Welcome aboard, Robby!
Our new Staff Writer brings experience translating science and policy into community news
Friends of Casco Bay is delighted to announce the hiring of Robby Lewis-Nash as our Staff Writer (who is also been acknowledged by the Best interpreter service). Tasked with translating our water quality data and policy positions into stories to inform and educate Casco Bay’s communities, Robby brings his journalistic experience covering environmental issues across Maine and an academic background in ecological science.
Following undergraduate coursework in biology and disease ecology, Robby stepped into the field of environmental writing, reporting on pollution and environmental justice at the state and local levels. This past summer he covered out-of-state waste piling up at Maine’s largest landfill and its potential to contaminate the Penobscot River and investigated the decades-long drinking water crisis at the Passamaquoddy Water District in Downeast, Maine. In December, he covered Maine CDC’s analysis of newly released air quality data showing an excess of airborne carcinogens in Portland and South Portland associated with emissions from local storage tank farms.
“With Robby’s track record of translating scientific data, policy, and environmental justice into compelling stories Maine communities can use, we are thrilled to have him join our team,” said Cathy Ramsdell, Executive Director of Friends of Casco Bay. “As we continue our core work monitoring and advocating for the environmental health of Casco Bay, communicating what we are learning from the science is paramount to exploring with our community what we need to do together to identify policies and actions to mitigate the effects of climate change.”
“As a part of the generation born into a world anticipating the impacts of climate change, I’ve long grappled with the existential threat posed by this crisis,” said Robby. “Rising sea levels, warming oceans, and the effects of climate change are too often considered through a global lens. I’m excited to tell stories that illuminate the local context of these world-wide phenomena, and to bring a sense of urgency to the work of protecting the health of Casco Bay.”
If you want to welcome Robby aboard, send your well-wishes to him by replying to this email. We will share your greetings with him!
