Sea, Sand and Sky

Fun in the Fog at Spectacle Island

2011-10-06T06:45:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday, Save theHarbor/Save the Bay took more than one hundred kids, parents, Girl Scouts, and adventure-loving residents from all parts of the Boston area to beautiful Spectacle Island (one of Boston's Harbor Islands). Luring rain threatened to dampen our trip, but it held off and instead, we explored the island amidst an ominous layer of fog.

The ferry ride aboard the Boston Seaport Boat Charter's Viking Starliner was an exciting trip as we cruised through the fog and occasionally spotted a sailboat racing in the 7th Annual Boston Harbor Islands Regatta. Captain Al's fresh donuts and hot chocolate from the snack bar made the ride that much more enjoyable!

I had heard the stories about Spectacle Island's transformation from a dump to a beautiful island of recreation filled with interesting treasures, but I was still pleasantly surprised by the volume of sea glass and pottery scattered throughout the shoreline. From glass bottle necks, to remnants of plates, to porcelain figurines, we seemed to stumble across a whole kitchen's worth of items, and then some. The kids were especially intrigued by the colorful sea glass; giggles and shrieks of excitement could be heard across the beach as they found treasures that had once been another's trash.

Aside from scouring the beach (but making sure to leave the treasures for other's to enjoy), families and kids opted to hike on the lush trails to the top of the island, test their hula-hooping skills by the beach, or have a picnic under the gazebo. A few brave souls even went for a swim!

The afternoon on the island was a pleasant escape from the city and a great chance for families to experience the spectacular Spectacle Island - which, by the way, got its name from its resemblance to a pair of spectacles before it was filled in to create a much larger island.

Fore more information about free, fun things to do on Boston Harbor, join our Boston Harbor page on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/bostonharbor.

New to the block

2011-09-27T06:55:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone, my name is Cathy and I am a new intern here at Save the Harbor Save the Bay. I am studying environmental science at Emmanuel College and am on the pre-law and policy track. I am more than happy to be joining the team at Save the Harbor Save the Bay. I had discovered the organization on my school website and immediately wanted to help. The success of Save the Harbor Save the Bay truly inspired me. Creating me to believe that it is possible to maintain a clean environment afterall.

The other interns and I were lucky enough to get the chance to walk around the harbor and explore the beautiful harbor. It was a great experience walking around Boston Harbor because I am not familiar with the area at all. Yes I do go to school in Boston, but I have never had the chance to take time out of my day to explore one of the most beautiful parts of the city. Seeing how amazing the harbor is really made a great impression on me. Living in the city really creates me to miss nature and exploring the great outdoors. Being at the harbor brought back that warm and adventurous feeling that was hidden inside of me.

It was a lot of fun exploring with the other interns. The surrounding area is filled with so many great places, including Jerry Remy's, the Bank of America Pavilion, and Anthony's Pier 4. It was a very difficult decision as to where to get lunch with all the great places to choose from. We ended up getting authentic Italian panini's at J. Pace and Son, which I will honestly say made my day that much better. It was difficult to leave our adventure to go back inside, but after getting stuck in the rain it was a relief to get back to Save the Harbor Save the Bay.

Overall I really enjoyed exploring the Harbor. It allowed me to appreciate Boston Harbor and inspire me to keep it as beautiful as it has become. It feels great to be apart of such an amazing organization that will allow me to keep the the environment clean, and in turn, allow others to enjoy the beautiful harbor.

On the Waterfront

2011-09-27T06:54:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone! I’m Davida and I am lucky enough to join the Save the Harbor Save the Bay team as an intern this fall. I am currently a senior at Brandeis University in Waltham, a short drive from the office on the fish pier. I am an Environmental Studies major with a minor in Chemistry. What attracted me to the organization was their very balanced mission to protect the harbor, while also encouraging both local residents and visitors to get involved and take advantage of the resources available in this area.

Because of the incredible changes that the waterfront areas has undergone in the past ten years, it took me a little while to realize some of my most memorable childhood trips to Boston included visits to the waterfront. My family and I would drive to visit my sister at school in Cambridge, and then come over to South Boston for an afternoon at the Children’s museum followed by dinner at No Name.

The historical success of this organization is clear based on what I’ve observed in the area. Despite the gloomy weather that has eaten up the past few weeks, the waterfront is always full of action, from business people to tourists, to fishermen. The people are all friendly and every day I leave the office I have an uncontrollable desire for fresh seafood. There are tons of restaurants, new and old, that are open for lunch and dinner. These include old favorites such as No Name as well as newer restaurants such as Legal Seafoods Harborside.

In addition to great food, there are many exciting cultural landmarks that I have yet to visit or that I was previously unaware of. The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) is right down the street and has great exhibits, as well as a breathtaking view of Boston Harbor. Also, many of the artist’s studios and galleries in the area have periodic shows or open studio days. The Four Points Art Community has their open studios day October 15 and 16 from 11am-6pm.

I am very excited to continue to get to know the area by walking around and exploring on my own, in addition to enjoying many of the events that take place on the waterfront.

First Impressions

2011-09-26T07:39:00.000-04:00

Hi!
I'm Ariana and I am very excited to be joining the team at Save the Harbor/Save the Bay as a policy and communications intern this semester. I am a Senior Environmental Studies/International Affairs major at Northeastern and am anxious to learn more about how Save the Harbor works to make the Boston Harbor and a better place for everyone to enjoy.

Last week, some of the new interns and I took a stroll around the waterfront to acclamate ourselves and take in the area. Boston's Seaport disrict combines an interesting melange of city, waterfront, and everything in between. The open air and sea breeze are a refreshing change from the busy streets downtown. From the Fish Pier's cheerful seafood distributors greeting you in the morning, to the breath-taking views of boats and tall ships lining the docks, to the sheek, new restaurants and bars lining the streets, the area has a little something for everyone.

We made our way down to Anthony's Pier 4 and I quickly realized how many Boston landmarks I still have yet to visit - even though this is my fourth year as a student in Boston. Now, I will have no excuse not to visit the Atlantic Beer Garden or the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art) since they are practically right next door.

We stopped for lunch at the very popular J. Pace restaurant and enjoyed some delicious Italian sandwhiches and calzones before getting stuck in the rain and hail storm. It allowed for some people-watching as tourists, businessmen and women, and retired locals passed by. When weather cleared up and it was safe to venture outside again, we continued our stroll and noticed the stark contrast between the old, abandoned brick building and the newly-opened stores and restaurants - a sign of the vast transformation the Boston Harbor has seen in the past few years.

I am excited for my work with Save the Harbor/Save the Bay to begin and look forward to spending more time in this beautiful area.

A Day With the "Blue Crew"

2011-09-21T15:56:00.012-04:00

Yesterday, Save the Harbor /Save the Bay hosted a beach clean-up in South Boston for nearly 100 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts employees. Despite the rain, members of the “Blue Crew” were energized and excited to be out of the office and on the beach helping Save the Harbor and the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) address the need for clean, usable beaches not only in the summer but in the spring and fall as well.

The day kicked off with a few words from Save the Harbor’s Bruce Berman, a visit from Senator Jack Hart, and a spirit cheer led by one of the Blue Crew members. DCR’s Jack Kelly then instructed the employees on their tasks for the day, some of which included trash clean-up, weeding, and moving of displaced sand back to the beach. As the clean-up began, it was obvious how passionate the employees were about their service day – one employee even continued to pick up trash during his lunch break!

During their lunch, Karl Pastore from DCR thanked and encouraged the crew as they prepared to head back out into the rain to finish the clean-up. By the end of the day, the beach looked incredible and everyone was exhausted! It was wonderful to see how enthusiastic everyone was—and how much fun they had-- regardless of the bad weather.

The beach clean-up was part of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts’ inaugural company-wide Service Day, powered by BlueCrew, BCBSMA corporate volunteer program, and inspired by the vision and goals of the community. Blue Cross Blue Shield had over 3,000 employees engaged in locally-designed projects across the Commonwealth. Save the Harbor was lucky enough to be chosen as one of BCBSMA’s non-profit partners for the 2011 service day.

We can't thank Blue Cross Blue Shield enough for all of their dedication and hard work and can't wait to work with them again in the future!

The Summer's Not Over Yet!

2011-09-08T01:27:00.002-04:00

It may be September already, but the beautiful days to enjoy our Harbor and our beaches certainly aren't over yet! And nobody knows this better than our Better Beaches groups- who are working to bring their communities to their beaches throughout the entire year. Our friends over at the South Boston Neighborhood House hosted their second "Family Fun Night" of the summer on September 2nd, reminding us that summer isn't over-- there's plenty more fun to be had, and plenty more memories to be made, on our beaches this year!

Sarah Appleton and I headed over to McCormick Bathhouse for Family Fun Night - one of my favorite Better Beaches events. The Neighborhood House consistently creates events that are shining examples of what the Better Beaches program is about: They've received just a small sum from the Better Beaches Grant Program (which the South Boston community raised themselves this year at the Cupid Splash!) and they've leveraged it into something so much bigger, tying in so many more pieces of the community and bringing families together against our favorite backdrop: the Harbor. Kids and their families listened to a local storyteller, created paintings and spin art with local artists, played on the beach, danced to the DJ, ate, and spent time together. Boston Public School representatives were there with information for parents about the new year, the South Boston Community Heath Center was on hand with information about healthier lifestyles for families, and Sarah and I were there providing some marine science. But my favorite part? Super Duck Tours donated free rides to and from Castle Island in the Super Duck Boat, an exciting new way for families to experience the Harbor together, and a great example of expanding the vision and creativity of what a Better Beaches event can be!

The South Boston community, and all of our Better Beaches groups, do a phenomenal job with pooling and leveraging what they have and what they are given through their grants. They don't just say, "We have this amount of money, what can we do with it?" They ask: "What are our resources as a community?" and "Who else can get involved?" It's really amazing to see what they create and who joins the fun.

The sunset brought some chilly air in South Boston, but the party continued. I know that some of my favorite memories as a child were on the beach on nights like this, late in the season, wrapped in a sweatshirt, cold sand under my feet, seeing lights sparkle all around me across the water. And in those memories, I was always with my family. The South Boston Neighborhood House is creating memories like that-- time spent together on a gorgeous night as the summer dwindles. I'm very proud to be a part of giving families the chance to make these memories together.

But hold on.... these kids get duck boat rides, storytellers, and spin art? Little elementary-school me is very, very jealous.

Hope to see you on the beach all year round!

Michelle

I guess this is goodbye.

2011-09-02T21:17:00.003-04:00

This summer was the greatest and most adventurous summer I have ever spent with Save the Harbor/Save the Bay even though it was my first with them. Starting with the staff members: it was great working with you guys. You all have some great personalities and are the best to work with. I had a wonderful time with y'all. The kids I have met over the summer are so much fun and are always joyful. I have learned so much from them, and they also learned a lot from me. This summer I visited so many places that I never been to and never taught I would. This job have given me some great qualities and I am very grateful of that. It was a pleasure working for Save the Harbor this summer and I will always remember each and everyone of you. "This is great now I'm crying"
SOO LONG MY FRIENDS -Hugues

My Farewell!

2011-09-01T13:38:00.004-04:00

Save the Harbor/ Save the Bay has been one of the most exciting job experiences I have ever had. This summer was filled with enthusiastic and motivated workers, who put the true definition to working together. I am still in disbelief that it's all over. The day of my interview made me extremely nervous because I didn't know what to expect. I was worried I wouldn't make friends and I'd have a hard time adapting. Luckily I didnt; I wanted to especially thank Michelle, Brianne, Sheuli, Paula, Sarah, Will, Carolyn, and Tommy for being great comrades as well as outstanding SME's and LE's. If I could change anything this summer, I would keeep it all the same because it turned out ten times better than expected. For the first time, I went sailing and I also went kayaking. Places like Courageous Sailing Center, Piers Park, McDonough Sailing Center, and Community Boating were all new places to me. I never knew these places existed. The most memorable part were the children; before working here I didn't know the first thing about fishing or crab trapping. Before this summer I had never been fishing a day in my life. Now, I can start my senior year of high school knowing I've learned knowledge I can pass on. I can now appreciate the harbor alot more and tell people things I didn't know at one point. Close friends I made include, Leon, Will, Aruna, Mark, Dianna, Christina, Cassie, Latoya, Huges, Tommy and Connor. Thanks everyone, for making my summer fun and memorable...I hope we all keep in touch!
-Josette :)

Au Revoir!

2011-09-01T09:41:00.011-04:00

Well harbor explorers, it's that time of year again. Eveyone is heading back to school and Save the Harbor, Save the Bay has wrapped up the summer programs once again. I was very busy this summer -- from leading groups to Georges' and Spectacle Islands to crabbing at the McDonough Center to hosting a beach party at M Street beach in South Boston -- and now that I've had some time to sit back and look at the whole summer, I can confirm that it was pretty amazing.

Not many people get to be outside near the water all day and get paid, or to work with such great children and staff, so I consider myself lucky to have found a place at STH/STB. Last summer was wonderful, and this year was just as amazing. I can never thank my co-workers enough -- I'm going to miss everyone! Special thanks to Brianne, David, and Michelle for being only a phone call away with help and advice. And there would be no Save the Harbor without Bruce Berman and Patty Foley -- thank you both for all that you do!

For those of you who don't know, this is Save the Harbor's 25th anniversary. 25 years ago many of the neighborhood beaches in Boston were unsafe to swim in; today more and more children are playing and learning on the same beaches that their parents couldn't swim in. Save the Harbor has been working to better the lives of all Bostonians by helping to clean up the harbor and to expose a whole new generation to the wonderful resource that is our beaches. I hope that 25 years from now STH/STB will still be encouraging a love for the water in all of Massachusetts's children.

Until next time harbor explorers,

~Carolyn

PS: The pictures are all my favorites from this past summer!

Season Finale!

