27 Fish in one Day!

Yes that's right! On Friday at Community Boating, using some hot dogs and carp cookies, (See previous CBI post) we caught 27 (and released!)  sunfish with just 4 poles!

And a variety too! we caught some pumpkinseeds with their distinctive red belly, blue gills with a black lobe on their blue tented gills and more. We have found that that the sunfish enjoy the shade underneath the public pear just east of CBI. Now that we have mastered catching sunfish and eels, we hope to move on to the giant carp that live in the river. So stay tuned!

Hook-gull

So while others caught 28+ inches of striper, I had to settle for a seagull. Yes, I caught a seagull with a fishing line. Not what I was hoping to catch but it was exciting nonetheless. So Even though no one on my team caught a fish, we still enjoyed the trip. We had the fanciest boat (second to Bruce's of course) and had a great crew. At the end, there was no baseball ticket, but that didnt bother me as I'm no baseball fan. If it had tickets to an Arsenal match, well that would have been a different story.

~wilshere

Mr. Lobster and his Friends

Today Sarah, Karrisha, Mekhi, and I were welcomed with open arms at Wollaston Beach. The moment we stepped foot on the beach, a reporter from the Patriot Ledger immediately wanted to interview Sarah. Our touch tank was a big hit not only with the children but also with the adults. Even though our touch tank only consisted of a lobster, everyone was excited to touch and hold him. Dylan, our first visitor, had the chance to name the lobster Mr. Lobster. The kids were skeptical about touching Mr. Lobster but some worked up the courage to even hold him. Because of the extremely hot weather, the Save the Harbor crew had to consistently change the water, but luckily Mr. Lobster's new friends were kind enough to help us out. Meeting Mr. Lobster was not the only activity that Wolalston Beach had. There was a moon bounce, face painting, music, and free drinks and slushies, and kite flying. DJ Kevin hosted a bunch of games and dance contests for the children, and he even gave away some prizes. Our very own Karrisha even participated in a quick game of "Kevin Says". During the event, we also met some of the members from Friends of Wollaston. Before this event, I had no idea how much of an impact Save the Harbor Save the Bay had on its surrounding communities. Wollaston Beach Kid Fest was definitely a great way to celebrate Save the Harbor's 25th anniversary.

Kassy

The Carp Cookie Bakery!

The Carp Cookie Bakery is open and ready for business at Community Boating! My new friend here at CBI, Mike helped me make the cookieswhile everyone had started fishing with hot dog skins. To make these cookies, we simply stirred together sugar, flour, and a little water. The mixture makes a very thick sticky concoction, which is perfect for catching fish. Mike and I also took this recipe a step further and created the “Carp Pig in a Blanket”. Just like the popular party snack, it was dough wrapped around a little piece of hot dog. We gave our fellow fishermen the cookies to use as bait on their hooks and we all patiently waited for a bite. A few minutes later we have a bite! We pull up a little sunfish out of the water and promptly put it our bucket. Sheuli looked up the fish in the guidebook and also took pictures of the lucky fisherman. Mike and I were very excited that out cookies worked and we went back to work to provide everyone with more cookies. After that first catch, we continued to use our carp cookies as bait and caught 3 more fish! How exciting! I can’t wait to return to CBI next week and make these cookies again!

All Access Ruless!!!

This year I've been at all access three times, which is two times more than I did last year. On my most recent trip to spetacle island, I got to fly a kite for the first time. Yes, I had never flown a a kite before. So it took me about 10 seconds to learn how to fly one, then spent the next hour teaching eager kids how to, and also how to share them with their friends. We were having so much fun up there that the scortching heat did not seem to bother us at all as we just stayed up there the whole time and went no where near the water. We barely made it back down on time for the boat.

