FISH ON!

Today was an extraordinary day at both of my program sites.

The morning started as usual at Blacks Creek, with the first session of kids going through and fully enjoying the activities in which we normally have them participate. As the second group came in we realized that staffers from the Quincy Rec. Sailing Center had placed our crab trap out the previous evening. When we pulled it in, I was thrilled to find that a two foot eel had made its way inside, most likely to feed on the many crabs that had also been trapped.

 

Trying to get a hold of a slippery fellow.

The kids loved feeling the slimy skin, and a few of the more adventurous ones even tried to hold it, a task comparable to grabbing a fist full of air- those suckers are just so darn slippery. Besides delivering boundless entertainment for the kids, the captured eel also provided an excellent opportunity for me to explain the biological characteristics of a species that our Blacks Creek Explorers had yet to see. Not sure if they understood my discussion of the Sargasso Sea or the journeys that American eels make between fresh and saltwater, but it was still a valuable experience. They may have just been too captivated by the eel itself.

With such a fantastic start to the morning I would have been surprised if the rest of my day at Camp Harbor View would be as full of novel experiences and room for teaching, but surprised I was.

After our block with fishing club the campers at CHV had a performance to attend, leaving my team with a small amount of downtime before we would receive groups of campers again. I, naturally, went fishing, and as luck would have it hooked into a decent sized striper after only three or four casts (I believe this marks the first striper of any SHSB employee during work hours this summer. Prizes?). 

 

First striper at SHSB and first fish at CHV (now we just need to get a few on the end of campers rods)

After landing and measuring, I decided to keep the fish for educational, as well as, culinary purposes. When the next groups came around they exhibited a level of excitement and interest, equal to, or surpassing, that of the kids at Blacks Creek, and I was more than happy to share the knowledge I had. 

Grabbing hold of the monster

Words cannot express how glad I am to be in a place and position where this type of opportunity is commonplace.

 

- Thanking our bountiful Harbor, Tom Rebula