Nate at Courageous Sailing is one of the most fearless children I have had the pleasure of meeting so far. Nate spends most of his time sailing at Courageous but when I do get to see Nate, he is always thrilled to go explore on the dock. His partners in crime on one particular afternoon were Logan and Alex. We pulled up every lobster trap, baited them, added underwater creatures to our floating tank.
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| Logan helping to bait all the traps! |
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| The boys pulling up the traps! |
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| Alex, Nate, & Logan investigating the mussels colonies |
Often when we get to Courageous Sailing it is a hectic and exciting time. The sailors are finishing up lunch, Save the Harbor staff are applying our third layer of sunblock and chugging our remaining water. We gather our equipment and announce we're heading down to the dock to investigate and explore. The frenzy officially starts with kiddos finishing their lunches and running to grab life jackets. It is within these moments ideas are formed, and lives are changed.
Why are these children so excited to investigate the traps? What did we catch today? Why are we catching more lobsters than usual? Why aren't we catching more fish? All these questions can be answered through exploration. Exploration allows critical thinking skills to be developed and the process of questioning to be validated as a young person grows up. These hands on experience can not be compared or replicated to classroom learning. While classroom learning has it's own benefits, the memories occurring with Save the Harbor/Save the Bay can not be replicated. I'm grateful to be a part of the process and memory making with STH.
:) Ali Hurney
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