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Coheris

Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Coheris, Community Organization, Bangor, ME.

Coheris was founded by brothers Alex Serrano & Michael Norris with a simple goal: to strengthen local communities through cooperation, self-sufficiency, and community-driven action.

09/10/2026

I’ve talked a lot about the vandalism these planters have experienced, and I want to clarify something.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with signs, cameras, or other measures meant to identify people and hold them accountable when they destroy something that belongs to the community. Accountability matters.

But cameras and warning signs don’t actually prevent someone from damaging sensitive community infrastructure. And if our answer to every bad action is to lock everything down, put everything under surveillance, and design every public space around the assumption that someone will destroy it, then eventually everyone gets treated at the same level of trust: none.

That isn’t the kind of community I want Coheris to help build.

Trust inherently comes with risk. If we want more solidarity with one another, we have to give people the opportunity to do the right thing, and sometimes that means giving people the opportunity to disappoint us, too. We shouldn’t treat an entire community as untrustworthy because of the actions of a few individuals.

I genuinely wish the best for those who feel they have nothing left to lose and are willing to vandalize something another person created. I hope their circumstances improve. But at the same time, their actions are real, and they have repeatedly impeded my attempt to create something very simple: a community garden, growing food in public space, free and accessible to the people around it.

I’m going to keep planting. 🌱

The goal was never just to see whether vegetables could grow downtown. It was to see whether trust could grow there too. 🤝

09/09/2026

A huge thank you to Cold Stream Cruzers for taking the time to come out, see the Coheris planters, and help put together a video about what we’re doing! 🌱

It was awesome getting the opportunity to explain what Coheris is all about, show the planters in person, and talk about the bigger idea behind them. Cold Stream Cruzers has built a great following of their own, so I really appreciate them giving Coheris a chance to reach some new people in our community. 💚

We also recently had the opportunity to speak briefly with WABI TV5 about the downtown planters, including some of the vandalism and setbacks we’ve dealt with while trying to keep them growing.

Despite those setbacks, the planters are still here, we’re still replanting, and Coheris is still moving forward. 🌱💪

Seeing local groups and local media take an interest in what we’re building means a lot. Every conversation helps more people learn about the idea behind Coheris: Community, Self-sustainability, and Education.

Thank you again to Cold Stream Cruzers for helping us tell that story, and thank you to everyone who has been following along and supporting the project! ❤️🌱

08/31/2026

🌱 **One Month Downtown: Grow, Destroy, Replant, Repeat**

I wish we had a better update to give everyone at the end of August, but this month has been incredibly frustrating for the Coheris planters Downtown.

At the **beginning of the month**, our best-looking planter, the one showing some of the strongest progress, was damaged when someone threw a large amount of its soil out onto the ground. A lot of the progress we had made was ruined.

So we fixed it and replanted. 🌱

By the **middle of the month**, the sprouts were coming back. Things were finally looking good again across the planters, and it seemed like we were recovering from what happened earlier.

Then, roughly **two weeks later**, we came back to find the planters damaged again.

Sprouts had been deliberately ripped out. More soil had been tossed outside of a planter. Another planter had actually been physically shifted from where it was placed, damaging the wood in the process.

From what we've observed while regularly maintaining this area, these incidents involve individuals who frequently spend time in the Downtown area.

There isn't a positive way to dress this up. **The only genuinely good thing that happened to these planters this month was that we kept coming back and replanting them.**

Plant. 🌱
Vandalism.
Replant. 🌱
More vandalism.
Replant again.

That's basically been August.

Coheris started these Downtown planters to test something very simple: **Can we grow food in shared public spaces and trust the people around them enough to leave that food alone?**

Right now, the biggest obstacle isn't the soil, weather, seeds, watering, or lack of effort. It's repeated human interference with the planters.

We have spent this month repairing damage, replacing soil, and replanting seeds, only to return and find sprouts ripped out, soil thrown around, or the planters themselves physically damaged.

We aren't going to pretend that isn't happening just because it's frustrating to talk about.

But we're also not quitting.

If the sprouts get ripped out, **we'll plant them again.**

If the soil gets thrown out, **we'll put it back.**

If a planter gets damaged, **we'll repair it.**

These planters are supposed to tell us something about whether decentralized, community-grown food can work in a modern Downtown environment.

August gave us an answer we didn't particularly want , but it's still valuable information.

🌱 **September starts with us planting again.**

08/05/2026

🍄🇺🇸 The Coheris planters continue to surprise me.

A few days ago, someone placed a small removable American flag in one of the planters. I decided to leave it there. One of the most interesting parts of this project has been seeing how people interact with these public spaces. Every week seems to bring something new.

