Hello fellow Boston Harbor enthusiasts! We've had an awesome first couple of days in East Boston and Charlestown as our Harbor Explorers got their first taste of what is SURE to be a great summer.
Our Piers Park Sailing Center crew this week have been champion crab trappers! We got to meet some feisty green crabs, a lot of Red Rock crabs, and quite a few spider crabs as well. On Tuesday, we caught a big male Red Rock crab with giant front claws-- a clear alpha male and a clear veteran of the Harbor. By the end of the week the Explorers were experts, telling me what kind of crab each one was, and what its gender was, within seconds of it coming out of a trap. And while they were hesitant on Tuesday to get pinched, they clambered to handle even the grouchiest of crabs by Friday.
On Thursday morning, we had a lobster waiting in our lobster trap, which began the day with a lot of excitement and exploration (see picture of Explorer Sam)! We didn't have such great luck when it came to fishing... we're still waiting for our first bite, but we're extremely optimistic for next week. Thank you to our first week of Harbor Explorers-- I had a blast with you and I hope to see your smiling faces around the Harbor even more this summer!
We spend our afternoons at Courageous Sailing Center in Charlestown, where their young sailors spend their lunch time with us, interacting with the different creatures that call their pier and the harbor around it "home." Courageous runs such a great program there, and has so many exciting resources in place for us to explore the habitat, including six lobster traps and a minnow trap on their docks. There's always something to pull up and examine, and the traps themselves have become homes for so many tunicates, mussels, and smaller organisms. In the afternoons we've gotten a chance to go out on the sailboats with the Step 2 and Step 3 kids and see the Harbor up close. There hasn't been a dull moment yet, and I'm expecting an exciting summer there!
With Week One under our belts, I am more confident than ever that I have one of the best jobs in the world this summer. A special thank you to Alex, LaToya, Denise, and Carolyn who comprised my all-star team this week, and Jen Last for working so hard to support everyone out in the field. Looking forward to the summer getting better and better!
Lots of Harbor Love,
Michelle
1 comment:
Thanks for the great post, and the great week on the harbot! Explorer Sam had a wonderful time, and he looks forward to seeing you again for another week. He learned so much in just four days. What a fantastic program.
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