Twelve miles off the coast of Rockland, Maine, sits a low-lying granite outcropping covered in spruce and fir. The outpost is accessible only by boat. It's a place where cell service is non-existent and the internet is just a rumor. Travelers who make the journey are required to leave their computers, cell phones, and smartwatches behind.

It's called Hurricane Island.

Here — in June — Pomfret will launch a new Certificate Program in Sustainability Leadership in partnership with the Hurricane Island Center for Science & Leadership. The week-long intensive is open to high school students from across the country and the world. The program is accredited by Pomfret School and taught by the center's resident researchers.

Hurricane Island is one of more than 200 small privately-owned islands dotting Penobscot Bay, part of the Gulf of Maine, one of the fastest-warming bodies of water on the planet.

Since 2018, small groups of Pomfret students have made the trip here to explore the changing ecology of the Maine coast. In the process, they have come to understand the ecological and economic impact that climate-related changes are having on local and regional communities in the Northeast.

Students who enroll in the sustainability leadership certificate program become part of the team that makes the island tick. They monitor electric and water usage, maintain the compost, and help keep the galley clean. Throughout the program, they learn about sustainable systems, including graywater marsh applications, solar power collection, composting, organic gardening, and aquaculture.

Associate Head of School Don Gibbs, who oversees the program, is no stranger to place-based education. He has traveled with Pomfret students to study geology in Hawaii, Islam in Morocco, the Sacred Valley in Peru, and biogeography in the Galápagos. “Hurricane Island is well-equipped to support this kind of credit-bearing experience,” Gibbs says.

The facilities include a laboratory, two classroom spaces, a full-service kitchen, a mess hall, composting toilets, and a shower house. The island offers five cabins, one bunkhouse, and a yurt. Electricity is generated by solar arrays, and hot water is heated by solar water heaters.

Using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a framework, students explore and assess the infrastructure and ecosystem of the island, consider new ways to improve the island community’s commitment to sustainability, interact with research scientists and sustainability professionals, and determine how these innovations can be applied back home.

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