Transcription of Pauline Dion for the show Interdependence, #95
Dr. Lisa: One of my favorite things to do as the host of the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour is to find the interesting things that are happening within the state of Maine that have to do with wellness and wellness from sort of a different vantage point. Today, I’m going to be speaking with Pauline Dion, who is on the board of directors with the Boothbay Region land trust, and is also the president of the Boothbay Sea and Science Center. She’s going to talk to me about some sort of earth-wellness related things that she and her organizations have been doing. Thanks for coming in and talking to us today.
Pauline: Thank you, Dr. Lisa, for having me. It’s an honor and a privilege to be here.
Dr. Lisa: Now, Pauline, you’ve been doing work for many different organizations and you’re on the boards of some pretty impressive things. The First Radio Parish Church of America is one that I know. I know Peter Panagore, so I know that’s one that’s really important and reaches a lot of people, Kickstart, the Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library and Maine Preservation. You’ve been really involved in the community for quite a while. Why is this sort of work important to you?
Pauline: Volunteering has been a big part of my adult life. I feel very strongly that there comes a point in time that we have to give back to the community, and all of these, if you really look at them closely, really relate to each other. I enjoy doing things for children. It is the focus of my intention in most of the fund-raising that I do, the YMCA, the Land Trust, they all have a component of children’s programming, and I really enjoy getting involved with my community and getting to know my community and all the strata’s in my community, and so I feel very privileged, and have been very welcomed and enjoy the challenge and opportunities.
Dr. Lisa: One of the things that you are involved in is sailing. Why sailing? What is it about sailing that particularly appeals to you?
Pauline: Well, I grew up in Maine, inland Maine, in a large family, and so I was not near the water, and we used to take trips to the ocean, and I used to see sailboats out on the water and remember remarking to my dad that one day I was going to be on one of those sailboats. I went to college in Newport, Rhode Island, where I had the opportunity to be close to the water, and had the opportunity of getting on a boat and I was hooked the minute I got on a sailboat.
After that, graduating from college, I had the good fortune of meeting people who own sailboats and eventually I was able to be an owner of a sailboat, and move to Boothbay Harbor. Since then, it’s just been a passion.
I think having the opportunity to introduce children to sailing, because I would have love to have done it when I was a child, really has been the driving force behind why I’m so involved in sailing programs and why I feel so strongly about the Boothbay Sea and Science Center.
Dr. Lisa: I can’t go any further without asking, How many people you had, how many children were in your family? Because I come from a family of 10, I’m the oldest, and so when people say they come from large families, I immediately feel a kinship.
Pauline: I come from a family of eight, and I’m number five out of eight, and the way I describe my position in the family is that I’m the top of the bottom. I have four brothers and three sisters, all of whom live here except for, I have one sister who lives in Pennsylvania.
Dr. Lisa: Where in Maine did you grow up?
Pauline: I grew up in Minot, Maine. Actually was born in Lewiston, moved to Minot and grew up on a produce farm, so had the opportunity to really appreciate hard work, and teamwork and what it’s like to help your family. I have the good fortune now, of hopefully helping other families and that gives me a great amount of pleasure.
Dr. Lisa: So you’ve talked to us about sailing and the sort of pull that it had for you, even as a child living in Minot, and you’ve talked to me about the importance of children. Are these the reasons that you decided to develop the Boothbay Sea and Science Center?
Pauline: They’re some of the reasons. Really, I’ve been chairing a junior sailing program at the Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club, and the population of children are eight-year-olds and older. I wanted to introduce a new aspect of sailing to the community, and I wanted it to be community-based. I wanted it to be affordable. I wanted to reach interests that weren’t being quite filled, for instance, the eight-year-olds have oftentimes had brothers and sisters that would come with them to the program and they would ask to stay, and they were the five-, six-, and seven-year-olds. Then I had sailors who were older, who really didn’t want to be on a 420 sailboat. It’s a keelboat. Really didn’t want to be on that because typically, it’s learning how to race, but would have loved to have been on a fixed-keel boat.
I thought that by starting the Boothbay Sea and Science Center, I would be able to introduce the younger children early on to the sport of sailing, make it affordable and accessible. Waterfront is not as affordable and accessible as people think, probably not as affordable, but it’s not as accessible as you think it can be. So introducing a community program that allowed for accessibility, not only for children and families, and adults, but also for disabled sailors. There’s a move afoot to retrofit boats, which I intend to do.
Being on the board of Kickstart, that’s developing into being a therapeutic riding stable, and we’re going to collaborate on producing programs together for people who, children and adults who, have disabilities. So, that’s the whole foundation of starting the Boothbay Sea and Science Center, was to really reach out to a segment of the population in MidCoast Maine, in allowing them the opportunity to be on the water, and to learn about the environment, because that’s where the science part comes from. It’s to really understand our environment and introduce a concept that oftentimes goes ignored because you’re on the water and you don’t really think about what’s around you. It’s an exciting … and Bigelow labs, I’m very fortunate to have as one of my collaborators.