~wilshere

Impacting Lives

On Thursday I had the opportunity to go to Spectacle Island with almost 300 campers. However, this wasn't just another day on the island, this was a day I'll remember forever. We had between 2-4 camps that were aimed at helping disabled children. These campers were not any different from other children. Their interest in crabs and the marine life was just the same. They were enthusiastic about touching and holding the organisms we had caught in the lobster traps. While I was at the top of the North Drumlin, Maria was eager to know about the surrounding islands and their names. She was definitely interested in knowing whether Georges Island was really haunted or not. Of all the campers I had interacted with at Spectacle Island, two of them stood out. Although they were not so much into the trip, I learned a little bit about who they are and where they come from. On the way down from the North Drumlin, Tatiana and Cindy told me that they are hearing impaired. Tatiana is able to read lips while Cindy could talk perfectly fine. These girls are average teens, a little shy, but they are so kind. Cindy and Tatiana taught me some English AND Spanish sign language on the boat. I was amazed to see the impact that Save the Harbor has on people's lives. The campers learned a lot about the Harbor while the Save the Harbor staff learned about the campers. Days like this are reasons why I wanted to join Save the Harbor.

Kassy

One crab, Two Crabs, Three Crabs MORE

This week at Piers Park in East Boston and Courageous Sailing Center in Charlestown we conducted a citizen scientist carb count. Both sites are dock sites without any shoreline/ beach access. To record our crab numbers, we used lobster traps, crab traps, and even fishing poles dropped right by the side of the dock.

At both sites the kids are very excited when they catch an animal. When we caught a crab, we first determined what species of crab it was; the most common crabs found at these sites are green crabs and red rock crabs. The next order of business is to find out whether the crab is a male or female. The harbor explorers turn the crab over so that its belly is showing and, by looking at its abdomen, determine whether the belly is rounded or triangular shaped. A rounded belly means that the crab is a female and the triangular shape is a male. The last thing we do is to measure the crab's size. This is determined by measuring the large shell called the carapace. The width and length can be determined using a ruler or other unit measuring device.

Other things that were recorded were environmental conditions such as weather, water depth, and tide height. The data that we record about these crabs is part of a citizen scientist project started by MIT to study the populations of certain invasive crabs and hopefully stop the spread of unwanted guests.

I would like to thank my fellow harbor explorers for there excellent crab catching abilities and cannot wait for next week when we record again!

-Sarah

This Island has a Beach!

This past week, I had the joy of taking over 700 kids out to Spectacle Island with no cost to them. Some if these children had never been to an island before and for a few it was their first time ever going to a beach. One conversation I had with a little girl went as follows:

Little Girl: "My Daddy said he is going to take me to a beach soon!"

Me: "Well we're going to a beach today!"

Little Girl: "I thought we were going to an island?"

Me: " We are going to an island and this island has a beach!"

Little Girl:"REALLY?!"

Me: "Yes, really."

The little girl's eyes lit up with joy as she came to the realization that she was in fact not only going to an island for the first time but also getting her first experience at a beach.

This little girl is not alone in the firsts category. Many of the children that we take out who are first timers have never seen or been on an island before, or at least not to thier knowledge.

The children enjoyed picking up sea glass and old bits of pottery on the southern beach of the island. These artifacts are the only remaining history of Spectacle Island's interesting past. When the early afternoon sun dwindled our exploring hearts, we headed over to the swimming beach to enjoy the rest of our time on the island in a cool relaxing state.

MLK

Hello Aruna here with a report on how MLK is going thus far this summer.

We just completed our 4th week this past Friday, and so far they have all been fun and education. I attended the MLK meetings last year as well, but even though we have been repeating the same activities this year, I am still taking a lot from them. The most recent meeting focused on physical fitness. We got a quick lesson on eating healthy and performing physical activities (the focus at the meeting being boxing). So far we have also learned about setting goals, and financing, all very important tools that will help us secceed. Oh and I am also making a lot of new friends there, meeting new people at every session. It has been a lot of fun and I look forward to next Friday's.

~wilshere

Spectacle Island

On Tuesday I participated in the All Access Boston Harbor program. While Hugues and I were checking the lobster traps, we noticed we had caught a female lobster. Although I took a marine biology course this past school year, I had never held or even seen a living lobster in front of my very own eyes (other than at the grocery store!). I, however, was not afraid to handle her. We also caught a red rock crab, which has recently become one of my favorite marine organisms.

