A week full of Skates!

Hey everyone! Its that time of year again for the adventures of a SHSB summer. This first week at my site, Camp Harbor View, has been a very eventful week. Monday was a good day because it wasn’t too hot and it was different from our usual curriculum. On monday we introduced ourselves to all of the kids because they were being introduced to their staff as well. We gave the same speech about what we do at Save the Harbor/Save the Bay multiple times but we made it interesting by giving everyone a chance to talk and explain fish printing. For those readers who do not know what fish printing is I will explain. Fish printing is an activity that we do a lot at SHSB with flounder that we catch in Boston Harbor. We freeze the fish and then at SHSB events and camp sites we use a special paint to give the fish some color. Next, we use a special rice paper which we press on top of the paint and then you have a nice, colorful fish print.

The view on the pier at CHV!

The second day at CHV was a very difficult day to have energy to fish because it was the last day of the heat wave that hit Boston. We had begun our usual activities of fishing and pulling up the crab traps but the heat was almost making us melt. It is hard to stay out of the sun on the end of a pier but luckily there is a nice breeze to cool us down. We had a lot of crabs in the trap which was great for the kids because they were able to put their hands in the water (to cool down) and also learn how to tell the difference between a male and a female crab. The campers were extremely engaged in activities we had going on despite the heat. We didn’t catch anything on Tuesday with the rods but the kids were determined. What that helped me get through the scorching heat was knowing that the next day was the 4th of July!

After a nice break in the middle of the week it was time to get back to work at CHV. Thursday was a nice breezy day on the pier that we fish off of. At the very end of the day on Thursday something really exciting happened: one of the camp counselors caught a skate by the tail! The skate was unharmed and we got the hook out quickly so that we could get him back into the water to live with his big happy family. It is cool to catch a skate with kids who have never fished before because a lot of people, children and adults, have never seen one before. The skate is a part of the ray family but it is a cartilaginous fish with spikes so you have to be careful when you pick it up. One of the coolest facts about the skate is that it’s mouth is on the stomach of the animal and it often looks like it is smiling.

He's smiling!

This is one of the three skate's we caught this week

Friday was an interesting day at CHV because the weather was CRAZY! It was nice and breezy which was a nice change for once. Not long after we arrived on the island in the morning, the sky became really dark then all of a sudden it started to pour. We had to run really far to get out of the rain but the view of Boston was pretty cool.

During the storm- You can't even see Boston!

After the storm passed we found Boston again

While we were inside, since it was Friday, we had a BBQ which consisted of burgers, hot dogs, mashed potatoes and more. As you can see this was a very eventful week at Camp Harbor View and it was only the first week! I’m sure that the rest of the summer will be just as exciting, if not more exciting than this past week but don’t worry I will keep you all posted on my adventures!
-Maeve