AgrAbility eNote: A monthly Update for AgrAbility Projects and Friends of AgrAbility

Sandwich board sign for Tom Settlemire community garden eventMaine AgrAbility finalized the article ‘Respirator Issues for Agricultural Workers’. Farmers at the Maine Farm Days event in Clinton, Maine, were surveyed about their awareness of contaminant exposure and their use of respirators on farms. Read the article here.

Maine AgrAbility staffer, Ellen Gibson, presented “Gardening for the Long Term” as part of the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust ‘Winter Workshop’ series. She had a great turnout — 45 people — eager to get back in their gardens! They learned about new tools and techniques, as well as about how to adapt their existing tools to make gardening easier on their bodies so they can continue to garden for the long term.

Maine AgrAbility Project Coordinator Lani Carlson attended the Shellfish Working Group meeting on February 10, 2016, held at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in East Boothbay, Maine. This was a gathering of interested groups consisting of fishermen, the Department of Marine Resources, UMaine Sea Grant College, and the Maine Aquaculture Association. Aquaculture is part of the diverse field of production agriculture in Maine, with many similarities to land-based farming. Maine AgrAbility is taking steps, through education and assistance, to learn more about the industry and to work to minimize obstacles that may inhibit the success of an aquaculturist with a disability.