COVESIDE FIELDWORK RESIDENCY

May 16-June 13, 2026

Coveside Fieldwork Residency: Engaging the Land

“For all of us, becoming indigenous to a place means living as if your children’s future mattered, to take care of the land as if our lives, both material and spiritual, depended on it.”
— Robin Wall Kimmerer

Overview

Alumni are invited to return to Georgetown for a month-long, place-based fieldwork residency along the shores of Robinhood Cove.

From mid-May to mid-June, a small group of alumni will spend time getting to know a remarkable coastal landscape of forest, cliffs, and tidal waters. Together we will eco-map the land—learning to read its ecology, wildlife and patterns—while helping care for the site and envisioning its future as a place-based learning campus for expanded Seguinland Institute programs.

Participants will gain hands-on experience in plant & wildlife identification, field guide creation, stone wall restoration, land stewardship, and initial site design while learning from visiting artists, scientists, and craftspeople who will lead workshops throughout the program.

This fieldwork residency invites alums to explore multiple ways of engaging with the natural world. Through drawing, writing, observation, building and conversation, participants will reflect on their relationship to the land and complete an independent project inspired by the landscape to share at the end of the program.

There will also be time to enjoy summer on the Maine coast—swimming, hiking, and exploring nearby places like Reid State Park, as well as connecting with other alumni interning at neighboring Robinhood Farm.

Open to 5 Alums

What the Experience Includes

  • Approximately 20 hours per week of hands-on field work and skill building with Seguinland Staff Member
    (eco-mapping, trail work, stone wall restoration, nature journaling, and land stewardship)

  • Time with visiting experts leading workshops and field sessions

  • Afternoons for exploring Georgetown and the Maine Coast

  • Opportunities to connect with other Seguinland alumni interning nearby

  • Weekly potlucks and conversations with Seguinland staff and community members

  • A chance to create and share a creative project inspired by the land

  • Shared Meals & Weekly Potlucks with Discussion: A welcome dinner and weekly potluck dinners with Seguinland alumni, faculty, and staff, will anchor our time together, pairing food with open discussion around ecology, philosophy, creativity, and community—guided by themes that emerge from the group.

    Housing: You will reside in a large waterside cottage on Robinhood Cove. The cottage has 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, a kitchen, common areas, and a large screen porch overlooking the water.

Sample Daily Schedule:

Morning
Cook breakfast with fellow alumni and enjoy a shared meal on the porch overlooking Robinhood Cove.

9:00 AM – 10:00AM
Learning with local experts

10:00-12 PM
Group fieldwork documenting plant and animal life on the land using photography, watercolor, and sketching.

Lunch
Gather for a picnic lunch together.

1:00 – 2:00 PM
Time in your chosen focus area (eg., trail/pathway creation, watercolors of plants, etc.)

4:00 PM
Cookout at Reid State Park with alums from Farm Internship.

Evening
Self-guided time to work on your creative project.

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FIELDWORK RESIDENCY EXPECTATIONS

This Residency allows you to apply the lessons and experiences from Seguinland’s more structured academic programs and to put them into practice in our local community. While you’ll have mentorship along the way, this experience is especially shaped by your self-direction and the support that you alums will offer to one another.

  • Professionalism: Treat your residency like a job. Be present, reliable, communicative, and proactive. Your role matters. You’re representing Seguinland, and your contributions have a direct impact.

  • Communal Living & Cooking: Living in community requires flexibility, awareness, and shared responsibility. You’ll be expected to take an active role in communal life: cleaning, cooking, and helping sustain a respectful, functional home for all. You will be responsible for your daily meals.

  • Transportation: No transportation is provided by Seguinland. You’ll need to coordinate your own transportation for the duration of the program—including travel to Seguinland’s campus, grocery shopping, and travel to/from Georgetown, arrival & departure. We encourage alums to plan ahead and coordinate car access with each other in advance. You do not need to own a car to participate. But you will need to coordinate with participants who do have a car.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

PROGRAM COST: The cost to participate in the 4-week program is $900. This fee includes waterfront housing in Georgetown. Need-based financial aid is available.

DEPOSIT: In addition to the program cost, you will be asked to submit a $300 damage deposit (refundable).

 
APPLY