2011-08-31T22:22:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone! My name is Mekhi Wright-hopkins;I am 15 years old and this was my first year at Save The Harbor. This summer at Save the Harbor was amazing I learned so many new things such as: fishing, setting up crab traps, baiting rods and traps and different things relavent to that. Not only does this organization teach you the essential things for working here at Save The Harbor; they teach you life skills such as being responsible, patient, and communitive. This organization exposes you to so many people and different opportunities which is extremely helpful for us younger staffers. Thank you all so much for this meomorable summer!

-Mekhi

Goodbye Everyone

2011-08-31T12:28:00.005-04:00

It has been a pleasure working with Save the Harbor Save the Bay for another summer. I really enjoyed working with everyone and with all the children that I would work with everyday. I love teaching the kids new things and I feel like I have accomplished my goals for this summer. One of the goals that I have accomplished was being more patient with the children. Also being able to be taught by the children as well. I would love to continue working here for the next few summers to come. It has been an awesome experience and I will take this experience to other people. I love everyone and I hope you all have a great rest of the summer.

The Last day of summer

2011-08-31T12:24:00.001-04:00

The last four weeks with Save the Harbor Save the Bay were amazing. This summer I got to work at the children museum and community boating this year. The kids were great. They are always ready to do hands on experiment and activity. even through the summer was hot the kids made it enjoyable I also got to meet great coworkers that are amazing on what they do specially Sara. This made the summer enjoyable and full of adventures. The summer ended before I even got to know some of the staff. I hope this isn't a good bye but see you next summer.

~Senait

Farewell Summer '11

2011-08-29T14:10:00.005-04:00

Well, that's the end of another great summer. This has been my second summer working at SH/SB and I'm glad to say that it was more fun than last year's. That being said, last year's summer was also very fun, I did not think I could possibly ever have more fun working in the summer than I did that year, but I have been proven wrong. One of the main reseason why this summer was so fun was all the fantastic people I got to meet. Our staff this year was more than double what we had last year. I also had the opportunity to go on all access three times more than I did last summer, so I got to meet three times the amount of wonderful kids I met last year.

Perhaps the only downside to this summer was the fact that I only caught three fish, compared to last year's 8. Nevertheless I had a ton of fun trying to catch and helping so many kids have a go. Personally, the joy of helping one of the young anglers catch a fish was greater than catching one myself.

So, as they say, all great things most come to an end, with this blog post, another fantastic summer working at Save the Harbor Save the Bay comes to an end. But hopefully just until summer 2012. Look forward to working with all of you again next year.

Enjoy the rest of your year folks.

~Aruna Bah

Goodbye Summer '11

2011-08-26T13:02:00.002-04:00

It is so hard to say goodbye to such an awesome summer. This summer I was very happy to be back on the water and enjoying having fun with the kids. I will definitely miss the All Access Boston Harbor trips and Camp Harborview because they are my two favorite sites. I love going out to the islands because it always feels like a home away from home. Camp Harborview is an awesome camp with many activities and it's tons of fun to fish off the pier. I had a great summer working with everyone on the Save the Harbor staff. There were definitely experiences that I had this summer that I will never forget. Staff day capture the flag was fun for me even though my team lost. Also, the fishing tournament is something I won't forget due to the fact that my team caught a Gull! We didn't catch anything else, but I feel as though we should have received a prize for that catch.

Now that the summer is over I can officially say that I achieved my goals. I did my best to keep kids engaged and made sure that each kid around me was having fun. I was able to do something I haven't done before and that was teach people how to fish during an insane and spectacular cliff diving event. I definitely maintained great relationships with all of my co-workers and they all made my summer fun, interesting and different. I really don't want to say goodbye to this summer, but I have to. It was another amazing summer working for Save the Harbor Save the Bay and I hope to be back next summer having even more fun.

-Will Clark

2011-08-23T22:31:00.004-04:00

Hello adventure seekers,

Last week was the last week of summer programs for STH/STB, but I still had time for one more trip to Spectacle Island to end my summer on a good note. The weather could not have been more perfect for some kayaking, kite flying, sea glass hunting, and swimming!

After stopping at Piers Park to pick up some intrepid sailors looking to explore the Harbor Islands, Vinh, David, David's daughter, and I spent a very productive afternoon combing the beach for sea glass. It was a little bittersweet since this was the last time I was going to be on the beach before heading back to school, and I was lucky enough to find some really unusual colors and shapes; I even found a marble! The rest of the afternoon was devoted to cooling off in the water before waving good-bye to the island one last time.

Since the 2011 season of All Access is officially over, I'd like to take the time to thank the people who make it so much fun, starting with the groups that come out with us. Kids, you ROCK! Your enthusiasm inspires me, and keeps every day interesting. Counselors, you do a great job helping the day run smoothly and it's great to see you all have the time of your lives on the islands as well.

To David Coffin, All Access leader extraordinaire; to Michelle and Brianne, schedulers and crisis avoiders; and to Bruce and Patty, Save the Harbor's fearless leaders: thank you for making this program what it is, for allowing so many children from Boston to experience the wonders of the sea, and for allowing me to be a part of it.

And last but certainly not least, to my coworkers from the past weeks, thank you for taking charge, making children laugh, and keeping me sane. I am so glad I got to meet you this summer, and I hope to see you again in the near future!

Until next time,

~Carolyn

Memories Last a Lifetime

2011-08-21T10:06:00.000-04:00

Taking this summer job was a great idea. Now I have experience working in the office from the six week internship I did this past April, along with experience outdoors. Having the chance to work with children from Boston was wonderful. As I taught them how to identify a female and male crab, the type of crab, etc. I was able to learn with them. A lot of what I did was new to me. It was my first time working, working with kids, fishing, crabbing and flying kites. The time has come, summer is coming to an end, but I will carry these memories forever.

I remember my first week I was at Piers Park. I grew close to as eight year old girl, Olivia. Olivia was teaching me how to speak Italian. :) Even though she only knows how to say fruit in Italian it was lots of fun. While I repeated the pronunciation of the fruit she spotted a wrapper floating in the Harbor. She screamed at me "Kristina go get the net, QUICK!" I quickly got the arancione "orange" net and handed it over to her, and she patiently waited for the plastic potato chip bag to float closer to the dock before she was able to have a safe scoop. I let her know if everyone was as aware and concerned about trash in the Harbor, it would be even cleaner. I told her imagine if everyone was able to scoop and grab a piece of trash they seen floating in the Harbor, and she said "I guess we need more people like me. People who care about their environment". Overall, Olivia and I learned something new. I learned some Italian and she learned that we need more concerned and caring people to help keep the Harbor clean.

This summer I caught my first fish. It was a 35" Strip Bass that won me two Red Sox tickets in the fishing competition. The fish was so heavy, until this day I can not believe I was the one who reeled in that large fish! I am so proud of myself. I love the fact that I was announced in the East Boston Times and that my parents brag to his friends about it. This was by far one of the best memories this summer. I learned how to fish this summer and managed to catch one of the largest fish as my first. My mom has the newspaper article pinned up on her bulletin board at work for all her co-workers to see. It makes me feel good about myself every time this memory pops into mind. If I was to never accept this summer job I would have never learned how to fish and never would have caught one.

Staff day! That day was fun with my co-worker. I had the opportunity to learn about my co-workers. On the boat ride to Spectacle Island I learned along with others that Mehki takes his Mac with him.everywhere, or as Kassy says "His Jumbo IPOD!" haha. I learned how most of us had similar taste in music that later led to the discussion of an upcoming concert. Surprisingly the majority of us staffers are attending it! When we reached Spectacle Bruce and Patty, two amazing host, had prepared hot dogs on the grill. Of course Manny, Hughes and I were the first to create the line and ready to eat! :) We ate and socialized amongst each other and laughed at silly imitation Mekhi, Hughes, Manny and Vihn did. While some decided to play a game of capture the flag others hit the beach later on that day. I hit the beach and cooled myself off. It was such a relaxed day.It ended in a great way, a hula-hoop contest. Candido impressed us all with his hip movement and jumping skills that led him be the hula-hoop champion although Kassy was last to drop hers. Getting back to Boston I was happy with the tighter bonds I had built with some of my co-workers.

The first time I seen ghost at George's Island! It was scary! The main attraction at George's Island is the dark tunnel. As many times as you go by the tunnel there are a bunch of kids and adults waiting to overcome the fear of entering this creepy, dark tunnel. While I helped get people in and out of the tunnel two older women had snapped a photo of the tunnel. They both came out with a scary look as if they saw ghost.. Surely their camera captures white blots down the tunnel that seemed to actually be GHOST! I was freaked out. I could not believe this. I quickly pulled out my camera and snapped a bunch of photo of what seemed to be a never ending tunnel. My camera along with the other women's camera had caught the same image. Some people said it was the lens of the camera that was dirty; therefore, I cleaned it several times to still get the same picture. A bunch of blurry, white circles in scattered places in the tunnel.

The Clam Seeding was something different! My team and I had headed to Thompson Island. As we waited for the ferry Bruce took pictures of us. At first I thought the event was going to be cancelled due to the weather forecast, but the weather pulled through was okay for the day.I had no idea of what we were going to do, it was a surprise to me when I heard we were headed to Thompson Island. It was a surprise to all of us staff along with what we were up for at the island.Once we got there we were told we were going to do clam seeding. I was not prepared to do so because I had jeans on. Luckily, the staff at Thompson provided us, around 40 people, long rain boots and gloves. I tied my hair up, pulled up my boots up and put my gloves on. My group of eight headed out to the water, it was low tide. We placed a net on a muddy surface and began digging around the square net. After we did that we pulled the net back and began racking the surface removing Green Crabs we seen.We all grabbed clam seeds and carefully sprinkled them on the surface as the other eight groups did. We pulled the net over the seeds and put tons of mud on the edges of the net to told tight when the tide comes in. At the end of the seeding everyone was dirty! Some had squishy, dark , watery mud on their face, gloves, arms, pants and shirts.Before we knew it, it was time to bring our materials back and head back out to Boston. This was my first time clam seeding and I enjoyed myself. I hope I get the chance to do this again!

Overall, this has been the most memorable summer! A summer of learning, teaching, having fun and networking. It is a perfect way to end my summer and begin my new beginning in the fall for college in Schenectady, New York. :)

Au revoir!

2011-08-19T12:01:00.005-04:00

Is it already time to say goodbye?

At Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, 'tis the season where we say goodbye to the staff, kids, parents, and excitement of the summer youth programs. :( And what an exciting summer we had!

Some of my fondest memories of Boston came from the kids at all of our program sites around the city. At Community Boating, I will remember the wind on the Charles river whipping through the sails of boats, the smiles produced from first-caught fish, and the clumpy cumulus clouds. At Boston Children's museum, I will remember the expression created on a child's face after beholding a lobster for the first time. At Courageous Sailing Center, I will remember teaching kids about marine debris, and recovering it using a Remote Operated Vehicle with the Rozalia Project.

Other Save the Harbor highlights come from the work I did as part of a team of AMAZING staffers. I enjoyed being able to mentor my coworkers and learn from them simultaneously. Special thanks to Michelle Palermino and Brianne Studer for keeping the team running like a well-oiled machine.

Most of all, I will remember the impact I was able to make on Boston's youth. Hopefully, all of the children we worked this this summer have learned to love and respect their local marine environment, Boston Harbor. It was more than rewarding to be able to share my love of the sea, and teach about its creatures and systems.

This summer, I educated and was educated in return. I trust that the things I learned about Boston, working with kids, being part of a team, and even about myself, will serve me well in my future endeavors. I am excited to apply my new found knowledge!

Thanks to Save the Harbor/ Save the bay for an amazing summer!

Cheers,

Sheuli

Ode to Decapods at Boston Children's Museum

2011-08-19T09:15:00.006-04:00

What would you do with ten feet?

Would you walk faster? Would you invent a new decapodian dance? Would you paint the toenails on each of your feet a different color? I might do all three, in honor of the decapods we find everyday in the Fort Point Channel at the Boston Children's Museum.

Along with a whole host of other creatures, lobsters, shrimp and crabs are of the taxonomic order decapodia, which ,in Greek, means "ten-footed". As our fishing 101 group found out this summer, the lobsters and crabs that we pull up in traps there have 8 legs and 2 claws! In addition to their lovely limbs, the decapods at Boston Children's Museum have a whole host of other cool features!

My favorite characteristic of these animals is their fantastic exoskeleton. Imagine having armor on the outside and no interior bones to speak of! As invertebrates, lobsters and crabs are spineless. So why is their shell called an exoSKELETON? Hmmmm. Let's think. Our bones provide support for our bodies from the INSIDE, but an exoskeleton protects and supports a body from the OUTSIDE. The kids at BCM enjoyed feeling the hard shells of the crabs and lobsters we found.

Apart from their physical forms, the BCM decapods entertained kids and parents alike with fast moves and feisty personalities. Hundreds of kids at the museum marveled at the way crabs walked sideways, using all eight legs! The speed with which the crabs attempted to run out of the traps also impressed many entertained onlookers.

Thanks to BCM for a great week and a great summer. But we cannot forget to thank our friends the decapods for their good looks and all the entertainment they provided us with this summer!

-Sheuli

Goodbye Again!

2011-08-19T08:37:00.004-04:00

Thus ends another summer at Save the Harbor/Save the Bay. It was a great summer to come back to Save the Harbor as it was our 25th Anniversary year, we held great trips on All Access Boston Harbor and great programs at all of the sailing centers as part of Boston Harbor Explorers and then, as my last two days, had a Summertime Beach Bash for the kids and then a Summertime Splash party the day after!

I had a great time at the beach bash spending a majority of my morning making sand castles and then spending my afternoon feeding the masses a tremendous amount of hot dogs. It was great to be around the kids as an unofficial "office rat" it felt good to go out and see the work we had been doing all summer come together.

It was also great to come back again and hang out with people that I had met last summer, like Thi and Michelle! I met great new people that had come to the office such as Brianne and Caitlin. I thank all of the people in the office, Brianne, Michelle, Caitlin, Matt, Patty, and Bruce for making this another summer that I could never forget and that I also felt like, again, that I was making a difference in Boston especially for the youth of Boston and the surrounding neighborhoods. I also thank all of the summer staff for doing an amazing job and not driving me too crazy with the blog posts :)

So unlike last summer, a summer of firsts and a little hectic, this summer was calm and great and I was so thankful to come back to Save the Harbor and be an intern again! Everything I've learned will help me so much!