We've seen vegetables grow, plants disappear, signs get moved, random objects show up, and now... tiny mushrooms have decided to make an appearance too. Nature always seems to find a way.

I'm curious what everyone thinks.

🌱 What has been the most interesting or unexpected thing you've seen happen with the Coheris planters so far?

🍄 And does anyone know what kind of mushrooms these are? I'd love to hear your guesses from the local mushroom enthusiasts.

Public spaces tell stories. Sometimes they're frustrating, sometimes they're encouraging, and sometimes they're just plain fascinating. Thanks to everyone who's been following along and helping us learn what happens when food growing spaces become part of the community.

08/02/2026

We're disappointed to share that one of the newest Coheris planters has been vandalized again.

Growing food in downtown Bangor shouldn't require surveillance cameras, warning signs, or barriers. A healthy community is built on trust, respect, and shared responsibility, not the assumption that every public space must be monitored.

When someone disrupts a community garden, they're not just damaging wood and soil. They're taking away fresh, locally produced food, possibly grown by a family who is trying to educate their kids on food.

Accountability matters. Public spaces only thrive when people are expected to respect them and are held responsible when they don't.

Despite this setback, we're not giving up.

We'll repair the planter. We'll replant. We'll keep showing up.

Every head of lettuce, every carrot, every tomato, and every handful of herbs grown in these downtown planters is another step toward a more resilient, locally connected Bangor. Acts of vandalism won't change that mission.

Coheris is here for the long haul. 🌱

07/30/2026

Tiny sprouts. 🌱 Big ideas.

These little carrots and lettuces may not look like much today, but they represent something far bigger than a garden. They represent a different way of thinking about food.

In today's global food system, it's completely normal for food to travel hundreds or even thousands of miles before reaching your plate. The United States both imports and exports enormous amounts of produce every year. In 2024 alone, the U.S. exported about 243 million kilograms of lettuce worth over $503 million, while also importing massive quantities of fresh vegetables from other countries to satisfy year-round demand and regional shortages.

That isn't always wasteful. Seasonality, climate, and consumer demand all play a role. But it also means communities often depend on long, complex supply chains for crops that many neighborhoods could grow themselves.

There's another way.

The Transition Town Totnes movement showed that communities can become more resilient by relocalizing parts of their economy. Through local food production, community gardens, seed sharing, and stronger neighborhood connections, they demonstrated that resilience isn't just about preparing for crises. It's about creating healthier, more connected communities every day.

That's what Coheris is about.

We're not trying to replace farms or eliminate trade. We're proving that every pound of food grown a few blocks from where it's eaten is one less pound that had to travel through a massive global supply chain.

A handful of raised beds won't change the world overnight.

But thousands of neighborhoods growing even a small portion of their own food just might.

Every sprout is a reminder that resilience starts locally. 🌱

07/21/2026

🌱 Another step forward for Coheris.

Today we added another planter to the same growing space, and it's exciting to see this little corner of the community slowly beginning to take shape.

Coheris has always been about taking small, consistent steps toward something bigger. A network of community gardens that bring fresh food, education, and neighbors together. Every planter we build is another piece of that vision.

We're still at the beginning of this journey, but watching the project grow one planter at a time is incredibly rewarding. Thank you to everyone who has supported, encouraged, and followed along so far. There's so much more to come.

🌿 Slowly but surely, we're growing something meaningful.

07/06/2026

Unfortunately, one of the Coheris community planters was vandalized this week. Some plant markers were removed and several sprouts were pulled from the soil. 😔🌱

The good news is that the planter has been fully replanted, watered, and is back up and running again 💧🌿

Even better news: the first harvest of Coheris is complete, and it was genuinely very enjoyable. 🌿✨

While you can’t 100% prevent things from happening, what we *can* do is report incidents when they occur, rebuild, and keep moving forward together. 💚

07/04/2026

Huge thank you to Chimera Coffee ☕💧 for allowing Coheris to use their water to refill the community planters. Support from local businesses like this truly helps keep these projects alive and growing. 🌱

We really appreciate the kindness and community support. Small acts like this make a big difference. 💚

06/29/2026

🤘🔥 This past Saturday, Coheris hit the ground at SplooshFest 2026! Huge thanks to everyone at the metal show who stopped by, checked us out, talked with us, and showed support. The energy was unreal, and it was awesome connecting with so many passionate people in the community. 🎸🖤

We’re also excited to share a progress update on the community garden bed behind the Bangor Daily News building 🌱🌼 Things are coming along nicely, and we’re continuing to put work into creating a vibrant, welcoming space for the community to enjoy. More updates (and photos 👀) coming soon!

Thank you to everyone supporting Coheris. Whether at events, in the community, or online. We’re just getting started. 💪

Address

Bangor, ME
04401

Website

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