Dr. Lisa: Going from the Boothbay Sea and Science Center to the Boothbay Land Trust, I know that you, the Boothbay Region Land Trust, I know that you have an event called A Taste for Place, and Maine Magazine is a media sponsor. This is August 15th. This is kind of an interesting thing you’ve been working on, and a lot of work going from sea to land. You’re managing to juggle both. Tell me about this event that’s coming up.
Pauline: It’s a very special event. We’ve not had an event like this. We were inspired, somewhat, by the Kennebunkport Festival that’s coming up next week for you, and we decided to try it. The Land Trust owns a lot of conservation property. It has property on islands, and we thought we would call it Island Dining, but decided that it would lock us in if we wanted to do something in the future, because we don’t have that many islands. One of the islands that the Land Trust has property on is Indiantown Island, and it also has connections to Hunting Island, so we decided that we had two of three places that we could do these dinners. It is the only major fund-raiser for the Boothbay Region Land Trust for the summer. We have an onshore location. Maine Home and Design has some familiarity with each of these residences, and in fact the Ocean Cliff that’s on Spruce Point was on the cover of the August issue of Maine Home and Design.
So we decided to try it. What it is, it’s an evening, and it actually has two events that evening. There’s the dining event, and then there’s a cocktail party. We had the idea of getting all the diners together at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard to meet, because two of the places they have to go by boat, both island, and one place they can go by land. Then we thought about the ticket price was high, it was a little bit exclusive, and we decided that we needed to open it up to the community again, another community-based event, so we decided to expand into a cocktail party.
The cocktail party is from 5-7 at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard, dinner guests, everyone will meet there, including cocktail guests, and then the dinner guests will go on their boat at 6 o’clock, 5-6 they’ll enjoy the cocktail party, leave, go on the boat to their islands, or their dining locations, and then the cocktail party goers will be there from 5-7. We have a jazz band. We’ll have beverages and hors d’ouvres.
We decided to end the event at 7, being very mindful and respectful of the other things that go on in town. As you know, Boothbay Harbor is a very busy destination resort, and so we decided to really be mindful of that, and being at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard where we’re right downtown Boothbay Harbor. We’re going to encourage everyone once they leave the party to go, and go to the local restaurants, and patronize the local events that are going on in the area.
Dr. Lisa: What does the Boothbay Region Land Trust do with the money that it earns in these events?
Pauline: The Boothbay Region Land Trust uses the money to support their education programs and just overall preservation of their properties. They have a lot of acreage and it requires a lot of maintenance. Access to the properties is free. Maintaining trails, kiosks, and also doing education programs up at the school, bringing the Land Trust to the schools and teaching children how to be sensitive to their environment and how to preserve the environment.
Again, a great fit with the Boothbay Sea and Science Center. How do we all take care of our water and our land? Making the connection, you probably can see where the connection comes from in terms of what I’m doing and what groups I join. It’s been worthwhile, and this is the third event that I chair for them, the third summer event. It’s been a challenge, but it’ll be fabulous and we’re really looking forward to it.
Dr. Lisa: There are also fund-raising events that take place annually to benefit the Boothbay Sea and Science Center as well.
Pauline: Yes, we have our fifth annual nautical auction coming up this summer. It will be at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard, which is down on Commercial Street and Boothbay Harbor. All proceeds will go to benefit the Boothbay Sea and Science Center. It will be on Friday, July 19th, beginning at 4 o’clock, from 4-5:30. There are several aspects of this nautical auction, 4-5:30 will be a preview of the live auction, a cash and carry, and a silent auction, and then beginning at 5:30-7 will be a live auction. We always look for donations, but you can go on our website, Boothbay Sea and Science Center for more information, in terms of a way to getting involved, if you want, or please come. It’s great fun, and we have an auctioneer, and again all the proceeds go to benefit the Boothbay Sea and Science Center.
Dr. Lisa: And the website again?
Pauline: Is www.boothbayseaandsciencecenter.org.
Dr. Lisa: How can people find out about the Boothbay Region Land Trust?
Pauline: They can go to the, it’s www.BBRLT.org.
Dr. Lisa: Well, Pauline you are a very busy woman. Sounds like you really put a lot of yourself into Maine, the waters, the land, and based on your growing up time, with your large family on the produce farm in Minot. It sounds like you’ve gone from great beginnings to an ever greater present. Thank you so much for all that you’re doing for science, children, land, water, and thank you for coming in and talking to us today.
We’ve been speaking with Pauline Dion, who is on the board of the Boothbay Region Land Trust, and also is the president of the Boothbay Sea and Science Center.
Pauline: I thank you very much for having me and for giving the Boothbay Sea and Science Center and the Boothbay Region Land Trust an opportunity to reach your audience, so thank you.