Thanks guys and maybe see you next summer, who knows!

Cassie

A Farewell to Spectacle Island

2011-08-18T23:21:00.006-04:00

Last Friday's Beach Event Day in South Boston was amazing! I had a great time. It was so cool to see so many campers come together and just have a day of fun and relaxation, courtesy of Save the Harbor! I was mostly working on Sand Castles, which ended up with of bunch of campers and I digging to strike water (which we eventually did) and campers being buried up to their necks. And even though the stress level seemed to have gone up when lunch began, Save the Harbor did a great job working together; good job guys!

But, my main focus of this blog post was to say my farewells to Spectacle. Although I have only been there three times with Save the Harbor, all my visits granted me some new adventure. My first time was meeting new staff and seeing what the island was all about (by the way, that was my first time ever ON the island); my second time had me flying kite (not going to talk about it); and my final time, which was today, had me kayaking around the island! Thi and I, along with three other people from another group, went kayaking in a sort of informal tour around Spectacle Island. Although the harbor was really choppy, it was such an experience. I have only kayaked on rivers before, and to do it on theharbor for the first time, around such a beautiful island, truly was breathtaking. Later once we came back from All Access I realized what an awesome way that was to end my summer not only at Spectacle, but also at Save the Harbor.

It's not my last blog post, but I still want to say thanks to all my fellow staff and the leaders and senior educators who made this experience for me an unforgettable one. I am going to miss all of you!

Thanks,

David

It's already over?

2011-08-18T18:41:00.004-04:00

This summer working for Save the harbor/ Save the Bay went by faster than I thought- maybe too fast. I made a lot of new friends and was able to see a lot of new things, some of which I would've never thought possible. It's crazy because this time last year, I probably wouldn't have seen things how I see them now. This was a good thing for me because I learned how to come out of my shell and adjust to new surroundings. I'm thankful that I had the opportunity to work with Save the harbor/ Save the Bay, I learned a lot and I also grew in some ways. Hopefully I will have the chance to work here next year but until then it was nice getting to know my coworkers and the harbor! See you later!

Last day at AABH

2011-08-18T18:31:00.002-04:00

As we draw closer to Spectacle island, I take a minute to reflect on this wonderful summer. The smell of the harbor, the call of the gulls and the shine of the sea glass. I think, what a summer!

Today was a relaxed day. When I was on the top of the island my eyes seem to focus on the view of the city, a nice summer day and the perfect view atop Spectacle. Today, all the little things mattered, from playing with a beach ball in a windy environment, to conversing with my co-workers about where to get good-priced school supplies! The lady at the summer shack even gave me and Manny two cheeseburgers for only $4.00! Now I'm not going to say today was my favorite experience on Spectacle island but it was more of an until we meet again type of situation. I tell you this though; nothing gets better than kicking your feet up and taking a minute to say "I'm on an island!"

... But then it's right back to work. Being apart of the AABH team was definitely the highlight of my summer!

Summertime Splash!

2011-08-18T16:20:00.006-04:00

On the weekend of August 12th, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay hosted parties for all of the kids that we have worked with this summer, and their families. The turnout was quite impressive, with about 400 people showing up. The day was jam-packed with painting, sand castle building, fishing, and a touch tank with a lobster inside!

With 400 people comes 400 bellies, so lunch was the most hectic part of the day, with alot of scrambling to get condiments and hot dogs. The staff was prepared with 1,100 hot dogs. We also built a beautiful sand sculpture of the Save the Harbor/ Save the Bay logo! Meanwhile, Timmy, Candido,Will, and I had dug a very deep hole to keep our feet cool.

Another highlight of the day was when the entire staff played ultimate frisbee. Conor was the leader of one team, while Michelle led the other team. Conor's team dominated as he was the ultimate frisbee co-captain at his college. Of course, the most important highlight of the day was when everyone ran into the water to help raise money to help raise money to benefit Boston's beaches. The water was frigid, but everyone still had a blast!

Mayor's Visit

2011-08-18T16:15:00.002-04:00

Dear Mayor Menino,

My name is Vinh Tran, and I am a sixteen year old residing in the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester. I currently attend the John D. O’Bryant School of Math and Science. I’ve only been a staffer here at Save the Harbor for the past two months, but during those two months I have already acquired a plethora of knowledge relating to Boston Harbor. If the television show “Who wants to be a Millionaire?” had all of its questions based on Boston Harbor, I’m confident that I would walk home with a million dollars. I love spreading and sharing this knowledge with children younger than myself. I have also grown to love and cherish Boston Harbor, and I would also like to share the same feelings and opportunities with the generations to come.

Not many people get to go out to the islands for a leisurely hike or swim. To fulfill this, I think that Boston Harbor should offer more activities on the many islands such as sand castle building and sand sculpture building. This would attract more and more people to the islands who would appreciate the harbor’s clean and refreshing water. I also think that every island should have their own compost and recycling area so the parks can have less trash. Each of the islands could have installed a compost pile so that organic items could be turned into compost.
The people in the positions of political power can also help improve the harbor by campaigning and asking the public for donations so that the islands can build better facilities. They could also use their political influence to spread the word around all of the state and even the entire nation to help gather funds to benefit the Harbor.

Sincerely,
Vinh Tran

Another Fabulous Summer At Save the Harbor/Save the Bay

2011-08-18T16:06:00.008-04:00

This summer, I was so excited to come back to Save The Harbor. Last year was my first year, and I learned a lot of new things and got a chance to see a lot of new places. This year, I came back with everything I learned from last and I had a chance to be able to teach some of our new staff.

It felt good because I remember when I first started. This year I can say that I was more engaging with people. I talked to everybody. I also got to meet a lot of new people, but the best part about it was I wasn't shy or anything.

I just want to say thank you to Save The Harbor because it was this organization who gave me this opportunity to come work with them and learn about the harbor. They also helped me come out of my shell. Now I can actually sit down and explain this whole youth program to somebody without a problem. And I want to thank everyone that was here when I first came for helping me get where I am now. I don't want to say goodbye because I do plan on coming back. So see you next summer!!! (Hopefully)

Mark Rose

Last day at southie

2011-08-18T15:33:00.007-04:00

My last day at Southie was the great. It really didn't feel like the last day. Everybody was having fun as usual, enjoying the wonderful weather, relaxing on the beach and out sailing. Me and my co-workers were down on the beach walking with a couple of kids looking for crabs.

We also found a couple of pieces of sea glass. I didn't even know that Southie had sea glass on the beach, so that gave us something teach the kids about even though the kids at Southie know everything!

But some of them were surprised on top of that because I got to work with some of my best friends for the last week of work. Being one of my favorite sites, i will truly miss McDonough and all my Southie kids.

Mark

Party time!

2011-08-18T13:42:00.002-04:00

On Friday August 12th Save the Harbor held a huge beach party for 450 people. We had many kids all over the beach in South Boston doing many different activities with the staff. The activities that took place were sports and games, fishing, kite flying, swimming, art and sand castle building. There were many ways for the kids to have fun all on one beach. I personally enjoyed being able to say thank you to everyone for coming and supporting Save the Harbor. All day I witnessed kids having fun and smiles on their faces.

Ours staff did a great job at keeping the kids engaged and made sure that every group had something to do. Lunch was definitely the craziest part of the day, but with all the staff doing what they could to help and our guests being patient things stayed under control. As an instructor for sports and games I enjoyed playing football and soccer with the kids. I learned a new soccer game called world cup which was very fun. Also, playing the football game called Jackpot was entertaining especially since I hadn't played in a long time. All together the day was very successful and it was a Save the Harbor event that I will never forget.

-Will Clark

GoodBye Everyone :(

2011-08-18T12:29:00.006-04:00

This was the best summer ever for me with SavetheHarbor/SavethBay.
I loved working with all of you.

I learned a lot and went to places I've never been to. My favorite event was the Summer Splash. I had so much fun working with all of you! I wish we could have spent more time together!

It's hard to say goodbye to each other. I hope all of you have a great rest of the summer. Be safe.

-Candido

Clean Water excitement

2011-08-18T11:42:00.007-04:00

On Saturday, our event whas another amazing day.
We all ran down and jumpd into the water with exciment.
Some of us built a SavetheHarbor/SavetheBay logo sandcastle.
We threw some of the staff into the water who didn't want to get wet.

Then we played a frisbee game, but my team lost.
After we took a picture with our Save the Harbor logo sandcastle, and I didn't smile like always! There was aslo a band there! I loved the sound of the thier drum.

-Candido

Final Week

2011-08-18T08:08:00.004-04:00

What a way to start off the the final week, with rain. :( Usually the rain brings people's mood down, but not at Camp HarborView! It was nice to see how the fishing club was still so excited to fish. The rain did not stop them from what they love. In the cold rain we fished together. Like any other beautiful sunny day where we collect bait, check the traps and fish we did in this cold, cold rain. The wind was strong and when it smacked your skin you would get chills through your body.

Camp Harbor View kids? The rain was nothing. Not once did a kid say they wanted to be somewhere dry or they wanted to go back indoors. These kids love to fish and I was surprised at their attitudes towards the rain. I loved seeing how focused and full or energy they were. When their camp counselor said it was time to go they all sucked their teeth and whined. All they wanted to do was do what they love, fish!
I know if these kids keep this type of attitude they will go far. Never let anything get in the way of what you love.

-Kristina :)

Last Week

2011-08-18T02:26:00.005-04:00

After the fantastic day we had last Friday with all the groups we have been working with though the summer, it only made sense that they would think it was our last day. So today when we showed up for another fun day at Constitution beach, we found that the group had not arrived. They thought Friday was our last day and didn't show up. After waiting for a while, Sheuli made a phone call and eventually the East Boston Y was informed that we were holding program. And so, even though they were only going to have about a half hour of programing by the time they got there, they still decided to make the trip to the beach. And to me, that just shows how well we have done with them this summer and how much they all enjoy spending the day with us. With the limited time we had, we were able to separate them into two smaller groups, one consisting of members that wanted to go exploring, and the others playing games. It ended up being a fun day; a great way to end the summer with the East Boston Y.

~wilshere

Summer Time Splash

2011-08-18T02:12:00.004-04:00

Last Friday and Saturday, we held Summer Time Splash at one of the South Boston beaches; both days turned out to be a huge success. On Friday, we invited all the groups we had the pleasure of working with throughout the summer. Over 400 kids were fishing, painting, building sand castles, playing sports flying kites and eating hot dogs. It was a great day to be at the beach. On Saturday, we had much less of a turn out, but it turned into a great day regardless. We built a very impressive symbol for Save the Harbor and got to welcome the Boston light swimmers. It was a fantastic weekend, possibly the best I have had all summer.

~wilshere

Easy fishing on the River

2011-08-17T20:26:00.005-04:00

We have never had a bad day fishing at Community Boating. As soon as Annie starts mixing up carp cookies the fish swarm. We can usually reel five fish or more in a very short time, better than any other site. The kids all love to fish and the easy fishing is what makes CBI a really great site.

-Scott Wortman

From the Hub to the Mitten

2011-08-17T15:59:00.004-04:00

My, how the time has flown! It seems like just yesterday that we were all arriving for the first day of staff training, but now here were are in the last week of the summer. Working for Save the Harbor this summer has been an absolute blast! Every day I got to outside, play with some really great kids, and help them learn about and enjoy their harbor; you can't ask for a better job than that!

If I had to choose, I would say the highlight of my summer has been working at Camp Harbor View. I forgot to mention this earlier, but on the last day of fishing club, Henry, my pro snail catcher, put his hand in the water, plucked a mussel off the dock, crushed it and put it on a fishing hook himself! Quite an accomplishment for a boy who two weeks earlier was afraid to even touch the water.

An additional highlight for me this summer has been working with and getting to know the rest of the Save the Harbor staff, especially the junior staff. It has been great to watch their confidence and experience grow over the course of the summer!

This week is not only my last week at Save the Harbor, but also my last ever week in Boston. Although I was born in the city and grew up just outside of it, I haven't really gotten to know Boston inside and out until this summer. Next week, I will be moving to Ann Arbor, Michigan to begin my PhD studies at the University of Michigan (Brianne's alma mater!) in ecology and evolutionary biology. While I won't get to be outside or go fishing as much, I will still get to teach and work with snails.

Working for Save the Harbor has given me a new appreciation for the challenges of integrating sound science, education, and policy, some great memories, and a pretty decent tan. All in all, it's been a great summer that I won't soon forget!

-Paula

Crab Count: The Results are In

2011-08-17T11:46:00.010-04:00

After a summer of hard work pulling up traps, turning over rocks, and measuring fiesty crabs, it's now time for the fun part: putting all of our data together and looking at the results!

First, some basic numbers:

In total, we caught and measured 493 individual crabs this summer!
270 were Asian shore crabs
130 were green crabs
89 were red rock crabs
4 were spider crabs
300 were male and 193 were female
They ranged in size from a tiny 4mm to a whopping 12.04 cm

From our total numbers, it certainly appears as if invasive Asian shore crabs and green crabs are the dominate species in Boston Harbor, but let's take a closer look at our individual sites.

Asian shore crabs, the most dominant species in our total, are actually only the most common species at two of our six sites: Camp Harbor View on Long Island and the Harry McDonough Sailing Center in South Boston. These sites are both rocky and gravely beaches where we searched for crabs in the intertidal zone (the area between the high and low tide marks which is sumberged for only part of the day). Asian shore crabs do very well in the intertidal zone because they are better than other crab species at tolerating the dryer conditions of this habitat.

Black's Creek in Quincy is also a gravely beach where we searched for crabs in the intertidal zone, but we found almost exclusively green crabs at this site. Why no Asian shore crabs?

