News
On a Boston Harbor island, students find camaraderie through Outward Bound
WCVB Boston | Chronicle
February 21, 2025
The name has recently changed, but the mission at Cathleen Stone Island in Boston Harbor remains the same: inspiring young people with experiential education in a natural outdoor setting.
"Around the 1800s, it was decided that this island would be dedicated to providing education to young people who were from circumstances outside of their control," says Sylvia Watts McKinney, president and CEO of the program. "And the beauty of that is it's the first sign, in my opinion, of Boston, taking care of its youth.”
What was previously called Thompson Island was an agricultural school offering training for disadvantaged youth. It would evolve into a trade school, a day school and a boarding school. Today, it still welcomes hundreds of Boston schoolchildren who take a short ferry ride from the Seaport to an island that is just offshore, but still quite distant from their neighborhoods.
"When they go back to school, what we understand from talking to principals is that the culture of their community does change," says McKinney, "because now young people have had a different experience on the outside and they're able to bring that positive energy into the classroom and into the schools." Read more
Boston Adopts Living Seawalls for Coastal Climate Resilience
E+E Leader for a Sustainable Tomorrow
December 6, 2024
Living seawalls are engineered coastal structures designed to support marine biodiversity while providing protection against erosion and wave impact. They combine traditional seawall designs with eco-friendly modifications to enhance habitat creation for marine life. Unlike conventional seawalls, which are often flat and smooth, living seawalls incorporate complex textures, shapes, and materials that mimic natural coastal environments such as rock pools, reefs, and mangrove roots.
This initiative, developed in collaboration with the Sydney Institute of Marine Science, integrates climate adaptation with ecological restoration. According to Mayor Michelle Wu, the project showcases Boston's commitment to blending innovation and nature to address rising sea levels and coastal challenges. Read more
Protective sea walls recently installed in East Boston already have tenants
Boston Globe
November 1, 2024
The new waterfront residences in East Boston already have tenants: a snail and two mussels that have snuggled into the crevices and pockets of an undulating concrete panel attached to a vertical sea wall of granite blocks.
“Our first pioneer!” proclaimed marine biologist Jarrett Byrnes, who is conducting an experiment in Boston to make the many sea walls here a friendlier habitat for marine organisms in the age of climate change and rising oceans.
Read more
MAAH Stone Book Award honors three authors of African American histories
Bay State Banner
October 30, 2024
Three books — a chronicle of Black Wall Street and biographies of W.E.B Du Bois and scholar Merze Tate — are the recipients of this year’s MAAH Stone Book Award, a collaboration between the Museum of African American History and the James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Foundation that recognizes scholars whose work explores facets of African American history across the country. Read more