The touch tank was a phenomenal success with the campers, mainly because of the lobsters. The campers were very willing and daring to hold such a large organism, regardless of their fears. As we all unloaded from the boat, the campers and I were excited to be at Spectacle Island. There was very little wind, but the campers continued their attempts in flying the kites. One of the highlights of the day was when Tom, Aruna and I looked for tree branches to hold one of the kites open. Tom mentioned that as part of our job at Save The Harbor, sometimes we have to make modifications to keep the campers from being bored. Nevertheless, the kite did end up flying in the sky. It was great to see the youth kids fly the kites, especially the ones who had never flown one before. All Access Boston Harbor is a great opportunity for children to do activities that they have never done before.

Kassy

Sharks and Minos plus Crab Learning

At Constitution Beach, the kids are very energetic and so excited to come every Wednesday and fish and explore the beach. At first, we played sharks and Minnows to let them run around and have a good time. I played as well, and so did my other coo-workers. The kids run faster than I do and I was caught when the game started. I had to sit on the floor and pretend that I was a crab trying to get people. After we played the game, we had the kids explore the beach, where they found a bunch of hermit crabs and snails. No one caught a fish but they tried so hard to do so. I explained how the hermit crabs have hard shells to protect themselves from getting eaten. Also when they get bigger in size, they have to leave the smaller shell and look for a bigger one. We put everything in the touch tank, and if there was something that we didn't know about a certain animal, we would look it up in the guide book.

-LaToya

A New Home For Starfish

Courageous Sailing Center in Charlestown is a spot well known for catching different crabs and lobsters. But this week it seemed as though a new sea creature wanted to add itself to the list. Do to the fact that this sea creature is a new comer at the sailing center in Charlestown it really had to show up often to be on the list of well known catches. The starfish was definitely making a great effort since there was one caught almost everyday this week. Many of them were caught in our lobster traps and the kids were so shocked to find them in there. As soon as they saw one in the trap all they wanted to do was pick it up and let it get attached to them. Starfish are pretty rough on their tops, but soft on their bottoms. The kids were also fascinated by the way the starfish moved even though it moved kind of slow. One of the biggest starfish caught this week was caught by using a net attached to a broom stick. Senior Marine educator Sarah and one of the kids named Hazel came up with the idea to make the device in order to catch the big starfish that was stuck on the side of the pier. I had faith in them to catch it and they did! It was definitely the biggest starfish that I have ever seen. I hope that we catch more starfish in Charlestown in the weeks to come because they are definitely becoming one of the well known caught sea creatures.

-Will Clark

Sunfishing at Community Boating

We caught SO MANY Sunfish today!

Using some interesting new baits, namely hot dog skins and a flower sugar paste, we were able to catch 24 Sunfish today at Community Boating!

Ryan, our master fisher, caught 11 himself, followed by Kevin with 10!

Although all of the fish caught (and released) were Sunfish, we found many interesting varieties, which we identified with the help of a freshwater fish field guide.

These are some of the fish we found:

-Bantam Sunfish

-Bluegill Sunfish

-Pumkinseed Sunfish

-Green Sunfish

What an interesting spectrum of colors and spots they had! Personally, I hope we can catch a carp next!

-Sheuli

Henry the Snail Catcher

This is Henry, one of the members of the fishing club at Camp Harbor View. When he first came to fishing club yesterday, Henry took one look into the bucket of mussels that we were using for bait and declared that he would not be touching any sea creatures of any kind. No mussels, no crabs, no worms, nothing! They were "nasty" and he wanted nothing to do with them.

Today after some discussion and encouragement, Henry took a big step in overcoming his fear and touched his very first sea creature, a barnacle! Shortly after that he gathered up the courage to touch the back of a red rock crab.

After fishing club, Henry joined us again this afternoon for some tide-pooling. Although he was tentative at first, with the help of a sufficiently long stick he was soon having a blast flipping over rocks to find Asian Shore Crabs. He and his friends discovered that the most crabs could be found under big rocks closer to the water.