Black's Creek is a Salt Marsh Estuary where fresh water mixes with ocean water and lowers the salinity. Green crabs are very tolerant of a wide range of different salinities, but Asian shore crabs can't survive as well in the low salinity of Black's Creek.

Green crabs are dominant at Piers Park Sailing Center in East Boston, Courageous Sailing Center in Charlestown, and in Fort Point Channel at the Boston Children's Museum as well. These crabs were introduced to New England in the early 1800's; their quick reproduction and adaptability to a wide range of conditions have allowed them to easily outcompete native crabs, so it is no surprise that we found so many of them.

At Piers Park, Courageous, and the Children's Museum, we caught crabs from the subtidal zone (the area that is always submerged, even at low tide) using traps. At these sites, we saw two additional spcies of crabs that are not as tolerant of the dryer intertidal zone. Red rock crabs were common at Piers Park and Courageous, and spider crabs were found at Piers Park and the Children's Museum. Although we never saw the sea floor at these locations, the species of crabs that we found at each of them can actually tell us a little bit about what the bottom is like! Red Rock crabs (as you can probably guess from the name) like habitats with lots of rocks, while spider crabs (a type of mud crab), prefer muddy bottoms. Based on the data we collected, Courageous probably has a more rocky bottom, Fort Point Channel has a more muddy bottom and Piers Park likely has a mixture of both.

This is only a small example of the kinds of things we can learn from the crab count information we've collected this summer. We'll be sending all of our data along to Dr. Judy Pederson at MIT who will use it to study the spread of invasive species. Hopefully, she'll keep us posted on what she finds!

-Paula

Horrible weather=Great day to catch fish

2011-08-17T11:37:00.007-04:00

Yesterday's weather was awful, but despite the nasty weather
we still managed to catch some sunfish, catfish, and eels.

The most fascinating thing about yesterday was this spectacular girl
who had her own method for fishing.

It was so successful that she caught not 1, not 2 but 3 fish.

Her method was to drop her line in directly off the dock
and hold the line while laying on her stomach and look into the water
so she knew when the fish were coming.

To be honest I didn't think it would work but it did
and I regret doubting her method completely.

-Mekhi

Super woman

2011-08-17T11:14:00.006-04:00

Hello people!

This week I was at Piers Park and Courageous Sailing Center with Paula and Scott. The day was like every other day at Piers Park. We play games and go fishing and try to get some lobsters.

As for Couragoues Sailing Center, we got a lobster, crabs, star fish, and a little girl got a fish! The day was fun. I got to go sailing with the sailing people. After the program was over, me and Paula stayed for extended time. That's when the little girl caught her fish. The kids started to leave, and after everyone left, I fell into the water! Paula screamed and she pulled me out the water. Super man style!

~ Manny ~

Ultimate Fun!

2011-08-17T10:47:00.006-04:00

Summertime Splash was an exciting day. It was exciting because I had the opportunity to fly kites with all the different kids and just enjoy the nice weather. The highlights of my day were actually getting a kite to fly in the air for a little girl. Watching her smile made me light up with joy. Another highlight was ultimate frisbee; I've never played an organized game of frisbee before saturday. My most memorable moment of Summertime Splash was trying and successfully fighting off the staff not to throw me in the water. I love these type of events because not only does it give you the opportunity to have fun with the kids it also forces you to bond with your co-workers. I can't wait till the next event this saturday.

-Mekhi

Beach party

2011-08-17T10:18:00.004-04:00

Hey guys!

Last week I was at a beach party for all the kids, and some great food was provided by Bruce and Patty. I was with Hugues,Mikay,Aruna and Carolyn. We went kite flying. I had a lots fun there and I'm sure the kids did too. All the kids got to jump into the water together, which was a lot of fun for them. Most of the kids that were lucky enough to fly kites got their kites up and running quick. I personally had so much fun there because I got to run around a little, and I got to do all the good stuff they had there.

~ Manny ~

Saving The Harbor

2011-08-17T10:09:00.007-04:00

Dear Mr.Menino,

My name is Mekhi Wright-Hopkins and I am 15 years old. I am from Dorchester, MA and I go to Proctor Academy: a private boarding school in New Hampshire. I work for Save The Harbor/Save The Bay, and my experience with working with this organization was extraordinary.

They have taught me so much such as: fishing, setting crab traps, and pulling up lobster traps. Not only does this organization work on the skills you need to work here, but they also teach you leadership, patience, responsibility, and many other life skills.

As a younger activist in my community, one of my suggestions to further the Harbor's success even more is having more "beach events" in more diverse areas such as Dorchester, Cambridge, or Brighton, to name a few. The other events in Quincy are awesome but, it doesn't involve urban city kids that much. It also leaves those kids that aren't from Quincy or other surrounding areas ignorant about the harbor. I bet many of those kids who can't make it to these "beach events" that are far out don't even know that the we have one of the cleanest Harbors in America! My wish, Mayor Menino, is that you expand your beach fun to make it accessible to every neighborhood of Boston! Thank you for taking the time to listen to my thoughts and suggestions.

-Mekhi

Goodbye, Boston!

2011-08-17T09:35:00.006-04:00

Being from California, I had never heard of a ‘clambake’ before, nor had I ever had lobster (I know, pity me!). But if that picture is any indication of how good that guy tasted, then you can be pretty sure I’ll be back for another one!

A few of us went out to Spectacle Island, where we were served delicacies of the New England type. Your regular lobster, clams, and mussels, along with some potatoes and corn. Then we passed the time by talking and watching the sunset fade behind the Boston skyline, as the skyline itself began to light up the night.

What a great way to wrap up my internship at Save the Harbor. Flying out from LA, I didn’t know exactly what to expect in terms of my duties and responsibilities, but I definitely didn’t expect to sail out to Spectacle Island to talk to kids about what they were learning so that I could go back and write up a relevant press release. Nor did I expect to do research on the history of Spectacle Island and help put together a “Treasures of Spectacle Island” pamphlet that would be used on the island as a resource to explain the abundance of sea glass and pottery, and other artifacts on the shore.

I learned a lot about what I might like to do (and not do!) over the course of the summer and from this internship. I know it will serve as a stepping stone for doing something worthwhile down the road.

Thanks to everyone at Save the Harbor and I hope to see you all very soon!

Autri

Rain GO AWAY!

2011-08-16T15:15:00.004-04:00

On Monday, it was raining a lot, and it felt worst while at Camp Harbor View. The rules is that rain or shine fishing club must fish as long as there is no thunder or lightning. So I am glad I came prepared with a rain jacket, because it was raining hard!

The kids were not as prepared, and I thought they would complain the whole time. So Sarah, Paula, and the rest of our group decided we would scream "this is great," every time a kid complained. Not one child complained though , they were all ready to fish! It ended up being a lot more fun then usual, because all the kids enjoyed fishing in different weather. We did not catch a fish but we had lots of fun, and we eventually got out of the rain. Something I found interesting was, when it was raining kids were a lot more concentrated on fishing.

Only one child tangled their fishing rod when usually our staff sits and untangles rod about every five minutes. I do not wish to get rained on again, but I can not wait to go back to Camp Harbor View to a group of kids excited and prepared to fish.

-Liz Torres

Rainy Day at the Children's Museum

2011-08-16T13:23:00.004-04:00

Although yesterday was a rainy day, we were still able to have a great day INSIDE the Children's Museum. Because of the weather, we decided to hold an indoor touch tank exhibit. We had a live lobster for the kids to pick up and learn about. It felt a lot like a beach event! The touch tank attracted a ton of kids too! Everyone that passed by wanted a chance to touch the lobster. It was a big hit! It was really awesome to be able to reach out to even more kids then we usually see. This was the first time I had ever done a touch tank inside the museum and I was glad it went so well. In the future, this might be a cool thing to have in addition to the fishing and crabbing outside. I would definetely say we made the most of a bad weather day.

Some Ultimate Disc For An Ultimate Saturday

2011-08-16T12:15:00.007-04:00

This Saturday, we found ourselves returning to the Curly Rec Center for the second day in a row. The event was the Summer Splash which was an open beach event for friends of the Harbor and was occurring just as swimmers from the Boston Harbor Light Race were crossing the finish line. Before we had a big old splash in the Boston Harbor to celebrate the South Boston beaches for having the cleanest urban beaches in America, we decided to organize a quick game of Ultimate Disc between members of the staff. Ultimate Disc is played with a Frisbee and is very much like a cross between basketball and football. You attempt to throw a pass into the touchdown zone without getting blocked or letting it touch the ground. Also, When in possession of the disc, the player must establish a pivot foot and remained rooted to the very spot. They then must pass the disc to one of their teammates before the opposing player covering them counts to ten "stalls". Michelle and I were the two captains who selected teams. My team worked extremely hard and there work paid off, we soundly crushed the our coworkers. Everyone preformed really well but I got to hand it to Leon with his game changing interceptions and Ahmed with his fantastic touchdowns. After the game we later ran into my buddy Paddy, a young sailor at The McDonough Sailing Center. He ended up playing toss with Tommy and I, where he was not ashamed to show off his Frisbee skills. Paddy started off the summer not knowing how to throw. But this year he has pretty much mastered all the throws. I was very impressed and hope that him and the other Southie kids keep up with the sport. South Boston could rival Amherst as the new hots spot for Youth Ultimate.
Take Care,

Conor B. Newman

Splashing in the Harbor

2011-08-16T11:00:00.009-04:00

Friday, August 12. I had no idea what to expect for this event that has been looming over my head for at least a month. Conor, BJ, and I, as part of the Youth Committee, were hosting the Summertime Splash at the Curly Community Center. The day before the event, I realized I had my own station and had to prepare the murals and posters for the kids to color in. It took me the entire day and night for me to be satisfied with my work. I had drawn a huge flounder, an oilfish, and a 30 ft long seabed with 8 signs. I woke up bright and early to arrive at the center by 8:30, lugging along the signs that I had painted only a few hours before. As the entire staff helped set up all the stations, my excitement grew and grew. We sang the famous sea shanty, Haul Away JOE! The moment that ended, every single person lined up along the shore and at the count of four, we all ran in at once!

I had so much fun with all the groups that came! I want to thank everyone who made it happen and made it an AMAZING day!

Thi Tran

Beach Party !!

2011-08-16T10:01:00.006-04:00

Friday Aug. 12, 2011 we had a very cool beach party. The beach Party was really fun and i enjoyed it alot. That day was just for the children from all over, from different neighborhoods in our community. We had many different actives for the kids, flying kites, fishing, sand castles, sports center, art, and the best of all was the history about the Harbor Island. I never seen so many kids all in one place running around, enjoying their day at the beach with their friends. The BEST thing that happened that day was when EVERYBODY ran into the beach all at the same time. That was really fun and funny!! We give out food, drinks, and fuirts and veggies to EVERYBODY!! at the end we had to clean up, now that part was very funny becuase every one was saying they already did somehting oh man that made my day evern better !!

-Diana Gomez

A Summertime Splash!

2011-08-16T09:43:00.007-04:00

This past weekend the whole Save the Harbor team went to Carson Beach and had two epic barbecues. On Friday, we invited over 400 children from youth programs all over Boston to join us in our celebration. We had different events going on at once. Children were able to build sand castles, fish, fly kites, play sports, paint and color, and even learn about the Harbor. There was even free drinks, food, and snacks that were given out to everyone who participated in making this event a successful one. The arts section was, without a doubt, the best activity that was there. It was hosted by Thi, LaToya, Leon, and I. Thi drew different marine animals, including characters from Spongebob Squarepants. The children painted, colored, and drew on white paper. The most unique aspect about the arts section was that everyone HAD to sign our version of a guestbook, which consisted of a huuuuuge flounder and guests had to write their names on a scale that would be pasted onto the fish. By the end of the event, the flounder was filled in an array of colors. The scales showed everyone's different personalities because we also drew and designed them with things that we liked. Before we ate lunch, Bruce wanted to make an attempt at breaking the world record for the amount of people to run into the ocean at once. Everyone ran in, making a huge SUMMERTIME SPLASH. Friday's event was definitely a success, and I hope this becomes an annual event.
Saturday's beach event was much more laid back. We welcomed the first open-sea swimmer at 9:30am, followed by a relay team that reach the shore about a minute after. The two live bands were very upbeat and kept us all moving our feet, and one band even made a song just for Save the Harbor! For the majority of the day, we all worked together to make a sand sculpture. Bruce gave us the task of making the new Save the Harbor logo in the sand. After about an hour and a half of working on it, we finished it. It impressed everyone who passed by it.

Save the Harbor's beach event this weekend was one to remember. Thank you to everyone who participated in making it possible, including our very special guests!

I had to be the one with the muddy shoes

2011-08-16T07:49:00.002-04:00

Last Monday we headed out to Thompson island to take part in the clam seeding process. When we arrived, we ate lunch and was split into groups so we can start to seed. I was in group 8 and as all the groups were being called to get their boots, we remained waiting. After about 10 mins of socializing within the group we were called to get our boots. We were also warned that there might not be enough. What do I mean there wasn't enough? I mean that I was so enthusiastic about clam seeding that I said forget the boots and just went into the mud in my low top chuck taylors. Now at first I was cool with it but eventually my feet started to sink and my socks got muddy. That's when I became the laughing stock/ mud model. My words to you; Don't EVER go clam seeding without boots, or you can end up worse than I did!

My Letter to Our Mayor

2011-08-15T21:43:00.005-04:00

Dear Mayor Menino,

Hi, my name is Amanuel Adugna. I'm 16. This is my first year with Save the Harbor / Save the Bay and also my first job. I go to Hyde Park High and am going into 11th grade. I live in Dorchester, Boston. At Save the Harbor / Save the Bay I have learned how to fish and also about the Boston Harbor. I like how Save the Harbor / Save the Bay’s All Access Program has a different group of kids every day and teaches them about the Boston Harbor and the island.

I want to see the Harbor being used for swimming, cookouts, beach parties, and for families and friends to come out to enjoy their day. This would allow them to appreciate the clean ocean and environment.

