Sitting pretty: New, student-made bench unveiled at Blue Hill town hall

The ‘solutionary’ project was designed to ‘fill a need in the community’

Harbor School students Penny Lowry, Birdie Coit and Christopher Jordan relax on a new bench that they and five other students at the school designed and built this spring. Photo by Tricia Thomas.

July 7, 2026

By Tricia Thomas

BLUE HILL—Students of the Harbor School cut a ceremonial ribbon on July 2 for a new bench they designed and constructed for the town of Blue Hill. The event marked the culmination of several months of planning and collaboration between the school and the town.

Three of the eight students who worked on the vintage-styled, steel and wooden bench braved scorching temperatures to attend the brief ceremony, held on the town hall lawn. The students were joined by teacher Brittany Courtot and school head Andrew Dillon.

“These [students] worked super, super hard to bring this bench from an idea to an actual object that exists in the world,” Courtot said. “As a teacher, it’s a pleasure to see students that are so passionate and dedicated.”

Select board member Amanda Woog also was on hand to thank the students for the gift, and their hard work in creating it.

“I love that you guys came to us with this idea. You stuck with us. It was probably about a six- to eight-month process. You brought multiple drawings to us. There was a fair amount of back and forth, and I hope it felt collaborative to you all. I want to really thank you guys for making it happen,” Woog told the students.

The bench, set on a spot prepared by the town’s public works department, is one of three that the students have built as part of a “solutionary” project, which encourages them to choose, plan and complete projects that fill a need in the community. Two other benches, made of cedar, have been donated to the Blue Hill Heritage Trust for placement along trails in the Hundred Acre Wood in Brooklin.

“They walked around the town and they thought, ‘people need more places to sit.’ That’s how they came up with the idea for the benches,” Dillon said. “Then, they scouted locations and came up with a couple of ideas.”

The students knew they’d need help from an experienced ironworker to help execute their design for the bench’s ornate frame, and found a willing blacksmith in Portland.

Sam Perakis, of Perakis Iron Works, specializes in architectural ironwork, toolmaking and reproduction and restoration of colonial hardware. Perakis also is a volunteer teacher at the New England Blacksmiths’ Gilbert Teaching Center in Brentwood, New Hampshire. After hearing about the project, Perakis agreed to not only create the bench, but donate his time and talent to do so, Dillon said.

“The students looked up ironworkers online and came across Sam,” Dillon said. “We were absolutely floored by his generosity.”

Students also fundraised to pay for materials that would be needed, securing donations from local businesses. Each of the eight students fulfilled a crucial role, putting their individual strengths and areas of interest to work throughout the process, Courtot said. Their work, she added, was largely autonomous.

“They really went for it, and each of them brought something to the project,” she said.

Woog, who liaised between the students and the town, said that she, the select board and the students all learned something by working together on the project.

“It was a good lesson in bringing an idea, facing certain practical realities, and persisting, sticking with it and making it happen,” she said.

Those practical realities included coming up with a design that complements the historic architecture of the town hall and downtown Blue Hill, and using quality materials that will last for several years while requiring minimal upkeep by the town, Woog said.

“Sometimes, people come with ideas for donations, but the maintenance is then borne by the town, and that’s something that we have to consider. It’s not only about accepting a donation, but considering how we’re going to keep it in good shape for years to come,” she said. 

The steel and wooden bench was gifted to the town of Blue Hill, and set in place by the students during a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 2. Photo by Tricia Thomas.

To handle the town’s concerns, the students chose iron for the bench’s frame and waterproofed slats of sturdy, weather-resistant white oak for its seat. The bench also needed to be heavy enough to stay in place, and be situated in a level spot on the town hall lawn where it would do the most good without interfering with grass-cutting or snow removal at the site, Woog said.

Birdie Coit, a rising junior from Brooksville, helped to scout a location for the bench, developed a critical path for accomplishing the project, and called Perakis for help, among other duties. “I wore many hats,” Coit said.

“The students had six or seven conversations with Sam before I even talked to him,” Courtot interjected proudly. “They just went for it.”

Coit said while she enjoyed learning about various types of wood, she really liked walking through the entire process from start to finish.

“I realized how much effort it takes, and now I want to do more projects like this,” Coit said. “I feel like I’m now more prepared, and I want to do more.”

Penny Lowry, a rising sophomore from Brooksville, helped with the mathematics needed for designing the bench, and helped to bolt the wooden slats to the powder-coated steel to form the back and seat.

Lowry also got to be the one to cut the ceremonial ribbon during the ceremony.

“I learned how much fun it is to put a lot of effort into a project. I also didn’t expect so many challenges, but it’s really nice to see the results and see how nice the bench is,” Lowry said.

Christopher Jordan, a rising sophomore from Brooklin, said that his favorite part of the project was helping to design the bench. While Jordan said that he was surprised by the cost of materials needed to build it, he’s pleased with the result.

Woog said she enjoyed working with the private high school and the students on the project.

“That’s one of the things about local government that’s so interesting to me,” Woog said. “You’re turning policy into practice and action.”

Courtot agreed.

“It’s really reflective of what the Harbor School does well, which is empowering young people to pursue an idea and make it happen,” she said.