Join us this summer for a 5-part series featuring inspiring documentary films, local musicians, and meaningful conversations around equitable food systems, environmental justice, and caring for the planet.
We Can Get There From Here: After years studying marine microplastics around the globe, Abby Barrows was ready to come home. In 2015, looking for a side-project that would keep her on the water, she bought the lease for an oyster farm in Deer Isle, Maine. When she saw the mountain of plastic gear that came with it, the side-project became something else. Today, Deer Isle Oyster Co. is a flourishing family business, a proving ground for plastic-free mariculture gear, a new pier for a working waterfront reliant on one fishery, and a purveyor of some of the best oysters in the world. This is the story of one season on the farm, which also happens to be the story of an old island’s precarious present and potential future.
The Big Oyster: New York City is an iconic place many of us feel we know well—from its towering skyscrapers and sprawling bridges to its streets teeming with traffic, commerce, and cuisine. The “city that never sleeps” is famous for being full of life—on land. Less well-known is that its harbor was once teeming with life too. Until centuries of pollution and misuse turned it into a cesspool. Today, an alliance of architects, restaurateurs, scientists, and high school students is working to restore New York Harbor to its former glory—with the help of a remarkable and tasty creature that fits in the palm of your hand: the oyster. Each one of these filter-feeding reef builders can clean gallons of water a day. So, the plan is to put a billion of them back into the harbor, where they will filter out pollutants, establish reefs that can protect the city from storm surges, and provide habitat for myriad other species that once called New York home.
5:30pm Gates open. Enjoy live music and tabling with local organizations.
7:00 pm Screening: The Big Oyster & We Can Get There From Here(two short films)
All people welcome! Guests are encouraged to bring their own blankets, chairs, food, and drinks to enjoy the evening on the Farm.
Please leave your furry pets at home, we are a pet-free facility!
Admission $10/person. Pre-registration required
We are incredibly grateful to our Sponsors:
Thank you to our Series Title Sponsor:
Helen Zeldes
Thank you to our Series Presenting Sponsors:
Thank you to our Supporting Sponsor:
Thank you to our Series Partner:
We invite you to support our 2024 Farm Film and Music Series. For more information on sponsoring Coastal Roots Farm, see our Series Sponsorship Benefits.