The destination on the Harbor that would bring more people to it in the future would be Spectacle Island. Spectacle Island was a trash dump and it was transformed into a place where people can go to enjoy their free time with their families and friends. This is possible after many years. I want to be able to enjoy fishing in the Boston harbor someday.

The people in positions of political power can help to improve the Harbor by setting up a policy on how they should clean up after themselves.

Sincerely,
Manny

Letter to Mayor

2011-08-15T15:56:00.000-04:00

My name is Senait Mulu. I am nineteen years old and I am attending Pine Manor College. I live in Dorchester, Boston. My experience at Save the Harbor / Save the Bay involves trying to make the environment as clean and safe as possible getting kids to enjoy nature. This summer, I taught kids the way the harbor used to be and how we should recycle to keep the environment clean.

One of my favorite experiences at Save the Harbor Save the Bay was teaching fishing, crabbing, and sharing to kids. This summer, I have learned to better communicate with kids and my coworkers. I also learned about the 34 islands in Boston Harbor. I like getting to know kids from all over the place and from different cultures.

I want to see Boston Harbor being used in the future by introducing the Harbor’s resources to the people of Boston. I would like to show the history of each of the islands and have accessible transportation to get to the harbor islands for everyone in Boston. Additionally, I would like to ensure a clean ocean and environment.

Activities on the Harbor that would bring more people to it in the future include getting playgrounds and more family programs to the beaches. This way, people could enjoy the islands and the clean environment by holding charity events and attending gatherings at the islands. I want to be able to share with my younger siblings, and maybe someday my kids, the opportunity to swim in clean water and play volleyball on the beaches of Boston Harbor.

We can help to improve the Harbor by setting up a law to keep the harbor as clean as possible at all times. A lot of people were surprised about how clean the harbor is compared to the time they remember. I hope it will always stay clean so future generations can enjoy it too.

~Senait

Sand castle

2011-08-15T15:26:00.000-04:00

This week at Save the Harbor Save the Bay we held a beach party by south Boston. I taught and learned how to make a sand Castle. The fun part of making a sand Castle is how the kids picture the Castle would look like before we even begin building the sand castle.

Where the door goes and how deep to dig in and what we should use for decorating like whether we should use a shell or sea glass. once they are done they want to make changes because they are not happy with the outcome of the sand castle they pictured. but if they are satisfied with the outcome of the sand castle they just build another one to see which one is better.

~Senait

Response to Mayor

2011-08-15T14:21:00.003-04:00

The mayor came to visit us this week at our staff meeting and asked us to write about the future of the Boston Harbor. This is my response to his request.

Even though I've lived in Boston since I was born I did not know that its harbor has 34 islands until I started working for Save the Harbor. This job has helped me to experience a different outlook on Boston and on my own future goals. Through this organization I have learned how to fish, catch crabs, be a better leader and how to respect the environment around me. I've enjoyed working here since the day I started and my feelings still have not changed. One part of this job that I really love is All Access Boston Harbor. Taking kids out to an island for the day to have fun is something that I never would have thought of doing years ago. But, now that I've done it I plan on taking my own kids out to the islands one day to let them enjoy something I didn't know about at their age. Save the Harbor is an amazing organization and I can't wait to how it grows and excels in the future.

My hope for the future of the Boston Harbor is to see more people on it swimming, fishing, sailing and having beach parties. I feel as though there should be more advertisement and attractions that draw people to the harbor. The water is much cleaner than it used to be years ago and I believe that more people should appreciate it. Also, we as the communities that are closest to the harbor should do our best to keep it clean. I have no doubt in my mind that Save the Harbor will definitely do their part in maintaining and appreciating the Boston Harbor.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to work for such a great organization that is doing great things for the Boston harbor.

-Will Clark

Kids Beach Blast Splash

2011-08-15T13:24:00.005-04:00

Friday was an awesome day with the kids. There were over four hundred kids at the beach that were having a great time. We had stations with different activities for them to do. I was at the Art station with Thi and Cassie. Thi drew pictures of animals that you would find in the harbor. She also made a Sponge Bob Square Pants theme. I sat down on the floor and started coloring with the kids. On the wall, there was a huge fish for everyone to put their names on. I gave the kids fish scales made out of paper, and told them to write their name and write something interesting that they loved.

At the other stations, there were children everywhere. Some were running around or playing games that they enjoyed. The big part of the day was when all the kids lined up along the shore of the beach and waited for the countdown to run into the water. When the final number was called, everyone ran into the water at the same time. It was amazing ! Everyone was having such a great time. I even had the chance to play with my coworkers. We started to play "Taps" in a huge circle. I would tap the ball to someone and always bump into Makhi. At this event, there was a lot of bonding and everyone interacted with one another.

Future of Boston Harbor

2011-08-15T12:14:00.003-04:00

Hello Mr Mayor;

My name is Aruna and I am 18 years old. This fall I will be attending Wentworth Institute of Technology, and I currently live in South End. This has been my second summer working for Save the harbor; it has been a lot of fun and education. In my two summers working here, I have learned so much about our harbor and marine life in general. I have met so many great people and worked with amzing kids. I enjoy helping them get to have fun in the harbor and I am really proud of what save the harbor has done.

But, as great as the harbor is now, there is always room for improvement. What I would like to see in the near future is better beaches. I have have noticed that whenever my friends/family planned a a day out at the beach, they always choose ones that are hours away when we have so many here. I would for our beaches to be the place to be. Also, for there to be more beaches at the Boston islands, every island should have a beach available to the public.

~wilshere

Beach Party

2011-08-15T12:02:00.004-04:00

On Friday at M street Beach Save the Harbor Hosted 450 kids from all over the Greater Boston Area. The day was a blast with everything from sand castle making to kite flying. I worked in the sports category playing soccer, jackpot, and catch. Their was never a lack of excitement or something to do. Eventually I was sent over to help out with fishing because everyone wanted to get a chance to catch a monster. Then David had yet another great speech before everyone jumped into the water at the same time which was quite a site. Then came lunch where we had hot dogs, cheese, and some vegetables with dip. The whole beach was covered with kids eating hot dogs, swimming, and having just a great time. After lunch things began to cool down because everyone was so full from lunch, but not for the staff, we were busy maintaining the workshops and cleaning the beach. When the day ended everyone one left tired and in a great mood after having such a great time. Can't wait until next time.

Sincerely,
Tim Grogan

Kids Beach Party and splash

2011-08-15T11:53:00.010-04:00

Hey viewers,

Last Friday was the kids beach bash fest at M. Street Beach, and it was a blast. The day started off with staffers from Save The Harbor setting up different types of activities for the kids. We had an art section with two GIGANTIC posters of a flounder and one of an oil fish, which came with scales that you could write your name on it. We glued the scales onto the fish to decorate it. Also, we had a kite flying section, a sports section, a fishing section and a sand castle section. We had food and drinks for everyone, and we had a big part of the beachr reserved for everyone to swim in. Around 10:00, the kids started to come in and started to get into different activities. It got really crowded during the course of the day. When David Coffin, our maritime historian, arrived, he decided to teach the kids a song that sailors in the olden days used when they pulled up their sails. The sea shantee is called "Haul Away Joe". Save The Harbor/ Save The bay has this tradition of everyone running into the water. It is a way of celebrating that the water is now clean. And while David Coffin was in the water, he noticed that I wasn't, so he and the other staff members from Save The Harbor dump me in the water! Although I kind of fought back, they still did it. Overall, it was a pretty fun day at the beach.

-Hugues

Mayor's Question

2011-08-15T11:31:00.006-04:00

On Tuesday morning the most powerful man in Boston paid Save the Harbor a visit to praise Patty and Bruce, and meet some of the staff. After a brief speech the Mayor asked a great question, How do we want to see the harbor being used in the future. Save the Harbor has already done so much, but still the harbor could be a better place. Save the Harbor has worked hard to get locals to use the harbor often, but I hope that one day not only do locals flock to the beach, but for tourist from all around the U.S. to visit not only to follow the freedom trail, but to visit the harbor. I want south beach, Venice beach, and Revere beach to be placed in the same group of highly regarded tourist attractions.

Sincerly,
Tim Grogan

A Splashing Good Time!

2011-08-15T09:48:00.007-04:00

Last Friday, myself and the rest of the Save the Harbor Staff took a break from our regular youth programing to host a huge kids' party at Curley Center in South Boston. We were anticipating a big crowd, but the actual attendence at the event was even greater than we expected; we had about 450 kids on the beach!

In addition to feeding all those kids, we took them fishing and had them fly kites, build sand castles, draw murals, pet lobsters and crabs, and play games on the beach. The highlight of event, though, was right before lunch when we all splashed into the water! Although getting 450 kids to run down the beach into the water safely would be an impressive feat any day, this event was especially impressive becuase in spite of the heavy rains earlier in the week, the beaches in South Boston were still safe and open for swimming!

Although we still have a week left of youth programs, this summertime splash was a great way to start wrapping up the summer.

-Paula

My first time @ Courageous Sailing Center & Piers Park

2011-08-15T09:44:00.005-04:00

Thursday brought new adventures as well as new faces; I went to sites Ive never been to before. After the weekly staff meeting, Paula, Latoya, Carolyn, and I all went to Piers Park, where we caught some crabs and let the children fish on the dock. We spent a few hours there and then went to the Courageous sailing center. Courageous had way more excitement and enthusiasm than Pier's Park. I went sailing for the first time; Paula promised me I'd be going even though I was scared. Sailing isn't too bad, but I highly dislike the boat tilting from side to side. Other than that, the experience was worth remembering. The fun didn't end there, we still had extended day which included taking the children to the dock and fishing. There were about 2 or 3 crab traps and 1 huge lobster trap. We had zero luck with the lobster trap but we found about 6 or 7 crabs; the green crabs were used for bait while the red rock crabs were tossed back in the water. I found a little creature that I have yet to see all summer; it was a star fish. We found one the size of my hand and the other star fish fit right in my palm. Going to new sites and meeting new people always brings exciting experiences.

My Letter to the Mayor

2011-08-15T08:56:00.001-04:00

Dear Mayor Menino,

Hi my name is Liz Torres and I am fifteen years old. I am currently working at Save The Harbor / Save the Bay. I live in Hyde Park but in the fall I am going to boarding school in Maine. I recently graduated from Beacon Academy and now I am starting ninth grade at Kents Hill. Since I was young, I knew I wanted to be a Marine Biologist, but once I started working at Save the Harbor I knew for sure I was going to become one. Save the Harbor taught me many things, such as how to fish and how to differentiate crabs from each other. There were several things I enjoyed doing while working for save the harbor. One of the things I enjoyed was being educated enough so that I could educate others about the harbor and the organisms that live in it. Another thing I really had fun with was working with crabs. I always liked them, but I feel like I fell in love with them they are such an interesting species. Overall, I am glad this was my first official job!

In the future, I would like to see that everyone in Boston is aware that the harbor is clean enough to swim in. I know a lot of people that have walked up to me and said, “Is the harbor clean enough to be in?” One way of easily solving that problem is to build more sights for people to go and hang out at near the water, so that they become more aware of it. Some things that could be built are parks for kids. Parks would not only attract children but also the parents. I also think we should have more free events that talk about the history of the Harbor, how it was so dirty, and how it has changed. In those events, they should also talk about how it is clean, but that there is still room for improvement. The more people that care, the better. If these ideas are already being thought about then there should be more advertisements for the harbor e.g., billboards, TV commercials, newspapers, and the internet. The harbor is not the only thing that should be improved, but there should also set up more camps around the Harbor to teach kids about the marine life in the harbor. Some people are not necessarily always interested in water, but I know a lot of people that would care more if we explained how dirty water effects animals. I hope you take my ideas into consideration when you decide to build around the Harbor.

Sincerely,

Liz Torres

My Week at Boston Children's Museum

2011-08-14T21:54:00.005-04:00

This week at Boston Children’s Museum we all had a blast. We had a lot of enthusiastic kids who were eager to fish and crab with us. People from around the world paid us a visit to go fishing and really enjoyed it. We met people from Canada and Germany. Regardless of where people came from, kids and parents alike enjoyed learning about what we had to show them. My favorite part of being at Boston Children’s museum is hearing fishing tips and stories from others. It’s really fun to hear what other people have to say about things they have caught and what they used. Some people use bagels, while others use worms. We were using the remains of fish. Though the fish seemed to have worked really well for the crab traps, we still haven’t had any luck with the fishing. Hopefully next week we can catch something other than just crabs.

Shells 101, Lady Lobster and Southie Treasures @ Kid's Bash

2011-08-13T16:12:00.002-04:00

Save the Harbor's Kid's Bash and Splash was a show stopper! We pulled out all the stops, incorporating seven amazing activity stations, a barbecue lunch, and of course, our famous splash! The festivities included art, sports, fishing, kite flying, and, my favorite, the shell+ touch tank display! Imagine a beach covered in 400+ kids having the time of their little lives, then add a few more. In actuality, over 450 Boston youth came out to our kids bash!

At our shell display, 450 youth were able to explore seashells from creatures such as mussels, abalone, clams and periwinkles, to name a few. We had a seashell matching game set up to help kids learn to identify the seashells by size and shape. Most of the kids who came to the shell display couldn't even identify a mussel shell upon arrival! However, by the time they left the station, many kids were able to accurately identify plenty of different shells.

Lady lobster was also a big hit. When kids came up to the touch tank they were SHOCKED to see a REAL, LIVE lobster! Many of the kids had seen lobsters before, but usually only on dinner plates. It was interesting to be able to teach so many kids about their local decapodian mascot.

Kids were fascinated to learn that lobsters have two slightly different claws that are specialized for different duties. They liked the idea that the lobster had a big strong crusher claw in addition to a very sharp pincer claw. One child said that the different claws were like a knife and a fork!

Another favorite activity was guessing whether the lobster was male or female, then finding out how to tell for sure. For some reason, 90% of the kids were quite certain that this formidable-looking lobster HAD to be male. They were shocked to find out that she was indeed a lady lobster! The kids enjoyed touching the lobster's swimmerettes and its tail.

