Lawn will retire from Fedco in May, leaving behind a legacy of number crunching, tomato testing and big thinking.
Mary Pols
Mary Pols writes primarily about sustainability for Source. She came to the Press Herald in late 2013 to work on Source after a long career writing about movies. She has almost, but not quite, broken the habit of waking pre-dawn on Oscar nomination day. Mary was born in Portland and raised in Brunswick, but was away for 25 years so it’s been a thrill for her to learn about her state in the 21st century. She studied art history at Duke and her masters in journalism is from UC Berkeley. She’s happiest reporting a story in Maine’s great outdoors, whether she’s watching seaweed farmers plant a crop or eating fresh caught perch with an ice fisherman while a hungry eagle hovers nearby. History really floats her boat as well (once she wrote an entire story about the life of a very old and rare apple tree in Freeport). She lives in Brunswick with her hockey-obsessed son and their dog, a foster-fail kitten and an elderly Maine Coon.
Shawn Brannigan knows his family’s Falmouth seed company has deep roots
Allen, Sterling & Lothrop has provided Maine with seeds, and agricultural and garden supplies, for more than a century, and the business is a staple of the community.
Collins introduces bipartisan bill aimed at helping young and new farmers
The Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development program is especially important as the average age of farmers approaches 60, Maine agricultural groups say.
Fearing a mousepocalypse, Maine farmers aren’t messing around
Rodents can cost a farmer dearly, not just in the price of seeds or young plants, but in time, perhaps the most precious commodity.
Gardiner meat processing company’s bankruptcy filing a blow to farmers
Central Maine Meats, open barely three years, held promise for the local food economy.
Nature Conservancy in Brunswick brings the outside inside
Its office hits a new standard for green building that’s positively biophilic.
Alan Stearns aims to protect everything from deer yards to paddling paradise
He’s the executive director of the Royal River Conservation Trust.
Here’s the story behind the lamb being carried around Waldo County like a baby
Rejected by his mother, Nugget has been bottle-fed, babied and schlepped around town by his owners from Toddy Pond Farm.
Garrett Raymond wants to create a specialty license plate for sustainability
The University of Maine economics student grew up in Montville, with a woodsy upbringing that helped him learn to appreciate nature.