The Treasures of Spectacle Island

This summer Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, with the support of Mass Humanities, has started a new program: The Treasures of Spectacle Island.

My name is Cassandra, and I'm the Communications/Media Intern at Save the Harbor/Save the Bay. I've never written on this blog - but I'm reading it constantly and working on its formating and HTML. I'm glad I got the opportunity to go out on All Access Boston Harbor today and had a blast!

As a new set of eyes today, it was my first time visiting any of the Boston Harbor Islands, I saw with wonder these treasures. I couldn't believe that this island was originally all trash. It was one of the cleanest places I've ever been - there wasn't even trash cans to smell the air up - so the air was clean and fresh with the hint of salt.

David Coffin and I ventured off with a couple of kids from Jeremiah E Burke High School to look at the abundant beach glass strewn across the beach to the left of the pier. And boy, was it abundant. As David said, "You could rake the beach glass." We took the time in a certain area of the beach to see how much glass we could find. We found piles of white and green glass, as well as many pieces of pottery with old style designs on them. Harder to find was the bright blue pieces, the red pieces, and the light green. David while combing the beach actually found a record high 3 small red pieces. I also found a light green! As exciting as it was and as much as I wanted to keep my discovering, we want to keep the Treasures of Spectacle Island on Spectacle Island. So I carefully placed it down back on the shore for the next person to discover.

The kids of the high school were a little apprehensive of hanging out looking at glass but slowly began to enjoy themselves as they scrambled around looking at the glass as well as the crab legs and bodies, the shells, and the pottery. Even the counselors got involved enjoying themselves throughly as they combed the beach to find the best piece of glass.

The best glass to find was the glass with the names on it - the ones you could tell had been an old wine bottle, or a milk "carton". We also found another gem ashore - a fellow high schoolers hat that had been blown away by the heavy winds.

We ended the day with a quick swim. The waves were constant from the wind, the water wasn't too cold, and the kids had a great time.

I wish I could spend everyday out in the sun!

Cassandra

P.S. Meet "Tiger", one of the cutest kids I've ever met.