Near the end of the day, I found Henry next to a small tide pool debating whether or not he was going to pick up a periwinkle. I told him that if he did it, I would take a picture of him with the snail and put it on our website. This proved to be the motivation he needed!

The face says it all! Congratulations Henry!

-Paula

This Just In!

At Community Boating today, our sailors in the environmental program caught not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 sunfish! Details to come soon.

Cheers,

-Sheuli

Mr. Bob

Hi guys, This week I'm at Blacks Creek and Camp Harborview. At Black's Creek we go exploring and go up to the field and play "shark and minnows". A lot of the kids like to go a find green crabs, hermit crabs and, sometimes, go fishing. Even though we can never catch any fish we still try, some time the kids get happy when they get sea weed. Most of the kids that come to Blacks Creek know stuff about the ocean that I don't even know.

The funny thing that happened was that this girl keeps on calling me Bob. I don't know for what reason but I seemed to make her laugh!

Last Minute Catch

One of the biggest rumors at Camp Harborview in Quincy is that they never catch any fish. I know from my own experience that the rumor is not true because the first fish that I ever caught was at Camp Harborview. Most of the kids do not believe me until I show them proof that I caught a fish there. So, on a regular fun day at the camp we were fishing and of course there were skeptics as usual. After the first two rotations of the day we had not caught any fish and the hopes were very low. The last group rotation came to the dock with expectations to not catch anything except for a few crabs. However, I was very enthusiastic and told them that they could catch a fish at anytime because anything is possible. Time was running out and the last group was close to leaving the dock. By this time most of the kids had given up and decided that there would not be a fish caught today. But, there was a group of girls that stuck with it and didn't want to give up so easy. I began to walk around the dock and let everyone know that it's time to wrap it up and get off the dock. The group of girls took one last cast just to see if the day would change. All of sudden all I could hear was screaming and shouting, "We got something!" At the last minute of the fishing day the group of girls ended up catching a fish and proving the skeptics wrong. I was very proud of the girls because of the fact that they did not give up. They caught a fish and they were so excited and it made me very excited to see that they did it on their own. This just goes to show that you never know what you can catch until you try.






-Will Clark

My big tournament

Yes everyone I feel as if I am a champion;why because eventhough I didn't catch a stripper I caught a skate. It was really exciting because it was my first time ever cathcing anything in the Boston Harbor. I hope to catch a stripperand be the undisputed fishing champion this year.

-Mekhi

The Secret Life of Eels

You may know that we have eels in the Charles river. You may know that those eels are slimy and slippery. You may have noticed that our eels have a continuous fin (dorsal, anal and tail fin combined).

But did you know that our eels don't ALWAYS live in the river?

Did you know that when they are mature, and it is time to reproduce, they travel to a faraway place called the Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic Ocean?

Well, the sailors in the environmental group at CBI know, and they can tell you the story of the secret life of eels!

The story starts like this:

Soon to be Mr. and Ms. American eel travel from different parts of the Charles (along with many other freshwater bodies in the US and Europe) all the way to the Sargasso Sea, which lies in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

After the eels spawn, tons of little eel eggs are carried by prevailing currents. Eventually, they turn into leptocephali (strange clear eel larvae), then glass eels (almost like transparent worms), then elvers (adolescent eels), then yellow eels (almost grown up), then finally silver eels.

During this journey, which can take 1-3 YEARS, the eels move from the sargasso sea into estuaries and eventually into rivers, lakes and streams.

What a journey!! (Don't you think so?)

At Community Boating, we know the story of the secret life of eels, but we prefer to handle them merely for their superb sliminess!

Next time you catch an eel, think about how far it has traveled, and of course, how amazing it is!

The Big Fishing Tournament 7/21/11

Today Bruce is taking all the staff members from Save The Harbor/Save The Bay out fishing. This is my FIRST time fishing and I'm happy that I will have a the chance to go out into the Harbor and fish. I was the first one to catch a fish, my fish was 28 1/2 inches long. When I got my fish we were still in the Harbor now that's cool. On that day I learned a lot from Bruce and I enjoyed fishing and I would LOVE to do it again. Even though i didn't win first place, my friend Kristina Acevedo won first place with a 35 inch fish that's pretty cool. I'm proud of myself and also proud of her too. We both go to Fenway High School.