In addition to the lobster and shell activities, we did a special "Treasures of Southie" station, where kids could find "treasures" in a bin of sand. The treasures were in fact items such as sea glass, parts of toys, pottery pieces. It was interesting to have the kids think about the origins of the objects of their fascination. The kids enjoyed learning how beach glass was made and digging through the sand.

Before long, it was time for lunch, the splash, sea shanty singing and other activities! By the time the kids left, their bellies and minds were full of hot dogs and sea creature wisdom, respectively.

A Sea of Smiles!

2011-08-13T06:36:00.001-04:00

Hundreds of kids from across the city make a big splash on the beach in South Boston.

On Friday 400 youth and teens from across the City of Boston joined Save the Harbor/ Save the Bay for a day of celebration on the beach at the Curly Recreation Center at M Street, hosted by Save the Harbor's Youth Committee in partnership with the Boston Center for Youth and Families.

Participants at the "Blue is Back" Kids Beach Bash and Splash included Save the Harbor's youth program partners from South Boston, Dorchester, East Boston, Jamaica Plain, Chinatown, Roxbury, and Hyde Park. They spent the morning on the beach making sand castles, flying kites, and learning about crabs and lobsters from Save the Harbor's youth program staff.

At noon the kids simultaneously plunged into the cool clean water of Boston Harbor to celebrate Save the Harbor / Save the Bay's 25th Anniversary - under the watchful eyes of a team of lifeguards from greater Boston YMCA's, who were on hand to make sure that the event was fun and safe for everyone. The splash was followed by a traditional cookout on the beach.

"It was a sea of smiles!" said Save the Harbor's Youth Committee Co-Chair Will Clark, 19, of Boston who now attends St. John's University. "Having some good clean fun on one of the cleanest urban beaches in America is a great way for kids to spend a summer day."

Save the Harbor's Youth Committee Co-Chairs Will Clark, Conor Newman and Thi Tran join Save the Harbor's Maritime Historian David Coffin in leading the traditional Sea Chantey "Haul Away Joe"

While heavy rains earlier in the week forced numerous beach closings across the region, on Friday blue flags were flying on the beaches of South Boston and North Dorchester Bay.

"In the past the South Boston beaches have been closed as often as one out of every five days in a typical year" said Save the Harbor / Save the Bay's spokesman Bruce Berman. "With the completion of the South Boston project earlier this year, there have been no combined sewer or stormwater discharges whatsoever on these beaches this summer, and nearly no beach closings. Though there will still be red flags on these beaches from time to time, these beaches are now among the cleanest urban beaches in the nation. That's cause for celebration - and that's what we intend to do!"

Save the Harbor's free summer youth programs are made possible by the generosity of Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s youth program partners, Arbella Insurance Group Charitable Foundation, Inc, Forrest Berkley and Marcie Tyre Berkley, Coca Cola Foundation, Distrigas of Massachusetts, Friedman Family Foundation, John Hancock Financial Services, Inc., Massachusetts Port Authority, Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities, Mayor Menino’s Summer Youth Employment Program, National Grid Foundation, P & G Gillette, P.I. Garden Fund, State Street Foundation and by the contributions of other corporate, and philanthropic partners and hundreds of individual donors.

Save the Harbor / Save the Bay is a non-profit, public-interest environmental advocacy organization, whose mission is to restore and protect Boston Harbor, Massachusetts Bay, and the marine environment and share them with the public for everyone to enjoy. Since 2003, our free youth programs have connected more than 50,000 young people to the harbor they have worked so hard to restore and protect.

A LOBSTAH?! IN THE HAHBAH?!

2011-08-11T22:07:00.008-04:00

Since my classes ended, this week marked my first week working both mornings and afternoons with Save the Harbor! I was excited to begin working with more people and experiencing different sites and activities.

Tuesday marked my first day working at the Children's Museum, and I loved it. First of all, I just love the museum in general, so being able to work at the location was was great experience. Secondly, I was able to bring all of the facts that I either learned or taught at McDonough and incorporate them in the Museum's harbor environment. It was definitely a different atmosphere, since families are constantly coming and going and flooding the boardwalk, but the new atmosphere offered an aura that was both fresh and enthusiastic. Although we had no luck in catching fish, we were able to catch many green and spider crabs, which were a big hit. Also, since I love languages, I was so thrilled that I was able to practice both my German and French at the site; one family from Germany and another from Quebec were both participating in the program! Tres bien!

On Wednesday was my first day on All Access, and I truly enjoyed it. I love Spectacle Island's rich history and beautiful green environment. I tried flying kites with different groups of kids, and I did not realize how bad I was at flying a kite. I mean, I was REALLY bad. One of the groups' counselors came up to me to tell me that the kite was not set up properly, and that I was flying it wrong. Mind you, I was attempting to fly a kite for a good while before the counselor told me this; it explained the strange stares I was receiving from onlookers. Soon though, I mastered the technique and had fun!

Then today, Thursday, we caught a lobster in a crab trap at the Children's Museum. It was too small to be legal, and it was a boy. After we caught it, we attracted a bunch of attention from curious children hungry for knowledge about an animal they've probably only ever seen in a store.... or on their dinner plate.

Thanks for a great week!

David

Carnivals and Cunners

2011-08-11T21:31:00.004-04:00

Hello avid blog-readers,

This week was very exciting because instead of going to All Access (Spectacle Island this week), I've been working at Piers Park in East Boston in the morning and Courageous Sailing Charlestown in the afternoon with the Harbor Explorers. While All Access is and always will be my favorite thing to do, it's been fun to switch it up and meet new campers from all over the city.

Even though Wednesday dawned gray and cloudy, my spirits were brightened immediately upon arriving at Piers Park. Since this was the last week STH/STB ran Harbor Explorers with the sailing program in the park, we had a carnival to celebrate the great summer. In between playing Uno, eating snowcones, and decorating collages, some staffers even had time to get their faces painted.

The past two afternoons at Courageous in Charlestown have been very eventful. On Wednesday, we caught 3 cunners named Hooky, James Jr., and Lost and Found. Apparently cunners really like mussels, since that's we were using as bait! Today, we didn't have as much luck on the fish front but found a huge starfish in one of our many lobster traps.

One of the cool parts about working at Courageous is that we Save the Harbor staffers sometimes get to go sailing in the early part of the afternoon. Today, I went on a boat with Jeremy from Charlestown and Shannon from West Roxbury, with their counselor Anthony. It was really windy, so we spent most of the trip around the harbor heeling on our side so that I was almost in the water!! A big thank you to Skippers Anthony, Jeremy, and Shannon for getting me back on land safely!

There's a jam-packed weekend ahead of Save the Harbor with two big beach events at M Street Beach in South Boston (stop by!) and the last week of programing ahead of us, summer is slowly but surely winding down -- look for a closing blog post coming soon!

Til next time,

~Carolyn

Got One!!!

2011-08-11T17:03:00.011-04:00

This morning I started off at the Boston Children's Museum. And so our staff members decided to put out equipments, set up crab traps and cast our rods out in the water which we usually do in a usual basis. For bait we used our usual haddock along with something new, using flour, sugar, and a bit of water we made carp bait. The kids at Community Boating have been raving about it, so we decided to give it a try. It got really messy making it, but it was alot fun. The haddock was a success, we captured so many Green Crabs and Spider Crabs with it we even got a "LOBSTER" unfortunately it was too small to keep, But the kids sure had fun with. It was really exciting the kids really loved it. They learned so much about the lobster, many of them were very brave when it came to holding him. I love the kids at the Boston Children Museum they so entertaining and always up for the challenge. Today was definitely a successful day.
see you later!
Hugues

Is That a Lobster in Our Crab Trap!?

2011-08-11T16:53:00.006-04:00

I began this morning at the Boston's Childrens Museum and I was very hopeful that we would catch a lot of stuff. We prepare the touch tank, cast out the lines, and put in the crab traps as usual. For bait today, along with our usual haddock, we prepared something special to use. Using just flour, sugar, and a bit of water, we made the carp bait everyone has been raving about at Community Boating. Although we did not have as much success with the fishing aspect, we were able to catch a bunch of cool marine creatures. The surprise catch of the day was caught in a crab trap about mid-morning. As we pull up the trap, we notice something red and large inside. It is not a crab, but an actual lobster! It was a baby and too small to keep but still very exciting for the kids! Everyone loved being able to pick up and touch a real live lobster! The best part about its small size was the fact that many of the younger children were able to hold it without being as scared. It was definitely a successful day.

My week at the Children's Museum has been a lot of fun. We have had a ton of success crabbing! We have been catching a bunch of spider crabs each day, which after all these years at Save the Harbor still creep me out. The kids we teach always have so much fun and our so enthusiastic, it makes the job so much more rewarding. My only regret is that I do not get to stay with the kids for longer, like most of our other sites. Yet it provides a new challenge, how to make an impression on these kids that will last. Our goal is to reach this kids even in just a small way, so that maybe later in life they will learn to love our great harbor. We show them how much fun it can be! Catching a lobster surprised a lot of people today. It is something I'm sure will stick with at least a few of our children and their families.

Till next time,

Tom Regan

Seeding Clams in the Boston Harbor!!!

2011-08-11T12:41:00.001-04:00

As we boarded a boat in South Boston we did not know what was in store for us when we arrrived at our destination: Thompson Island. Excitement and slight apprehension was felt among passengers. The clean sea air and fresh salt water splashing against the boat as it sped along seemed to wash away the thoughts of doubt we may have. The question on everyone's mind was, how on earth does one DO a clam seeding?

We were on a mission to seed clams on Thompson Island with a few of Mayor Menino's staff members and other volunteers to help with the efforts. Fortunately, when we arrived we were not the only first time clam seeders. We were taken across the island to where the beach that the clam seeding was going to occur. We arrived on site to see other large groups also waiting to help volunteer. WE filed into a large circle and counted off into nine groups that would each venture out to a different plot on the beach to seed clams. I was in group three.

Group three was a very lively bunch and we all were pretty excited to help. Our group leader waled us towards the beach where a very large row of tall boots, gloves, rakes and shovels lay. As we found our correct sizes I was beginning to get a little worried why we may need such high boots and such large shovels. I tried to think back to the last time I helped my father with yard work and if this seeding may be a little more work than I expected.

Now if you've never done a clam seeding, let me walk you through it:

First things first, you have to stake out a designated area with netting. This is so that the little clams have more of a chance of surviving with protection from predators as they grow and dig further into the sand.

Next, a small moat is dug around the perimeter of the staked off area. This can get pretty messy and I am very happy we were provided with the boots and gloves.

After the moat is dug, one side of the net is buried by filling in the moat over the edge of the net so that it is securely fastened under the wet sand. The netting is pulled back to expose the area where the clams are going to be seeded. The area is then raked to get rid of any large rocks or predators, such as crabs and snails, that may be hiding beneath the surface. This so that the little clams have a fighting chance of growing and reproducing.

After the area has been raked, clams are disbursed relatively evenly throughout the area. These are very small clams about the size of your thumbnail. They will grow, reproduce and help restore the clam populations in the Harbor.

When the clams have been disbursed, the netting is pulled bakc over the area and the other three sides are buried by filling in the moats previously dug arround the perimeter over the edges of the metting. This is to protect the clams while they are still very small and vulnerable. Once the clams have matured and dug further into the sand, the nets will be removed.

Congratulations! You have successfully done your first clam seeding!

It was a great day to be on the Boston Harbor and an even greater day to know we helped make a difference for the generations to enjoy the wonderful place we already do. The softshell clam populations have been declining in recent years and our efforts are to restore these populations in the Harbor and help sustain future generations of clams in the Boston Harbor. To learn more about the project itself you can view the Shelfish Stock Enhancement Report on the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries website.

A link to the report can be found below:

http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dmf/programsandprojects/hubline/hubline_5yr_shellfish_stock_enhancement.pdf

Thank you to all those who helped make this experience so rewarding and exciting. The Division of Marine Fisheries is doing a wonderful job in thier restoration efforts in this matter. A special thanks to Mayor Menino and his staff members who were able to take time out of thier busy week to come out and volunteer for the great city of Boston and the Harbor we all love!

-Sarah Appleton

Helping the Harbor

2011-08-11T09:42:00.008-04:00

This past Tuesday, Save the Harbor was given the great pleasure to meet Boston's mayor, Mayor Thomas Menino. He thanked us for all of the work we have contributed to the Harbor, but he also gave us a task. He wanted our very own insight on how we would make the Harbor an even better place to visit. This is my response:

Dear Mayor Menino,

My name is Kassandra Rivera, and I am a graduate of Southfield School’s Class of 2011. I will be attending Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. Although I went to a high school located in Brookline and I will be attending a university in Worcester, I was born and raised in the Jamaica Plain area of Boston. Because I was raised in such an urban environment, I was never fully aware of the Harbor’s history and impact on Bostonians today. I joined the Save the Harbor team during the middle of the summer, and it wasn’t until then that I realized how important the Harbor was to our economy and environment.
Even though I have only been working at Save the Harbor for the past 3 weeks, I have learned an incredible amount about the environment. I believe that our fishing and crabbing programs build knowledge and instill confidence in all of the youth that we interact with. Even I was a bit scared to handle a crab or a lobster on my own before I joined this organization. The All Access Boston Harbor program gives people the chance to visit some of the Harbor's islands for free. I have never been to Spectacle Island or Georges Island until I worked with Save the Harbor. Long Island even has a day camp for urban kids to enjoy what Boston Harbor has to offer. However, I believe we can increase our tourism within these islands.
Our All Access groups should be able to fish on Spectacle Island. I also think that another island, such as Thompson Island should be available to visit via All Access because many of the children have already visited Spectacle Island and Georges Island. A lot of the groups ask me if they can camp out on Spectacle Island, so I think Boston should make the available to the public. Thinking in the long run, I believe that a small amusement park with a marine theme should be built on one of the islands. There are not any amusement parks in the Boston area, and I believe that our economy would definitely benefit. Lastly, we should make a smaller version of the New England Aquarium on one of our islands.
The most important thing that we must all remember is that the Harbor is home to many, many organisms. Regardless of how we use it in the future, its beauty and cleanliness should never be overlooked. Both visitors and residents of Boston should always keep it clean. With at least one of these developments, I believe that Save the Harbor and even the city of Boston can increase awareness on our Harbor while also having fun.

