From Bust to Bang!

Woke up this morning to the sound of rain on the window and thought to myself, "We just can't win with this weather. First, a blistering heatwave and now, pouring rain." Knowing I was off to spend the whole day soaking wet, plus the fact that sleeping when its raining outside is one of my top 5 favorite things to do, it took a lot of will power to get out of bed this morning. Throughout our morning staff meeting, the rain just kept coming down and it seemed like there was no sign of it letting up. I was convinced that we would have no kids at our morning session at Piers Park. I picked up a cod from our friends at Portside Fishing and made the trek over to East Boston. And lo and behold, there they were! Five intrepid Harbor Explorers waiting for me under the trees, sheltered from the rain. Not only did they show up, but they were itching to head down to the dock to check the lobster trap. Seeing those kids waiting and full of excitement, despite the less-than-pleasant weather made waking up early and trudging through the morning rush hour traffic totally worth it.

Fish guts!!!

With a new boost in energy, we pulled up the lobster trap, which, unfortunately, had no lobsters. But the many crabs trapped inside proved to be more than sufficient entertainment for the kids. We pulled out all the crabs, sorted them by gender and then proceeded to race them off the dock and back into the ocean. Our cod fish from Portside quickly became the star of the morning as we talked about fish anatomy and the kids  took turns touching the gills, prodding the eyeball and squealing with both disgust and interest. The rain tapered off as the morning continued and we ended up spending a nice couple of hours by the water. Since we had a smaller group than normal, we were able to offer more one-on-one time with each kid and really got to know our Harbor Explorers.

Checking out the lobster trap

What started as a gloomy morning was brightened by the enthusiasm and smiles of our East Boston Harbor Explorers. Seeing them waiting in the rain reminded me of why I enjoy this job. By giving these kids such positive experiences in the Harbor and instilling within them a sense of wonder about their local environment we are ensuring the future of the Boston Harbor. These kids are going to be our future environmental conservationists and harbor advocates!


Until next time,
Keep smiling,
Sarah C