-Diana Gomez

Horseshoe crabs

It has been a long week with a lot of adventures. Last week we caught a lot of Asian shore crabs, Green crabs and 2 Horseshoe crabs. The most interesting thing we caught was the Horseshoe crab. It was my first time holding a Horseshoe crab and the kids really loved it. We caught it last week at Blacks creek.

Manny

Crab Count!

I am back from my camp in Maine, and I'm glad to be back. I have been recently been working at the Children's Museum and at MCDonough Sailing Center it has been lots of work and fun.

Today on the crab count we caught a total of 80 crabs and the kids were so excited about looking and catching more crabs then anyone else. At the beginning my group we only found 1 crab and then we lost it ,the kids were very sad. After, twenty minutes into the crab count my group started to find a a lot of crabs in the end my group found 45 crabs! The three boys in my group were very proud of themselves and so was I.

I can not wait to do it again tomorrow!

Liz

Dancing in the Park and Swimming in the Sea

Hey all! Last week not only seemed to be a busy week for myself, but everyone seemed to have an eventful few days considering the hot weather. On Tuesday I participated in the Friends of Wollaston Beach's "Dancing in the Park" with a couple of other friends from Save the Harbor. Although we did arrive a little unorganized (we searched the beach for literally anything to put on display; we even resorted to seaweed and bird feathers!) nevertheless we had a great time and children learned a lot about the marine environments around them.

The lobster touch tank was a hit, and I even learned a lot about lobsters myself! It was so funny to see small children overcome their fears to actually pet a lobster up close (many of the kids saying that they usually only see lobsters at the supermarkets). The smaller items that we had on display, such as clam and mussel shells, feathers, seaweed, and other small marine life, were also a big hit. It is pretty interesting how we take for granted biological wonders that we sometimes pass off as trivial; I was surprised to see how many people could not distinguish a clam from a mussel shell. Therefore, while examining shorelines, catching fish, or exploring any other maritime area, I will always examine anything I find; who knows, I might learn something new!

As for McDonough Sailing Center, it was really hot! Luckily, the kids were begging me to go swimming with them; how could I refuse the beautiful ocean on such a hot day (102 degrees to be exact) ? Little did I know that once I got in the water, the campers were planning to launch a water war on me. So, after a little while of swimming, and a little crabbing, and some fishing thrown in there as well, I was able to call it a week.

- David

Charles River Kayaking

I had no idea what to expect as I arrived for my first session at Community Boating. I was already dreading the noise coming from Storrow Drive as I crossed the footbridge. Shortly after we began, Community Boating quickly became my favorite site. Why, you might ask? The first thing we did after a quick (but very fascinating) lesson on eels was kayak. I used to love to kayak when I was younger and I hadn't done it for years. Our kids seemed almost as excited as I was when I heard we were kayaking out to drop the eel trap. After securing what I deemed to be the fastest looking single person kayak; I pushed it off the dock and slid in. It all came back to me pretty fast. I was having the time of my life kayaking on the Charles, and the kids didn't seem to mind it either.

Paul giving a quick run-down on basic kayaking

I cannot wait to return tomorrow, when we plan to mix up some of our very own Save The Harbor carp bait, and maybe even reel in a couple fish.

-Scott Wortman

My First Day

My first day at Save The Harbor was this past Monday. The first site that I worked at was the Harry McDonough Sailing Center. I was glad to have had Annie and Tom show me the ropes with enthusiasm and open arms. Because there wasn't any bait, we used mussels as our food source. It was incredible to see one of the female campers catch two green crabs and one red rock crab. This came as a surprise to all of us, especially after she told us that she had never fished before. I, along with the campers, was not aware of the fact that Castle Island was home to so many mussels and species of crabs. Although one of the other campers was having trouble catching a fish, we kept an optimistic mindset so that he wouldn't get discouraged. We also educated the campers on how one would be able to tell the gender of a crab. Not only did I get to teach the kids about some marine organisms, but my coworkers also taught me how to interact with the campers because I was a bit shy. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the summer has in store for me!

