High Schoolers Save 30 Jobs With Maine Beach Cleanup

When 11 high school students grabbed rakes and gloves to clean Hadley Point beach in Bar Harbor, Maine, they weren't just picking up trash. They were protecting 30 local jobs that depend on clean water to survive.

The cleanup comes after the beach's water quality scores crept dangerously close to triggering a state shutdown last year. At a score of 28.5, Hadley Point sat just 2.5 points below the 31 threshold that would close the entire area to shellfish harvesting.

Teachers Lydia Stiles, Jenn Kramp, and Andrew O'Donnell brought nine marine biology students and two environmental science students to help. Together with Marine Resource Committee members and local harvesters, they raked algae, hauled junk, and restored a beach that supports two family businesses.

Hollander & de Koning, a sixth-generation mussel farm, and Bar Harbor Oyster Company, which operates 22 acres of oyster beds in Mount Desert Narrows, both depend on Hadley Point staying open. A closure would shut down wet storage facilities and prevent all shellfish harvesting in the affected zone.

The biggest culprit? Dog waste. "One dog poop can shut down the size of an American football field," explained Fiona de Koning of Hollander & de Koning. When dogs defecate on the beach and owners don't clean up, that fecal matter mixes into the ocean where shellfish filter water.

The problem became urgent when state testing showed rising contamination scores. Maine's Department of Marine Resources uses six years of data to calculate P90 scores, and a particularly high reading from four years ago kept pulling the average dangerously upward.

After last year's initial cleanup and improved signage around the beach, the community doubled down this year. The students joined the effort as part of their coursework, getting hands-on experience while making a real difference.

The Ripple Effect

The good news keeps flowing beyond those 30 jobs. Recreational clam diggers can still harvest safely. The community has rallied around beach stewardship, with more residents now understanding how small actions affect water quality. And those high schoolers learned that environmental science isn't just textbook theory.

Local leaders added more waste containers and warning signs about pet waste. The Marine Resources Committee, led by Chair Chris Petersen, continues monitoring the site regularly. And Maine's Department of Marine Resources recently confirmed the positive results: Hadley Point remains approved and hasn't climbed above that 28.5 score.

Mount Desert Island native Joanna Fogg, who co-founded Bar Harbor Oyster Company, put it simply last year: "You can't be harvesting filter feeders when there's poop around." Thanks to students willing to spend a day with rakes and determination, those filter feeders can keep growing and those families can keep working.

Clean beaches create clean water, and clean water creates good jobs.