WHO WE ARE

Kimberly

Kimberly grew up in Islesboro, where her family has deep roots going back hundreds of years. When she was younger she’d spend her summers hanging out on the local docks, sterning on different family members’ lobster boats, and doing odd summer jobs. She developed an interest in shellfish, and shellfish conservation, from her science teacher, who often allowed his students to assist the island’s shellfish committee in seeding clams around Islesboro. She attended the University of Maine and moved back to Islesboro in the mid-2000’s to start a family and assist her partner in starting a plumbing business. In her day-to-day, real-life profession, she’s a health care recruiter and communication consultant working with both for & non-profits. A HUGE fan of oysters, it was a longtime dream to grow them. <Photo by Amy Welch-Olson>

Anna [Blake’s older twin by 1 minute]

Anna is a sophomore at Islesboro Central School. She, along with her twin brother Blake, is growing up in, on, and around the water. Conservation and a love of nature, coupled with a lively curiosity for all living things, is at the heart of Anna’s core. Year-round, Anna explores nature and the beaches; not only does she have a deep love and interest, but also a profound respect, for nature- specifically the ocean and its animals. One of her favorite things to do, besides remind her brother that she’s older, is to look for unique finds on beaches when she’s on vacation- from discovering sea turtles hatching, to finding whelk casings (or “mermaid purses”), one of her favorite things to look for, and find, are shark teeth. Anna is an assistant on our LPA’s and also holds a student lobster license.

Blake

Blake is a sophomore at Islesboro Central School. He first set foot on his father’s lobster boat when he was about 10 months old. Since that day, he has spent summers helping his dad rig and haul gear, as well as hanging around his grandfather and other relatives, who are also lobstermen. Though only 16, he towers over all of us and is often mistaken for being much older than he actually is. Blake has been sterning for the past several summers, has his student lobster license, and recently purchased his very own lobster boat. The muscle of our oyster farm, he is also an assistant on our LPA’s, he’s working on getting his own LPA’s and is very interested in growing other species at some point in the future. Along with his siblings, Blake has followed in his mom’s footsteps participating with the Islesboro Shellfish Committee in clam spat collection to help preserve the local calm populations.

Gaby [aka Gabilicious]

The youngest of the three, she’s the wild child that brings the fun and glamour to the farm. Always ready to take on a challenge, go somewhere, do something, meet people and have fun; Gaby was one of the driving forces behind her mom taking the plunge of starting an oyster farm. She’s a legit foodie and L-O-V-E-S oysters- one of her favorite things to do in the fall is attend The Pemaquid Oyster Festival. Gaby is a 8th grader at Islesboro Central School and recently received her junior PADI in North Carolina. She has also grown up on the water just like her older siblings and 2021 was her first season lobstering with her student lobster license. She is also an assistant on our farm and is VERY excited to be applying for her own LPA’s to grow her own oysters and kelp!