Boston Harbor Explorers Program Registration at Black's Creek!

On Wednesday, June 24^th, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay held open registration for its Boston Harbor Explorers Program at Black’s Creek in Quincy. Save the Harbor's youth program runs closely with the Quincy Department of Recreation's sailing program. 

Amy registering summer explorers

Parents arrived at Pageant Field in the morning to sign their children up for Quincy Rec summer clinics, boating lessons, and Save the Harbor's Boston Harbor Explorers program. To kick off the registration, Amy spoke to the group of parents about what the program is all about and why it’s a great opportunity for their kids. Boston Harbor Explorers at Blacks Creek is a free program that runs Monday through Thursday from 9am to 12pm and is open to kids ages 6 and up. It begins July 6^th, one week after the Black’s Creek Sailing Program begins, and continues through the summer until August 12^th. Save the Harbor staff meet the participants right at the boathouse, at 9am and again at 10:30am, before and after the sailing sessions. Participants are welcome to stay for one or both sessions of the program during the day. 

Taking a break from fishing to build some sand castles

Everyone loved the idea of giving their children a chance to have some hands-on educational experience in environmental and marine exploration. Boston Harbor Explorers spend their day fishing, wading in the water, taking nature walks along the shore and in the woods, and looking for crabs and other critters. In between exploration adventures, Save the Harbor staff members explain the history of Boston Harbor and its cleanup, and describe the marine ecosystem in which Black’s Creek is situated. Underwater cameras and water quality testing kits give kids a chance to see and understand what’s below the water's surface.  Many parents were signing their kids up for a second, third, and even fourth summer with Save the Harbor and couldn’t say enough about how much fun their kids had and how excited they were to spend another summer with us. 

We spend lots of time looking for critters on the beach

For more information about our Boston Harbor Explorers Program, or to register your child for the Boston Harbor Explorers program at Blacks Creek email 

Amy Gaylord at gaylord@savetheharbor.org 

The program runs Monday through Thursday, 9am to noon, from July 6th through August 12th

We hope to see you there! 

Two young explorers excited for the summer

 --Jessie Thuma, Policy/Communication Intern

Campfire, Marshmallows and Pirates at Constitution Beach

On Thursday, June 18th, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay joined the East Boston YMCA and the Department of Conservation and Recreation for the first Constitution Beach Campfire Festival of the summer!  

Giannna Acker roasts her marshmallow

The event brought more than 60 kids and their families to Constitution Beach in East Boston to kickoff the summer by roasting marshmallows around the campfire, dancing and singing, and listening to pirate stories on the beach . Families and friends set up camp chairs and blankets to enjoy the evening and watch the sunset while DCR staff member Enzo Polcaro kept watch over the fire to ensure perfectly roasted marshmallows! 

Storyteller Norah Dooley describes how big her friend Herman the worm was!

Mary Read the Pirate, played by storyteller Norah Dooley, made an appearance and gathered the kids along the shoreline to tell stories of her life as a pirate. She explained what life was like on her pirate ship and taught the kids a very important skill that all seafarers should know- how to tie a knot! 
 Everyone practiced and practiced, and those who were able to tie a proper square knot were rewarded with a foreign coin from Mary's Pirate Booty!

Everyone played freeze dance once they finished eating their marshmallows

It was a fantastic event hosted by the East Boston YMCA and the Department of Conservation and Recreation with the support of Save the Harbor/Save the Bay's Better Beaches Program. We are greatly looking forward to the rest of the Campfire Festivals hosted on Thursday nights this summer and fall! 
They will be held at Constitution Beach (Zero Barnes Ave) in East Boston from 5:30PM - 7:30PM on July 16th, August 6th, September 17th, and October 15th. 
We hope to see you there!

For more pictures from the event take a look at the video below!

Campfire at Constitution Beach- June 18, 2015


Stay tuned for a complete calendar of all Better Beaches Program Events happening this summer! 


About Save the Harbor's Better Beaches Program:

On June 6th, 2015 Save the Harbor/Save the Bay awarded more than $200,000 in Better Beaches Program grants to more than 35 different groups in 9 beachfront communities from Nahant to Nantasket to support over 70 free public events this summer.

This year’s Better Beaches Program grants will fund traditional beach events like free concerts and sand sculpting competitions, family fun nights and beach festivals, including a late season beach party hosted by Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. It will also include a Quidditch tournament, story telling with the pirate Mary Read, a coastal illumination and sand painting by noted California coastal artist Andres Amadore. 

Here's the full list of the 2015 Better Beaches Program grant recipients:

For more information about Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s Better Beaches Program, see our blog post about the awards ceremony on our blog Sea, Sand & Sky here and be sure to visit our website at www.savetheharbor.org or follow savetheharbor on Facebook and Twitter.

A Spectacular Summer on the Beach

After a very Wicked Winter, it is going to be a Spectacular Summer on Boston Area Beaches

 

On Saturday morning, June 6^th Save the Harbor/Save the Bay awarded more than $200,000 in Better Beaches Program grants to more than 35 different groups in 9 beachfront communities from Nahant to Nantasket to support over 70 different free public events this summer. 

