Living on an island surrounded by the sea, there is no escaping the effects of climate change. Others living inland may be able to bury their heads in the sand, but on Nantucket sea level rise, erosion, storm surge, and flooding are all very real impacts that we experience regularly.

It’s one thing to be aware of climate change and its impacts on the community: it’s another thing to plan for its effects and to take action. Nantucket has long been a community that works together to solve issues and protect the island and its residents. Nantucket is resilient: with the climate projections, we need to be a little more pro-active to stay resilient in the face of such change.

I’ve been trying to think about how to capture this mid- to late-August feeling. It’s a bit like summer is winding down, but I know that the warm weather and beach days will continue well into September. Maybe it’s that the onslaught of back-to-school advertisements and school emails that has me thinking about fall. It surely isn’t the air. There is no crisp, clear September scent just yet. We’re still in the hazy warm days of August. Is there a name for late summer? How about Still Summer. Like, “hello, it’s still summer.”

Over the past two decades there has been a growing problem on-island as more and more non-native invasive plants (and other species) establish and dominate. Some species new to our region don’t cause harm, establishing in small populations without changing local ecology. However, it is the domineering plants that cause economic, ecological, or harm to human health that are managed. For a place which prides itself on its conservation and biodiversity, protecting these resources is of vital importance.

You may have heard about the recent theft that occurred at Stop and Shop. A man’s wallet was stolen from his cart right in the parking lot. It was front page news! Ok, it wasn’t front page news, but the perpetrator was identified as a frequent culprit of such crimes—a seagull.