The Maine Shore Stewards Program is an umbrella organization whose purpose is to promote and support the coastal monitoring efforts of citizen volunteers. The Shore Stewards Program has built on the strengths of communities by providing them with education on water quality and marine resources, and by assisting them with their work on environmental issues at the community level. Many citizens involved in the program have the ability to make their communities stronger through working together on collaborative projects relating to the marine environment.
Volunteers build on their knowledge and continue to be stewards of their coastal waters.
Clean Waters and Phytoplankton Monitoring are a part of the Shore Stewards. This effort is community-based with impetus and energy at the local level and is typically a partnership between a community group and a high school. The data are used by local and state data managers to prevent and remediate pollution sources and to establish baseline information. In 1996 the Clean Water Program expanded its work with student and community volunteers to monitor marine phytoplankton along the coast of Maine. The University of Maine Cooperative Extension has been working collaboratively with the Maine Department of Marine Resources, the United States Food and Drug Administration, and the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences to make this program a success.