Sincerely,
Kassy Rivera

Crab Counting at Harborview

2011-08-10T06:44:00.004-04:00

The cobbled beach at camp Harbor View is home to an interesting creature: the Asian shore crab. As its name suggests, it is an introduced species, originating in Asia and brought to North America in 1988.

Our mission today was to count, measure and determine the gender of all the crabs we could find on the beach in the rocky intertidal zone to help with a citizen science experiment led by Dr. Judy Pederson at MIT's Sea Grant.

We accomplished this by turning over cobbles and collecting all the crabs we found!

In an hour, we found 133 Asian shore crabs and 2 European green crabs on a 7 x 15 meter stretch of beach! Both of these species are non-native to Boston Harbor.

Our group had a discussion about introduced species in Boston Harbor, and the means by which these species arrive here. The young explorers were fascinated at the idea of young crabs traveling thousands of miles as planktonic larvae in the ballast water of large ships. Someone even suggested that people released their pet crabs!

All in all, the crab count was an interesting experiment!

Sheuli

Trash is Treasure on Shell Beach!

2011-08-09T23:07:00.001-04:00

Today we visited Shell Beach at Camp Harbor View in the hopes of finding treasure! And what a treasure hunt we had! Our group searched the bases of large rocks, the shoreline and the shell-strewn beach for seaglass, strange shells, and relics from the past.

We found brilliant shards of seaglass in blue, green, brown, pink and even orange! Some of these looked like precious stones as they were polished to a superb finish by Boston Harbor's waves and sand. The explorers exclaimed that they thought these would be worth a lot of money, and were confused why someone would consider them trash!

There were SOOOO many strange shells to add to our bounty, including a long jacknife clam shell. Some of our campers had never seen the ubiquitous periwinkle and slipper shells either!

Also, we found shards of china, pottery shards and pieces of brick. We talked about how one china pattern was used at a nearby hotel, how bricks may of came from someone's home and speculated about the use of the pottery shards.

We had an interesting conversation about the origins of trash and the way waste was managed over time. We asked ourselves this question: How we will be remembered by the objects we leave behind?

All in all, we had a blast, and spent the last few minutes of our reflection time skipping stones on Boston Harbor.

Sheuli

One Fish, Two Fish, Three Fish, Four!

2011-08-09T16:12:00.006-04:00

My first time at Community Boating on the Charles River was great! A kid, Paul, and I picked up a lot of trash that we found laying around or floating in the water. When the kids brought up the crab traps we found two eels and several sun fish. I know a lot about crabs and how to fish, but not a lot about fish. In all the time I have worked I have only seen one fish being caught by a kid, but today there were about a group of eight and each one caught about three fish. The fish we caught were small and smooth they were the color grey with red and yellow spots. The kids were so excited and proud that when it was time for us to go they didn't want to stop fishing. The energy from the kids was spontaneous, so great that pedestrians walking along stopped and asked a little about our program. We finished in great timing because we were able to leave before the rain and also had enough time for the kids to enjoy fishing.

-Liz Torres

High Tides

2011-08-08T18:06:00.006-04:00

Blacks Creek is the simplest place to catch crabs in the morning. The tide always tends to be low, therefore it is easier to see movement in the water. Crabs move fast and sideways too, so to catch a crab you have to be quick! Last night it rained and the water was very murky, and it did not seem as clean as usual. The kids and I at first had a hard time adapting our eyesight to the water to catch crabs for the crab count. Of course, once the kids found one crab we started to find a lot more. At first the kids thought the deeper the water the harder it would be to find crabs, but we found out it was actually simpler. The reason was when we stepped on the ground the mud that would rise didn't seem to go as high in deeper water leaving us with a higher possibility of catching a crab. In total we caught eight crabs, but it is always better than just catching one.

-Liz Torres

The Only Bad Thing about Vacation

2011-08-08T15:07:00.005-04:00

For all of last week I took a relaxing vacation to Canada with my family on our annual trip. I had lots of fun, but still missed out on a lot of Save the Harbor fun such as the glorious capture the flag game at Spectacle Island on Staff Day. I was extremely disappointed to find out my trip would interfere, but I had to go. I spent my week fishing for large mouth bass, small mouth bass, yellow Perch, and the annoying sunfish. If I had to compare and contrast lake fishing and sea fishing, I would argue that lake fishing has a much higher success rate, but the reward is not quite as big. The largest fish I caught in Canada was an 18 inch large mouth, but at the Harbor I could catch a striped bass more then twice that size. I just finished my first day back and my first day this year at Mcdonough Sailing Center, but it was a slow day because of the threat of heavy storms. Not many kids showed up, but at least we had two very interested and persistent kids to boost our spirits.

Sincerely,
Tim Grogan

It's Clammin' Time

2011-08-08T15:03:00.008-04:00

Today I got to experience my second field trip with Save the Harbor! Along with eight other Save the Harbor staff and various volunteer groups and individuals, I traveled by ferry to Thompson's Island to plant clams. A couple of the staff had been there before and knew much more about the island than I did. Originally, Thompson's Island was a farm school, later evolving into a farm and trade school, and eventually becoming Thompson's Academhy, a boarding school for boys. At the top of the island remain the brick sturctures built for the prep school, and are now used at dormitoriews for overnight camps and summer school programs that use the island.

When we arrived, we were all brought to the "Family Fun Area" to sit, drink and eat, and get to know each other. We were then split up into 9 groups, each led by an Outward Bound summer student who was knowledgable in clam seeding. Every group was responsible for seeding one "net" area of clams. This required us to dig trenches, pull out crabs and worms, and pack in mud to keep the net in place. Thankfully, they provided us with boots. But Mark had a hard time getting his hip-boots off at the end of the day.

A professor from UMass Boston who helped to lead the project also explained the importance of water testing in the harbor and what we can do to make sure it stays clean and preoductive.

At the end of the day we were able to lounge on the grass and play Ladder Golf before the ferry arrived. It's so cool knowing that the clams eaten in Boston in the next year coul dbe ones that I planted! It was a wonderful first trip to Thompson's Island!

Alana

Clam Seeding

2011-08-08T14:03:00.004-04:00

Today, I headed to Thompson Island with seven other co-workers. As we waited for the ferry Bruce took pictures of us. At first I thought the event was going to be cancelled due to the weather forecast, but the weather pulled through was okay for the day.

I had no idea of what we were going to do, it was a surprise to me when I heard we were headed to Thompson Island. It was a surprise to all of us staff along with what we were up for at the island.Once we got there we were told we were going to do clam seeding. I was not prepared to do so because I had jeans on. Luckily, the staff at Thompson provided us, around 40 people, long rain boots and gloves. I tied my hair up, pulled up my boots up and put my gloves on. My group of eight headed out to the water, it was low tide. We placed a net on a muddy surface and began digging around the square net. After we did that we pulled the net back and began racking the surface removing Green Crabs we seen.

We all grabbed clam seeds and carefully sprinkled them on the surface as the other eight groups did. We pulled the net over the seeds and put tons of mud on the edges of the net to told tight when the tide comes in. At the end of the seeding everyone was dirty! Some had squishy, dark , watery mud on their face, gloves, arms, pants and shirts.

Before we knew it, it was time to bring our materials back and head back out to Boston. This was my first time clam seeding and I enjoyed myself. I hope I get the chance to do this again!

-Kristina :)

Don't Give Up!

2011-08-07T17:38:00.007-04:00

Don't Give Up!

This week was a great week to visit Spectacle Island! Bringing hundreds of new faces each and everyday, spending the day as you may.

However, wanting to fly kites although your only source for wind is from air planes can be a bit tricky.

I was peered up with a young girl and a young boy. After numerous attempts to get the kite up in the air for more than .5 sec, the young boy felt a little bit diminished. Soon, the young girl also lost hope, and ended her experience with, "I can't do it!" And headed off.

"Wait one second!!" After a bit of more assistance and a

"I believe" from both the boy and the girl I released the kite into the sky. Smiles instantly replaced frowns, and before I knew it they were

fighting me to get a chance to fly the kite!

Karrisha

Keep Your Eyes on the Prize!

2011-08-06T17:32:00.002-04:00

Keep Your Eyes on the Prize!

Working at Save the Harbor Save the Bay is extremely exciting, and has been one of the highlights of my summer. But, I have to say, being a MLK Scholar also brings me great joy.
Ever Friday every MLK Scholar in the City of Boston gathers at the Agganis Arena to listen to guest speakers and divide into small groups to participate in discussions. Last week we had two amazing guests.

The first guest was a 17 year old male who spoke about his carreer in photography. He made it a point to assure the audience that you can do anything you truly wish to do, if you have the ambition for it.

The second speaker was a man who spoke of the lessons he learned from different experiences and how he built upon them. His journey reminds people of all ages that passion can lead you to endless possibilities!

Each week has interesting speakers and great discussions. I can't wait for this week!

-Karrisha

Carp Sighting!

2011-08-05T22:48:00.006-04:00

My week at communityboating was so exciting it would make the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week jealous.With fresh carp cookies and many awesome explorersfishing, we all managed to catch more sunfish than imaginable. Most here at community boating like Sophia and David, can brag that they each caught 4 fish in a day! I even caught a little fish this week. The most exciting part in all of our success is nearlycatching a carp! Michael saw the carp come close to his baited hook and patiently waited for it to return. When it did it passed by the hook again and this time I saw it too. It looked like something straight out of the television showRiver Monsters! It was huge! The third time this carp swam by it bit the hook, thrashed a few times, and snapped the line with it’s amazing power. We all groaned in disappointment but we are all determined to catch this carp. Next time we plan to use bigger hooks and a lot more carp cookies!

Annie

Staff Day!

2011-08-05T20:08:00.004-04:00

Hello everyone!

Everyone at STH, STB had a great start to the week because this past Monday was Staff Day! This annual event brings all staffers from the various sites and the office together for one day of hot dogs, relaxation, and sun. After Bruce and Patty, our generous bosses, cooked us up a nice lunch of hot dogs, tuna salad, and cookies, I headed to the beach for an afternoon of swimming and tanning (after I applied copious amounts of sunscreen, of course).

The rest of the week was spent exploring Georges' Island, which I feel like I haven't been at as much this summer. I spent Thursday on the beach, skipping rocks and enjoying the beautiful weather. I looked for sea glass and bits of pottery, and found some, but much less than there would be at Spectacle.

Friday I took a group of campers through Fort Warren with David Coffin. Instead of going straight to the tunnels to look for the Lady in Black, we took a slight detour and led the kids through a different part of the fort, where sharpshooters used to guard the island. While David told the story of how these brave soldiers defended the fort, the kids got a surprise visit from what turned out to be a friendly ghost...
We did eventually brave the tunnels and several of the campers had experiences with the Lady in Black. After just one afternoon on Georges', theses kids are going to have a lot of stories once they get home!

Until next time,

~Carolyn

The Catches of the Day at Camp Harbor View

2011-08-05T18:27:00.005-04:00

While I myself might not be in the running for Master Angler this summer, some of my campers at Harbor View could definitely provide Conor and Tommy with some serious competition.

Here's what we caught today!

Franklin caught his own flounder; it was a bit too small to eat though.

Shannon with her cunner

Alexis and her huge skate!

Raheem with the second cunner of the day

-Paula

Working with YMCA Children

2011-08-05T17:19:00.014-04:00

On the Constitution Beach, the kids had found a crabs skeleton. I have never seen one before and it was amazing to see. I thought the crab was dead at first but I realized that there was not anything inside the shell. It was dry and hard. Then Annie told me that the skeleton is like how a snake would shed its skin when they get bigger overtime. What was interesting that I learned about crabs was when it gets bigger, it would break its shell, and then grow another shell over its entire body. For some reason, I thought they would have to search for another shell just like hermit crabs. I guess you learn something new everyday. While at the beach, the staff helped us bury some of the kids under the sand. There was one kid that wanted me to draw his figure to make him look like a mermaid. After, the other kids wanted to get buried, so we buried at least 5 kids legs under the sand. I figured since they could not move I draw Save the Harbor Save the Bay in the sand. Then at the top write the YMCA kids. It was a great day.

-LaToya

Flag Captured

2011-08-05T17:18:00.007-04:00

Once again, the brilliant day that only comes once a year arrived, I am referring of course to Staff day at Save the Harbor/Save the Bay. For those who are unaware, Staff Day is a day when the field agents from the various sites and pencil pushers from the office come together to head out to Spectacle Island in the Boston Harbor. There, we are treated to a fabulous barbecue by our wonderful benefactors Paty and Bruce. When that was all set and done we head to to the drumlins to continue an age old tradition....capture the flag.

Initially, I was excited to be on BJ's team, making the claim that we could only be selected together a sort of package deal. Despite much pleading and comparisons to the ginger hockey demi gods the Sedin twins, our request was flatly denied. Despite this though, I quickly went to work for my Captain Sarah, who was used to commanding a top notch squad from her days in the BU Women's Hockey program. It started off slow, I lay shirtless in a ditch fro a solid 10 minutes in hopes of ambushing an enemy player. Finally I realized that is need to no man's land into enemy lines. I was able to give Vinh and Karisha the slip by vaulting through heavy shrubbery but was then doggedly pursued by Latoya. I plunged onward, only stopping for half a second to pry some thorns out of my bare feet. The flag was no where to be seen so I rushed back to help guard our flag from Michelle who decided to embark on her on Long march and try to flank us.

Finally, I was freed from my duties and went on to engineer a daring raid that freed Josette from jail. Then, I saw the flag, lying on the ground in front of BJ. I sidled around him, forcing himself to take several steps back from the flag to check me. This was all that was needed, for Sarah then swooped in and snagged the flag. Quickly sprinting to our territory and handing us victory. We were playing chess while the rest of the were playing checkers.

