes a 20-year look-back at domestic abuse homicide in Maine, identifying areas of progress and work still to be done. 

"In each case it reviews, the members of the Homicide Review Panel are honoring the life (or lives) lost by seeking to understand what happened - not only in the moment of the homicide but in the time before. What might anyone have done to prevent this tragedy? What professional disciplines are implicated? What is our role in creating necessary change?..."

Learn more and access the report here.

LIVE interview with Dr. Shanna Swan on the impact of toxic chemicals on human development -

Join Defend Our Health for a live interview with Dr. Shanna H. Swan, professor of environmental medicine and public health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai on Wednesday June 2nd, 1pm ET/10am PT, for a discussion on how toxic chemicals are imperiling the future of the human race and what we can do to fight back.

Swan is one of the world's leading environmental and reproductive epidemiologists, whose new book, Count Down: How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race, is tackling the issue of how toxic chemicals are hijacking our health and fertility.

Hardy G*rls Healthy Wom*n opens applications for the G*rls Advisory Board (GAB).

Hardy G*rls Healthy Wom*n (HGHW) is looking for high school girls and gender expansive youth who are into intersectional feminism and social justice to join their G*rl's Advisory Board (GAB). GAB plans programming for young people, creates a social media presence, and works with HGHW staff and board to keep programs relevant. The program is free to participate in.

More info & the application can be found here.

Calling all artists!

For more information, click here!

Calling all runners!

There’s still time to register for the Snowy Egret Virtual 5K. You can run or walk on a course of your creation any time between May 21 and June 4 for this annual fundraiser for Scarborough Marsh. Click here to learn more and to register.

Addressing these questions involves collecting water quality data on a frequent basis and for a long time. In 2019, Friends of Casco Bay (FOCB) created the Climate Change and Casco Bay Fund to launch and maintain three Continuous Monitoring Stations around the Bay and communicate changing conditions to the public. This winter they reached our goal of raising $1.5 million, thanks to more than 700 donors.

To learn more about where (and why!) FOCB placed the stations, click here.

Data from the stations are available on at here.

The Maine Alliance for Arts Education (MAAE), leader of the statewide Arts are Basic Coalition (ABC), has been working closely with the members of the ABC Student Leadership Group as they continue to elevate the voice of students in our broader arts advocacy efforts.

Last month, three student leaders with the ABC organized and facilitated a workshop at the Maine Youth Action Network's virtual Youth Leadership Conference. Their interactive workshop focused on ways in which arts programs in schools help foster healthy and tolerant school communities. One of these talented and passionate student leaders wrote about the workshop itself and the experience of creating this safe space for fellow arts advocates, which you can read here.

Viles Arboretum is a free, easily accessible, botanical garden located in downtown Augusta. Their preserved land, interpretive materials, exhibits, programs & events, and trails are designed for people of all ages to provide opportunities for education, recreation, and inspiration.

To book your event, please click here, or email info@vilesarboretum.org.

Summer seminars for middle & high school teachers at

The Holocaust and Human Rights Center (HHRC)

The HHRC of Maine is offering summer seminars for middle and high school teachers, predominantly those teaching the humanities, though all teachers are welcome.

Teacher training is core to our mission of promoting universal respect for human rights through education. Since the early 1980s, the summer seminars have been designed to help teachers explore new ways to teach about challenging issues including Holocaust history that are so important in these turbulent times.

Registration begins in June. To learn more about the summer seminars, please contact us at info@hhrcmaine.org for more information.

 Contribute today to help us find a Just Recovery!

This is just a small sampling of the critical work MaineShare members do to build a better Maine. Please join us in supporting and learning from the great work of ALL our member groups.