Voices of the Medomak

In mid July, several lab members had the good fortune to participate in a guided trip on the Medomak River estuary. Heather helped organize this event.

An excerpt of the press release published August 14, 2025 in the Lincoln County News is below. To read the full release, please log onto the newspaper’s site or contact Heather for a copy.

A new initiative is making waves in Waldoboro. Voices of the Medomak is a community-led project that takes its shape from the river itself—open-ended and ever-changing, sometimes calm and reflective, sometimes turbulent and forceful. Like the Medomak, the initiative will evolve as new voices enter its current. It creates space for conflict and connection, for memory and imagination. And like the river, it brings to the surface stories and perspectives that might otherwise remain submerged—voices from the margins, voices of hard work, voices of deep history.

The initiative’s first centerpiece event—a guided boat and kayak tour—took place on a bright, clear day in mid-July. A small fleet of kayaks, along with a power boat, canoe, and paddleboard, made its way upriver from Dutch Neck Marine Park to the village of Waldoboro. The tide was in their favor, but the wind was strong—making the journey, like the project itself, more challenging than it looked.

Michael Amico, local historian and founder of Open House of History in Waldoboro, welcomed the group at Dutch Neck and set the tone:

“Today we’re going to ask a simple question with no easy answer: What does it mean to experience this place from the river? Not just to see it in all its beauty—but to feel it. To find the edges of experience. To listen for what might even be uncomfortable.

The river has been used for thousands of years—for survival and sustenance, and for trade. All those uses introduce questions—around who owns what, and how to make a living. We will never know what the river knows. But through shared experience, we can begin to feel the force and nature of its connections.”

Twenty-four participants from Waldoboro and neighboring communities joined the event. Along the way, they heard from ecologist Janet McMahon, conservationist Morganne Price, and aquaculture farmer Sara Rademaker, founder of Waldoboro-based American Unagi. Each offered a different perspective on the river’s history, ecology, and the lives shaped by it.

At its heart, Voices of the Medomak asks: How do we live fully—and diversely—together in this place, shaped by its ongoing natural and historical conditions?

That means listening to many kinds of voices—from clammers and rockweed harvesters to loggers and farmers, from paddlers and boaters to builders and landowners. It means honoring difference, tension, and emotion—not avoiding it. And it means allowing time—taking the long view, held within the river itself.

To learn more or get involved, contact Michael Amico at info@ohohwaldoboro.org or 207-530-1639.