Fortune Favors the Bold,

Conor Newman

Becoming better fishers

2011-08-05T17:17:00.002-04:00

While at the Children's Museum, there were so many children that came through to go fishing. They were so happy to fish and for some it was their very first time. We did not catch any fish, but they still kept trying and never gave up. There was a group of kids with special needs that were encouraged to fish because of the others. I never worked with kids that had special needs and I thought it would be difficult to teach them. I worked with a girl that really wanted to learn how to fish. I took my time with her and became very helpful at the same time. She told me that she had gone fishing before so I encouraged her to catch her first fish. She was awesome. She learned how to fish faster than the other kids. She knew exactly what to do right after I showed her the first time. In the afternoon at community boating, there was a kid named David that was a much better fisher than I am. He caught over eight fish through the day. I was so jealous. I told him that he should become a fisherman. I was amazed of how experienced he was at such a young age. There was a girl named Safier who had complications with catching a fish. I told her to keep trying and to not be impatient because fishing takes time and lots of patience. Today I was so happy for her because she caught her first fish while working with us.

-LaToya

Mr Lobster? Miss Lobster?

2011-08-05T16:55:00.002-04:00

Many people do not know the difference between a male and female lobster. At the children's museum we borrowed a lobster from a sea food place called "Hook". We used the lobster to show the kids different things about its anatomy. I explained to them the difference between a female and a male. I told them that if the Swimmeret part was soft and hairy, it was a female and that if the Gonophore was hard, it was a male. In the afternoon at Community Boating, I went fishing with the kids. We used sugar, water, and flour as bait to catch sunfish. There was one child that caught over five fish. We realized that the technique we used was really working. It was weird at first to know that fish would eat flour and sugar, but I learned that fish mainly eat anything.

-LaToya

River Monsters In The Charles?

2011-08-05T16:49:00.004-04:00

There was a sighting this afternoon from the banks of the River Charles; a massive fish swam by the our dock. The young anglers had so far only reeled in small sun fish, so the prospect of netting a massive fish was electrifying! The water was already littered with bobbing hooks but the fish swam past utterly detached. I would reckon that the fish most have been a few feet long, essentially making the other fish look as if they were mere minnows. I knew instantly that this would be a priceless trophy. I quickly grabbed one lad by the shoulder, whose rod lay limp on the dock. I urgently shouted at him to grab the fishing pole and give it some action. Obediently, the young camper yanked the line up and down, hoping that the monster would now be enticed. Minutes seemed to creep by like inch worms but then there was a lound shout. I instantly wiped my head around to see a rod bend violently downwards.

The leviathan had struck at last! We began to reel the line in desperately but alas our efforts were futile. Just as we seemed poised to pull the creature on the dock, the line sharply snapped and the beast tumbled back into the water. Was it a carp? Was it perhaps a pike? Was it some new type of sizable fish that lurks in the muck of the Charles? We'll never know untill we succeed in snagging this monster. Normally I would say that such a brute could only be seized by master angler Jeremy Wade himself but I feel that maybe in the near future, I could be holding up this prized fish for all to see.

From the Banks of the River Charles,

Master Angler Conor Newman

Piers Park

2011-08-05T16:42:00.002-04:00

This week at Piers Park we caught some crabs using a hot dog as bait. Once the kids put the crabs in the bucket they figure the crab was getting hungry and decided to feed it some hot dog but the crab wasn’t eating any of the hot dog. One of the kids said the crab couldn’t eat the hot dog because it’s floating above the water and it needed a weight to get the hot bog on the bottom of the bucket. So the kids decided to put the weight inside the hot dog so the hot dog was able to reach the bottom of the bucket but the crab wasn’t eating any of the hot dog so finally one of the kids said the crab is full because when the crab got caught he was eating a hot dog. Kids like finding things out while experimenting that is what i learned this week and the kids learned if they used a hot dog as a bait then try feeding it a missile.

~Senait

Introduction

2011-08-05T16:06:00.002-04:00

Hi my name is Senait Adugna. Glad to be back for my third year with Save the Harbor Save the Bay. I am 19 years old heading into my second year of college at Pine Manor. My first week with Save the Harbor Save the Bay was exciting. I was pleased to see the kids from years ago as well as getting to meet new kids. Kids ask question mostly about everything. They wonder why we use a hot dog or a missile as bait and why fishes have a 15 minutes memory…etc. Their questions fascinates me on how wide their imagination is.

My first week at the Courageous Sailing Center we caught a lobster with a missing claw, small fish, and crabs from the lobster trap. Kids from courageous sailing center are always happy to be able to fish and not just that but they actually catch a fish. That always gives the other kids a confident to be able to catch a fish. We started are day at Piers Park Sailing Center with a game called capture the flag. A group of eight kids each. It was a fun game to start the day and to get the kids wormed up. The kids were exited to fish and pull the lobster trap right after we finished the game. The kids caught worms, missile and crabs. It always is fun to be able to play with kids and teach them thing they don’t know and even sometimes end up learning something you didn’t know.

~Senait

Hello reader!

2011-08-05T16:00:00.000-04:00

Hello reader!

I am Karrisha Gillespie, a first timer at Save the Harbor Save the Bay. This week I've been spending time at Black's Creek and Camp Harbor View!

It's been tough catching fish at both cites, and just as campers were losing hope...Pop, FISH ON FISH ON.

It's a Skate!

-Karrisha

The Crazy Flounder

2011-08-05T15:13:00.006-04:00

Yesterday I had a great day at Camp Harbor View at the fishing pier. When we got there, Paula our Senior Marine Educator told us to set up fishing rods for the campers. By the time we were done, I started to get some mussels for the the kids, and one of the staff members at Harbor View, "Joe", was fishing with me and a couple of other kids. The rest of the other campers were preoccupied by the Red Rock Crabs we caught. By the time I put like 50 cracked mussels in the water, which took me like 15 minutes, Joe was getting frustrated because he spent all week in fishing club with Save the Harbor and did not catch fish. I started to encourage him to keep trying. About 2 minutes later, he felt a tug and said "I GOT ONE!" He was so excited and the kids were so surprised. He pulled it up, and we put the fish in a bucket for the kids to admire. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

-Hugues

GOALS

2011-08-05T14:33:00.003-04:00

I have to say that I've accomplished most of my goals so far this summer. My summer's going great; I'm meeting a lot of new people. I'm teaching the kids about the harbor and I'm also still learning about the harbor myself. But the most important one to me was just to have fun this summer, and that's what I've been doing for the last month is having the time of my life and I'm hoping the kids out there from site to site are doing the same. Because I know all of the staff at Save The Harbor/Save The Bay do their best to make sure the kids are having fun and we want to do as many things as we can with them before summer's up. It's time to go back to school but we still have a couple of weeks left and I'm looking forward to enjoying them.

Mark Rose

MLK

2011-08-05T13:42:00.005-04:00

Today at MLK we talked about college and what we wanted to do after high school. We also talked about what it would take for us to get there. Then we shared a little info on our selves and where we see our selves in 30years. But mostly we talked about college and me and a couple of other kids that were at my table decided that we were going to do a couple of years in the service before going off to school. I have not made the choice yet whether i want to go to the Navy or the Coast Guard but i know I'm defiantly going to school when I'm done with my four years in the service. I'm not sure what school i want to go to right now I'm just focused on graduating from high school and going to the service right now and and MLK is a great inspiration.

Mark Rose

Camp Harbor View

2011-08-05T13:26:00.005-04:00

Hey everyone its Mark just wanted to share my afternoon with you guys about my day at harbor view. My first group was the fishing club the kids that are always ready to fish.I want to say about 30minutes into the group session one of our campers caught a fish. I'm not sure but i think it was a flounder and it was big enough to keep. We spent the rest of the session watching Paula get the fish ready for the camper to take it home. Right before fishing club came we baited the lobster traps with tuna fish so by timed we pulled them up they were filled with a bunch Red Rock crabs and Green crabs so me and my co-worker Liz got a chance to educate some campers on the crabs.

Mark Rose

Blacks Creek

2011-08-05T13:13:00.005-04:00

Today i was at blacks creek in the morning. We didn't have a lot of kids but we had enough to take a walk through a couple of trails around the campsite. My senior marine educator Paula had educated us on some plant along the trail. There was the sumac, the chicory plant and she also gave us a short lesson on poison ivy, what it looks light and the different type it can come in. We let the kids draw out their own maps of the trail. After we went down to the beach and let the kids fish for the end of the session no luck on any fish but they looked excited trying to catch one

Mark Rose

Talk about ALL ACCESS!!!!

2011-08-05T12:47:00.005-04:00

On my second week of work me and a few co-workers went out to Spectacle Island with the All Access boat crew. We took children from all over. We brought some children from Winthrop and some from the inner-city. Before we boarded the boat David asked the children some questions. The kids for the most part were excited as we were coloring and talking about what we were going to do on the island. Then we boarded the boat and got to have one on one time with the kids. The kids were excited about going on the beach for the most part.

When we arrived on Spectacle we looked for beach glass. Me and a few kids found several pieces of it then we talked about why we couldnt keep the glass and we had to put it back. Me and Josette walked several kids up to the top of the island. They were all happy with the view and the kids from Winthrop were really excited because they can see their community right from the top of the island. We learned several things that day. David taught us why the island is called Spectacle and we also learned how the island came to be. I had a really fun time and got to meet a lot of cool and interesting kids.

Ahmed

"We talking about practice man"; practice makes perfect!

2011-08-05T10:13:00.004-04:00

Today at the MLK scholars meeting, they showed us a video of Allen Iverson. In that video I guess Allen didn't show up to practice and he was being interviewed on how he sees it. "we talking about practice man, practice, practice practice. Even though he has the skill, practice can still improve your game or attitude. Allen Iverson thought money can keep his game up. Now out of a job, he no longer play in the NBA. Moral of the story is: continue to work hard and practice even when you think your at your best!

Leon

We see you!

2011-08-05T08:56:00.004-04:00

At George's Island the main attraction is the dark tunnel. As many times as you go by the tunnel there are a bunch of kids and adults waiting to overcome the fear of entering this creepy, dark tunnel. While I helped get people in and out of the tunnel two older women had snapped a photo of the tunnel.
They both came out with a scarey look as if they saw ghost.. Surely their camera captures white blots down the tunnel that seemed to actually be GHOST!

IT WAS CRAZY! I was freaked out. I could not believe this. I quickly pulled out my camera and snapped a bunch of photo of what seemed to be a never ending tunnel. My camera along with the other women's camera had caught the same image. Some people said it was the lens of the camera that was dirty; therefore, I cleaned it several times to still get the same picture. A bunch of blurry, white circles in scattered places in the tunnel.

I never thought I would say this but I believe in ghost now..

-Kristina :)

Injury Report

2011-08-05T01:04:00.005-04:00

This past week I wasnt able to work once again. A while back I got an injury in my right shin. The way I got it was by retrieving my cousins cat out of a thorn bush and in the process getting it hooked in a fence. It was very painful and I had no option but to withstand it. The reason I was out this weak was because my cut had become infected. I got a high fever and walking was a pain. I had no way of contacting my job because I had lost my phone but I got it back now.

I have been taking medications and relaxing my leg and I am scheduled to go back to work on Tuesday of next week. Everything has been fine and I am on my slow path of recovery. Thank You

Ahmed

Look what we found!

2011-08-05T00:40:00.004-04:00

My first week at Community Boating, I was not so hyped to be there. When I arrived, the site looked boring. It looked like school on water until I actually stepped on the docks. Me and some co-workers took a ride on a boat with our SME Paul and went to go get an eel trap they had put down the previous day. Everything was fun some little kids I met taught me how to set up a sail which was a blast. I felt like the student for once. We had caught 6 eels. I was scared to pick up the eels but I did pet them. The best part was watching the kids having so much fun putting the eels back in the water and looking forward to the next day.

The site opened my eyes to a new type of species. I learned so much. I learned how eels only have one long fin. My experience was very fun and interesting and I cant wait until I go back and go kayak with the whole crew.

Ahmed

High Tide at McDonough!

2011-08-04T21:04:00.004-04:00

This week was a sentimental week for me at the McDonough Sailing Center: it is the last week where I am working there every afternoon. So, taking advantage of the final time that I had, I tried to do everything with the kids; crab counting, fishing, crab catching, water games, and anything else where the campers were able to have fun and learn at the same time.

This week was really cool by the lagoon since it was high tide, which re

ally fascinated the campers. Although we could not perform a sufficient crab count due to

the high tide, we were able to explore the beach more and watch the water rushing into the lagoon from the ocean. The sound of the water rushing through the pillars under the bridge resembled the roaring of a tropical waterfall, and even though it did not offer such a stunning view such as a waterfall, it really caught the attention of the campers. They were wondering why water did this, why the tides got high some days and low others, how the ocean works, etc. I was really proud at their enthusiasm and their wanting to know so much. This little moment reflected all the time that I had spent at McDonough and the bonds that I formed with the people there. The first time I started working there the campers were extremely reluctant to even talk to me, and now at this moment they all trusted me with answering some of their biggest questions, or shared with me their dreams to be able to swim to Spectacle Island, or surf on the fast tide coming in. At that moment I was not a counselor to them, or a representative of Save the Harbor, or a boy from Quincy; I was just like another person from Southie; a neighbor they've known for years; a mentor; a teacher; a friend.

It is going to be difficult saying goodbye to McDonough. I know that I am not going to be away for the rest of the summer; I might come by here and there when needed. But it seems that I have just grown so used to seeing all those familiar faces eagerly waiting for me to start fishing and exploring with them; those familiar smells of the lagoon by the dockside or food from Sullie's; that long but tranquil walk from P Street to Castle Island. Once the campers found out that this might be my last week working full time at McDonough, they all reacted with dismay. But one camper stood out, because he said, "You promised me that you would stay if I stayed!" He remembered a "promise" I made with him that if he decided to stay in the program longer, since he was thinking about leaving, then I would stay with him. I did not know what to say; I was speechless.

So, thank you McDonough Sailing Center for a great time this summer. I hope the campers learned something from me, because I learned so much from them.

- David