Remain to Host Nantucket Reuse Speaker Series at Thomas Macy Warehouse
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, August 28, 2026
CONTACT:
Remain
info@remain.org
Remain to Host Nantucket Reuse Speaker Series at Thomas Macy Warehouse
Six experts will share solutions-based approaches to waste reduction, material reuse and affordable housing on Sept. 19.
NANTUCKET, MA — Six regional experts in adaptive reuse, waste diversion and affordable housing will speak at the Nantucket Reuse Speaker Series, a free event at the Thomas Macy Warehouse on Saturday, Sept. 19.
Featuring five sessions, each including a speaker presentation followed by audience Q&A, the speaker series is designed to let attendees drop in for any or all of the sessions. Topics will include how to turn invasive plants into useful materials, making biochar to improve soil health using organic waste, and where exactly our trash goes when we throw it “away.” Between conversations, guests can also explore the educational exhibit featuring success stories from three cities—Boulder, San Antonio, and Portland—that created systemic change in deconstruction and reuse for their communities.
“Nantucket has a long and storied history of moving buildings and finding creative opportunities for adaptive reuse,” said Cecil Barron Jensen, executive director of Remain. “Hosting the speaker series in the Thomas Macy Warehouse, thanks to the Nantucket Historical Association, is a perfect fit for these conversations. The Warehouse was built immediately after Nantucket’s Great Fire of 1846 to service the whale industry and is now a beautiful commercial and exhibition space. We look forward to welcoming the community for a discussion about opportunities to carry on this long tradition of salvage and reuse.”
Remain’s salvage and reuse initiatives are designed to raise awareness about and reduce the more than 17,000 tons of salvageable building material transported off-island each year. By adopting smarter waste diversion practices and habits, Nantucketers can create a lasting positive impact on our environment. Through events, partnerships, and public education, Remain aims to transform materials otherwise destined for disposal into opportunities for the island’s year-round community.
Seth Engelbourg of the Linda Loring Nature Foundation will open the series with a talk on wildcrafting invasive plant species into usable materials, a practice that reduces landfill biomass while restoring native habitat. Bill Hilgendorf of White Feather Farm will follow with a presentation on converting organic waste into biochar, a small-scale process that improves soil health, filters water and locks carbon out of the atmosphere.
Kari Parcell of the Cape Cod Cooperative Extension will offer a regional perspective on the volume of waste generated across the Cape and Islands, where it goes and what everyday behavioral shifts could change that trajectory. Wandy Pascoal and Miranda D’Oleo of the Boston Society of Architects will present the Adaptive Reuse Guidebook, a case-study resource outlining design strategies, regulatory pathways and financing models for adaptive reuse projects supporting affordable housing across Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. Kord Jablonski, emeritus of Boston Building Resources, will close the series with a look at how salvage centers and grassroots movement-building drive waste diversion and inspire systemic change on Nantucket.
Attendees are welcome to drop in for any or all sessions, which will open and close with remarks from Remain Executive Director Cecil Barron Jensen. Session times are as follows:
11:15 am – Noon — Seth Engelbourg, Linda Loring Nature Foundation
Noon – 12:45 pm — Bill Hilgendorf, White Feather Farm
12:45 pm – 1:30 pm — Break
1:30 pm – 2:15 pm — Kari Parcell, Cape Cod Cooperative Extension
2:15 pm – 3 pm — Wandy Pascoal & Miranda D’Oleo, Boston Society of Architects
3 pm – 3:45 pm — Kord Jablonski, Emeritus for Boston Building Resources
3:45 pm – 4 pm — Closing remarks
Light refreshments will be provided by Lemon Press. The event, initially conceived as the Salvage and Reuse fair, is free and open to the public, with capacity for approximately 60 attendees in the Thomas Macy Warehouse’s second-floor space, at 12 Straight Wharf.
For more information on the Nantucket Reuse Speaker Series, contact Remain at info@remain.org.
About Remain
Remain works to bring creative thinking to environmental and community challenges, elevate local industry and encourage innovation and resilience. Remain Nantucket engages in charitable work to support the evolution of a healthy year-round community across the island. Remain Ventures invests in buildings and mission-related businesses that strengthen Nantucket’s year-round economy and spark innovation that brings long-term value to the island’s residents. Both Remain Nantucket and Remain Ventures are funded by Wendy Schmidt and her husband Eric to support the local economy, community and environmental vitality of the island of Nantucket.