(First row, from left to right) Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation Deputy Commissioner Sam Overton, Metropolitan Beaches Commission Co-Chair Rep. RoseLee Vincent, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay Board Chair Joe Newman of National Grid, Save the Harbor President Patty Foley and Spokesman Bruce Berman with representatives of more than 30 groups from 9 communities who received Better Beaches Program grants totaling more than $200,000 today at Boston’s Fish Pier. 

This year’s Better Beaches Program grants will fund traditional beach events like free concerts and sand sculpting competitions, family fun nights and beach festivals, including a late season beach party hosted by Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. It will also include a Quidditch tournament, story telling with the pirate Mary Read, a coastal illumination and sand painting by noted California coastal artist Andres Amadore. To view a comprehensive calendar of all the events happening on the beaches this summer, click here.

Save the Harbor/Save the Bay also announced the expansion of their free Boston Harbor Explorers program at DCR’s Carson Beach in South Boston, which is now one of the cleanest urban beaches in America. The program will be based at the McCormack Bath House on Day Boulevard, and run five days a week for 8 weeks in July and August.

Activities at DCR’s Carson Beach will include including free swimming and kayak lessons and beach soccer clinics, as well as environmental exploration, fishing, and art on the shore. Save the Harbor expects more than 2,000 youth and teens from area youth development and community organizations to take part this year.

“The region’s public beaches are an extraordinary asset to the residents of Boston’s waterfront neighborhoods and beachfront communities from Nahant to Nantasket” said Save the Harbor’s spokesman Bruce Berman. “It was a wicked winter. We want to thank the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Metropolitan Beaches Commission and all our program sponsors and partners for making this a spectacular summer for the more than 1 million people who live just a short ride or drive from the coast.

Save the Harbor/Save the Bay launched the Better Beaches Program with the support of The Boston Foundation in 2008 to help local communities and beaches friends groups create and sustain free events and activities on the region’s public beaches from Nahant to Nantasket, as recommended by the Metropolitan Beaches Commission.

"We were proud to be there at the beginning to help found Save the Harbor/Save the Bay nearly 30 years ago," said Metropolitan Beach Commissioner Paul S. Grogan, President and CEO of the Boston Foundation. "And we applaud and support their Better Beaches Program. It activates our beaches and enhances their value to urban families, and provides another incentive for young professionals to settle in Greater Boston."

“At hearings from Nahant to Nantasket we heard repeatedly that modest investments in free events and programs can put these beaches to work for our communities” said Senator Tom McGee of Lynn, Metropolitan Beaches Commission Co-Chair.

“The people of this region love their beaches,” said Commission Co-Chair Rep. RoseLee Vincent of Revere. “Thanks to Save the Harbor/Save the Bay for making this happen.”

Funds to support the Better Beaches Program come from the proceeds of the Harpoon Helps Cupid Splash pledge fundraiser, which was held this year on the first snowy Saturday of spring. Over the past 7 years, Save the Harbor’s community partners in Nahant, Lynn, Revere, Winthrop, East Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, Quincy, and Hull have leveraged $205,000 in small grants received from Save the Harbor/Save the Bay with $815,722 in cash and in-kind contributions from local government and small businesses for a total investment of $1,020,722 in 214 free events and programs for the region’s residents and visitors alike.

This year, with additional funds from the Department of Conservation and Recreation, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay awarded over $200,000 in grants to groups in Lynn, Nahant, Revere, Winthrop, East Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, Quincy and Hull.  

"These Better Beaches Program grants offer a tremendous amount of value by financially assisting free, public events that are both enriching and engaging," said DCR Commissioner Carol Sanchez. "By partnering with organizations like Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, DCR continues to seek different ways to make our beaches a fun, unique, and enjoyable experience."

Here's the complete list of 2015 Better Beaches Program Grants.

In addition to the grants given out on Saturday, each group will also given a small bag of marbles to scatter along the shore as a part of Save the Harbor/Save the Bay and JetBlue’s summer-long “Simply Marble-ous” Treasure Hunt. If you find a marble on the beach this summer, send a picture along with your contact information to Save the Harbor/Save the Bay to be entered to win a free round-trip flight courtesy of JetBlue.

Save the Harbor/Save the Bay would like to thank the Metropolitan Beaches Commission and the Department of Conservation and Recreation for their support of the Better Beaches Program.

We would also like to thank the more than 600 people participated in this year’s Harpoon Helps Cupid Splash, and all our Better Beaches program, policy and event sponsors, including Harpoon Brewery, JetBlue, The Boston Foundation, Harold Whitworth Pierce Charitable Trust, Richard Saltonstall Charitable Foundation, P&G Gillette, Comcast, National Grid, The Department of Conservation & Recreation, BCYF Curley Community Center, Boston Centers for Youth & Families, YMCA of Greater Boston, Food Should Taste Good, Mix 104.1, Sullivans and Russo Marine.

For more information about Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s Better Beaches Program, visit their website at www.savetheharbor.org their blog Sea, Sand & Sky at www.blog.savetheharbor.org or follow savetheharbor on Facebook and Twitter.