Reversing Falls Sanctuary hosts final discussion in ‘Refugia’ series

The series centered on the idea of safe havens where life persists amid hardship.

Presenters at Reversing Falls Sanctuary's final lecture of its Refugia series. Left to right: Leann Sullivan and Josselyn Miller, members, Acadia Action; Molly DellaRoman, Chair, and Lizzie Whelan, Vice Chair, Brooklin Food Corps; and Lori Johnson, Coordinator, and Anne Schroth, Executive Director, Healthy Peninsula. Photo by John Epstein.

April 15, 2026

By John Epstein

BROOKSVILLE–A few dozen people gathered inside Brooksville’s Reversing Falls Sanctuary on April 17 for the final installment of Refugia—a lecture series centered on the idea of safe havens where life persists amid hardship.

Event organizer Sonia Turanski introduced three local organizations whose work provides assistance, nourishment and empowerment to community members in need: Acadia Action, Brooklin Food Corp, and Healthy Peninsula.

Brooklin Food Corps

Molly DellaRoman, board chair of the Brooklin Food Corps, says the hub of her organization is the town’s community garden.

For over twenty years, students have grown vegetables and flowers in the garden–which is located on several acres adjacent to the Brooklin School and made available by the Sealander family next door–as part of the school’s curriculum.

In the 90s, DellaRoman explained, high school students tended the garden as part of a program called Brooklin Youth Corp. “But then the town started running out of youths,” she said, so the focus switched to developing a larger garden to include members of the community.

In 2021, Brooklin Food Corps was born.

“Neighbors are now teaching neighbors how to grow their own food,” said DellaRoman. “We are maintaining skills and finding joy in feeding ourselves,” she added. The garden is a refuge in the summer months where picnics and potluck suppers refresh those who have been working hard improving the soil.

BFC is not registered as a nonprofit. Rather, the all-volunteer organization functions under the auspices of the town, without government funding. It partners with the Friend Memorial Library to create a seed library, tool lending, and educational lectures by local beekeepers and clamdiggers.

“We want to connect people to food resources, including the many young farmers that are in our area,” said Lizzie Whelan, vice chairperson of BFC. Whelan said that the community garden is maintaining its close relationship with the Brooklin School and that “the principal sees gardening as helping with children’s emotional health.

Healthy Peninsula

Now in its 25th year, Healthy Peninsula is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving nine towns in the greater Blue Hill area. “Our purpose is to help fill the care gaps in these communities in order to support healthy families, healthy eating, and healthy aging,” said Anne Schroth, the organization’s executive director.

“For years the Magic School Bus was our main thing,” said Schroth. Staffed by volunteers, the bus brings quality food and produce–400 lbs. weekly–to 14 destinations across the Blue Hill Peninsula.

Healthy Peninsula volunteers also cook a weekly meal called The Simmering Pot, that serves all comers from the basement of the First Congregational Church in Blue Hill. Other volunteers deliver meals to those who are ill or disabled.

“But with Covid, there was a shift in community needs, and we needed to expand our focus beyond food insecurity,” Schroth said.

In response to the area’s steadily growing population of residents over 65, Healthy Peninsula established an Elderly Services program. Lori Johnson, who is retiring soon, has been the director for the last three years.

“Hancock County has zero nursing homes,” said Johnson, “and older people are staying longer in homes that are not designed for the elderly, and many live alone.”

Johnson helped develop “Bridging Neighbors” a Healthy Peninsula program that trains volunteers to visit with elderly people in the community to check on their wellness, help them with advocacy and reduce isolation. She described a case in which a physical therapist visited an older person’s home, conducted a risk assessment, and recommended structural modifications to improve safety.

Through the Elderly Services program, Healthy Peninsula’s has developed partnerships with service providers to get charitable help to the elderly. Johnson gave a shout out to Habitat for the Humanities which performs home repairs, and Friends in Action, which provides car transportation services to medical appointments

“We have incredible resources around us,” Schroth said, “but often people don’t know about them.”

Acadia Action

Representatives presented on behalf of Acadia Action, an Ellsworth-based community group originally founded in 2017 as a chapter of Indivisible, the national political action organization.

The organization, which counts Graham Platner, a candidate for U.S. Senate, as one of its early members, has a strong millennial and Gen X following. Since it’s not a nonprofit, it can engage in politics and civic action, including supporting candidates for the RSU 24 school board, has been a key focus.

The group sets up a free market on the second Sunday of the month in the parking lot of Bon Vent Cider on Rt. 684 in Hancock. Orga nizers say it is modeled after indigenous practices, offering people the opportunity to exchange goods and services at no cost to one another.