Kassy

What a Spectacle

Today at Spectacle Island was an exciting day. The morning was a bit hectic, as the staff and I tried to organize over 300 people! After the presentation by the always enthusiastic David Coffin, we managed to get each group on the boat with no problems. It is really something special to be able to send that many kids out on just a single trip. I remember when I first started at Save the Harbor, we would be lucky to have half those numbers. In the past couple years alone, I have watched the All Access program grow tremendously. Starting this year, we have had to use the largest ferry in the A.C. Cruise Lines fleet to accommodate our large increase in numbers. Of course I will miss the Virginia C-II (the oldest ferry in the Harbor), but it makes it worth the loss to be able to take so many more kids out to enjoy our beautiful islands. I truly do feel blessed to have such an amazing job.
Once we arrived at Spectacle, the kids were eager to get out onto the island. After a nice picnic-style lunch, some of our staff headed off to the beach to begin the search for treasure while the rest of us (myself included) took a group up to the top of the north drumlin for kite flying. I never get tired of the view from up there! Standing 176 feet from sea level, Spectacle is the tallest island in the Harbor and therefore offers some of the best views of the city and surrounding islands. Being up there now, its hard to imagine that years ago I would be standing on smelly, harmful trash. The transformation of this island from a trash dump to a beautiful park where kids get to run around, swim, and have fun is remarkable. Today also made me realize something. Not only could the Treasures of Spectacle Island program apply to the various sea glass and pottery found on the beach, but (at least for me) it can also apply to the island itself. Spectacle has transformed into a treasure for all to enjoy. I can't wait to get back out there tomorrow.

Till next time,

Tommy Regan

All Access at Spectacle Island

This morning, I was getting ready for the trip out to Spectacle Island when I heard "THI THI!" I quickly turned around and came face to face with the East Boston YMCA kids, their smiles beaming at me. Jogging on over, I realized how much of an impact All Access Boston Harbor had on all these kids. After re-learning all their names and the joking began, they started to tell me all about the Harbor and what they learned about the ocean and its marine animals.

During David's little spiel, most of the campers knew and remembered all the little details about Spectacle Island, such as how long us Bostonians and the surrounds 43 communities dumped their trash on the island (50 YEARS!!), how long the trash burned/smoldered (10 long YEARS!), and especially about the Bay Gulls (aka Bagels). I was impressed seeing all of the kids from all the groups being so excited to learn and do something today they hadn't done before. It was such a fun day and I can't wait to do the same tomorrow!

Thi

Mystery Bottle

At Communnity Boating there was this program call Rozalia Projects Rov, found an old milk bottle that was stamped 1938 on the bottom Hood milk company . They alson found a hat,nike sneaker,3 pairs of sunclasses, red sox pants and an old chair so the kids built a men with all the trash they found.

Candido

Hordes of Hermit Crabs!

Today at Constitution Beach, we had a blast collecting hermit crabs. Our awesome hermit hunters from East Boston YMCA collected hundreds of hermits and piled them into our touch tank.

It was interesting to hold so many hermit crabs in your hands at once. Some of the YMCA explorers giggled and shouted at the hermits when their tiny claws tickled their palms.

At the end of the collection, we said our farewells and watched as hundreds of hermits crawled back to their homes!

Family Reading Night

What a blast we had at Family Reading Night at Carson Beach!

Kids from all around Boston enjoyed playing with hula hoops and ski balls, playing hop scotch and, of course, STORIES . Hot dogs and popcorn were served as kids from all around listened with bated breath to tantalizing tales.

The Save the Harbor lobster touch was a hit as always. We received so many interesting questions about the lobster, the best of which being "Where is it's butt?"

All in all, it was a fun time. My favorite part may have been the art tables, where you could spin paint fancy pictures. Or maybe it was the temporary tattoo table, where you could get a shark tattoo on your upper arm, and not have to regret it!

The kids did seem to enjoy the night out with their families!

