Seaweed harvests, 2026

We’ve been busy harvesting the seaweed that we planted late last year. After several months of growing we are now pulling hundreds of pounds of kelp out of the water. Here are some photos from our recent harvests in Clark Cove in the Damariscotta River and at Spartan Farms on Casco Bay.

Here we are harvesting and weighing Washington Academy, Tremont Consolidated School and Sipayik Elementary School seaweed planted on Springtide Seaweed Farm in Frenchman Bay with Carol Coryea, science teacher at Washington Academy. Yield 93 pounds on the droplines. Schools will cut the seaweed from the droplines and weight again for actual weight.

And here students in Carol Coryea’s class collect data about the harvest of the Sugar Kelp (Saccharina latissima) and Winged Kelp (Alaria esculante).

From our parents

I value the balance between time on the water and the educational component adding to their overall respect/perspective. The Olympics were also a huge hit this year!! A great balance between skills, education and good old fashioned summer camp fun!

Our child was super excited about the seaweed identification and that knowledge really presented when we kayaked out to spectacle island to camp and encountered many different types of seaweed. She loves the camp! Everything. One noticeable difference was that our child was able to identify the different types of seaweed on the coast and in the water while we went out kayaking.

Everything is fantastic! We really appreciate this stellar program and thank you for providing such wonderful enrichment and a unique experience for the students. Eleanor has been anticipating this program for months- having the time of her life.

BSSC’s thematic programming is one of its strongest components. All three of our campers (ages 5, 8, 13) were enthused by the topics and methods of exploration. They came home curious and eager to learn more ocean science related concepts.

You were the best organized communicators of the three camps she went to last summer – thank you! She loved the data collecting and science portions, that felt really unique to your program.

KSL

My daughter enjoys BSSC very much. She likes swimming and especially science. She likes getting “jobs” on the boat. She really enjoyed this week’s movie about the 16 year old who sallied the world by herself.

We loved the overnight on the Schooner Tyrone. Anytime this is a possibility, please make it available for the kids. It was such a wonderful opportunity. The highlight of the summer!