One Crab, Two Crab, Red Crab, Green Crab!

I am no stranger to crab counting. In fact, one of my first jobs was as a research assistant counting Asian shore crabs on the beaches of New Hampshire. So naturally, I was very excited today to conduct one of our first crab counts of the summer at Blacks Creek in Quincy.

We started by surveying the area and writing down our observations. Then the kids made a prediction about the kinds of crabs they thought we would find.

This explorer's prediction was exactly 7 green crabs

After a very thorough survey, we found 4 green crabs over the course of the morning. Interestingly, they were all males. After some discussion, we came up with a possible explanation, that male crabs might come in closer to shore and be easier to catch than females, or maybe there are just more male crabs at Blacks Creek! It will be interesting to see what the rest of our crab counts reveal.

The explorers also theorized that reason we didn't find any red rock crabs was that the rocks around Blacks Creek aren't big enough for these crabs to hide under. We're not sure yet why we didn't see any Asisan shore crabs, but we did talk about how it's a good thing that this invasive species hadn't yet taken over at this location!

We'll be conducting crab counts every week at almost all of our sites for the rest of the summer. The results will go to Dr. Judy Pederson at MIT to be used for her research on invasive species. So far, the Boston Harbor Explorers seem to be having a great time searching for crabs and helping out science!

-Paula

A Fish Made of Sea Glass

As Tommy and I walked toward the visitor center on Spectacle Island, we were stopped by the beautiful piece of art... on the ground! The pieces of blue, white, brown, and the occasional blue became an intricate picture of a fish - complete with a fin, tail, and eyes.

Of course, seeing no ownership, we had to sign our names at the bottom of the artwork. I later found out that this was the result of the Sea Glass Tour led by the Rangers on the Island twice a day. Many visitors would follow the assigned rangers to the beach (where it is abundant with these colorful artifacts) and collect the pieces that interested them the most. These special beach glass would then be turned into pictures of marine animals or anything related to the ocean! I'm so glad I was able to stumble upon this and can't wait to see more tomorrow!

Thi Tran

The New Girl!!

Hey everyone! My name is Kassandra but everyone calls me Kassy. I started working at Save The Harbor Save the Bay this week, and I'm super excited to be working here this summer. I just graduated from Southfield School, and I will be attending Clark University in Worcestor this fall. I can't wait to meet all of the workers, and begin my exploration around the Harbor!

Kassy

Red Sox Game

Although the Red Sox lost yesterday, I still had a ball! I am so glad I won the Celebrity Fishing competition and got to sit in these great third base line seats! Since I won two tickets I took my boyfriend, Manuel Garcia, to enjoy a lovely ball game with Conor and Cassie.

Sadly, the weather was horrible! :( RAIN! It began raining around 4pm and continued, but all four of us accompanied by hardcore Red Sox fans stayed until we knew for certain the game was cancelled. Our faith in the game still occurring came through and the scheduled game for 7:15pm was now going to be played at 9:30pm.

While we sat in our beautiful scenery seats we still smiled with our $8 ponchos! So expensive, but worth it. As we sat and waited for those long 2 1/2 hours I was able to get to know my co-workers Conor and Cassie and build a tighter bond with the two. I loved how all four of us bonded as if we were close friends; however, this was our first time hanging out together.

Finally, when the ball game started we added to the loud cheering echoing throughout Fenway Park dancing and singing! :) We tried so hard to get on the Jumbo tron at Fenway park and keep Cassie's streak alive. Unfortunately, we did not succeed with our head bobbing, jumping and crazy yelling! Time flew by and before we knew it, it was 12:30am, and this awesome game was going extra inning. I had a lot of fun last night! I hope I win another competition and win more Red Sox tickets in fascinating seats again!

-Kristina :)

Recruitement day:Camp Harbor view

When Connor and Paula first introduced Our "club" to camp Harbor view I felt really proud and excited. I felt excited because Connor brought an amazing prop; he brought a flounder and that grabbed the kids attentions quickly. As soon as I saw the kids smiling and interacting with our group I knew I would have great week at Camp Harbor view.

-Mekhi